Post by Cleveland Cavaliers on Jul 27, 2008 21:43:19 GMT -5
Updated as of 8/12
Explanations to come later
1.
Los Angeles Clippers - Michael Beasley PF Kansas State 
The most sure thing in this draft. The Clippers GM has already announced that Beasley is their man, and he sure looks like he's up to the task to be a star in Los Angeles. Excellent pick.
2.
Denver Nuggets f/Atl - OJ Mayo SG USC 
Denver in my opinion stole this pick from Atlanta, trading Mike Miller and Leandro Barbosa to get it. They already have Mike Bibby, so OJ Mayo fills out the backcourt nicely.
3.
Phoenix Suns f/NJ- Derrick Rose PG Memphis 
Boy, New Jersey sure hit the jackpot in the lottery. Well, not the jackpot, but it's pretty damn close. A top 3 pick, in a top 3 heavy draft. Now, with this pick, they end up recieving Steve Nash AND Vince Carter in this deal (im not even going to call it a deal, i'm going to call it a steal) to Phoenix. Wow. Why would Phoenix break apart a two-time division winner? I don't know. In my mind, If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I can't see Phoenix going anywhere else with this pick with Beasley and Mayo gone, so Derrick Rose it is. But, you never know. If Rose becomes what he can be, what a tandem Rose and LeBron would be. But, I still think Nash-Carter-LeBron is pretty tough to beat.
4. Houston Rockets f/Den via Orl - Russel Westbrook PG UCLA 
5.
Chicago Bulls - Jerryd Bayless SG Arizona 
6.
New York Knicks - Kevin Love PF UCLA 
7. New York Knicks - Eric Gordon SG Indiana 
This is the back end of back to back picks for New York, and the third of 6 straight picks owned by New York and Chicago. With Westbrook, Green, Thornton and Bynum, New York now has 4 solid pieces of a young, dynamic starting lineup, and they need one more position to complete them, Shooting Guard. Eric Gordon is a perfect fit for them here, as Westbrook and Green are not exactly labeled as scorers, unlike Gordon.
8.
Chicago Bulls - Brook Lopez PF Stanford 
Well, this was going to be number 4 in a series of picks from rebuilding teams, but, it was leaked that a deal has been struck with Chicago to send the #8 pick to a division contender, and the team that reached the Eastern Conference Finals, Detroit. The Pistons really need to find a replacement for Rasheed Wallace down the road because he seems to be on his last legs. Brook Lopez is the pick.
9. Chicago Bulls - Anthony Randolph PF LSU 
At this point in the mock draft, the Bulls have two pieces to work with, TJ Ford and Jerryd Bayless. A solid 1-2 punch down the road. But, Chicago still needs to find that golden franchise player they can build around, (and in my opinion, they will get another shot at it next year, as they likely will have another top pick). So, why not Danilo Gallinari here? Why not Brandon Rush or Joe Alexander? Because those three players, while good players, are simply just not pieces you can build around. At 19 years old, Anthony Randolph has tremendous upside. His potential has a ridiculous high ceiling. What the heck, go with the highest risk/reward pick you can if your Chicago. Because as of right now, it's not looking too well down in Chi-Town.
10. New York Knicks - DJ Augustin PG Texas 
I personally really like what New York is doing. Right now at this stage in the mock, New York has a starting lineup of Westbrook, Gordon, Green, Thornton and Bynum. The only thing he really needs at this point are backup bigmen, and a good backup point guard. At #10, there are too many good players to pass up to draft the backup bigmen, as he has yet another pick at #14 to grab one of them. You might be asking: Joe Alexander, Danilo Gallinari? My response: Raja Bell, Bobby Simmons. He already has capable guards/small forwards off the bench, so why not continue to build a great, underrated young team by drafting a great underrated young point guard. The biggest knock against Augustin is his size (lol, get it? biggest knock?), but for a backup point guard, size isnt too important. Augustin is has ridiculous speed, and will help electrify the bench down in New York.
11.
Detroit Pistons f/Miami Heat - Joe Alexander SF West Virginia 
Miami really did not get the best deal here with this pick. All they needed to have a balanced starting lineup was a point guard, and the best point guard on the board now is....Mario Chalmers or George Hill, who are completely out of the question this high at pick #11. So, Miami goes with it's next biggest need, depth. Miami's bench is dismal. So, why not take the best available player, "Combine Superman" Joe Alexander, proving that some white guys can jump.
12.
Utah Jazz - Brandon Rush SG Kansas 
Utah is coming off a good season, and they do have a great foursome in thier starting lineup, with Olympian Deron Williams, Richard Jefferson, Amare Stoudemire and Zydrunas Illgauskas. The only thing missing is a Shooting Guard, and they need to shore that sore spot up if they want to be a legitimate title contender. Sure, Daniel Gibson is a great player, but, he is better suited as a sharpshooter coming off the bench. What they need is a true impact player at SG that can also defend against the bigger Shooting Guards in the league, and at 6'6, Brandon Rush gives them that. Coming off a national championship with Kansas, Brandon Rush is a winner, and a great player with high potential as well.
13.
San Antonio Spurs - Danilo Gallinari SF Italy 
Sorry, Danilo, no Mike D'Antoni here to assure you an undeserved top 10 pick here. Danilo really drops in this mock draft, along with fellow small forward Joe Alexander, but i think legitimately it can happen. The teams that were higher up in this draft just did not have a need in the Small Forward area. (Except Chicago, but see my reason for the #9 pick.) The Spurs have just one big task this offseason: Sign Andre Iguodala. Once they do that, they can move Andre to Shooting Guard to make room for the best available player on the board. They could've used a true point guard to move Monta Ellis to Shooting Guard, but there's just not a capable starting point guard on the board.
14. New York Knicks - JaVale McGee C Nevada 
What better place for a young center with great upside and potential, who has been compared with Andrew Bynum, to go? Oh, yeah. The team that has Andrew Bynum, The New York Knicks. McGee has great size, athleticism, and can even drop back and shoot from three. The only thing New York needs to complete thier rebuilding process in my opinion is a backup bigman, and McGee is a great pickup for them here. In 3 or 4 years expect New York to be in the Conference Finals, at least.
15. Los Angeles Clippers - Robin Lopez C Stanford 
Most critics will say the team holding the #1 pick in the draft has a good chance of being the biggest winners in the draft, but with the amount of picks that teams like New York and Chicago have, you need to have a strong draft throughout. The #1 pick was a great one in Michael Beasley, but Los Angeles still has this pick at #15, and i can't think of any other way they can go with this one, but to draft a center. Nenad Krstic is going to stay at a 70 now that he's in Europe, so they need some youth and potential down low. Robin Lopez, the "other" Lopez twin, hardly takes a back seat to his brother Brook. Some scouts say that Robin has more potential.
Explanations to come later
1.
Los Angeles Clippers - Michael Beasley PF Kansas State The most sure thing in this draft. The Clippers GM has already announced that Beasley is their man, and he sure looks like he's up to the task to be a star in Los Angeles. Excellent pick.
2.
Denver Nuggets f/Atl - OJ Mayo SG USC Denver in my opinion stole this pick from Atlanta, trading Mike Miller and Leandro Barbosa to get it. They already have Mike Bibby, so OJ Mayo fills out the backcourt nicely.
3.
Phoenix Suns f/NJ- Derrick Rose PG Memphis Boy, New Jersey sure hit the jackpot in the lottery. Well, not the jackpot, but it's pretty damn close. A top 3 pick, in a top 3 heavy draft. Now, with this pick, they end up recieving Steve Nash AND Vince Carter in this deal (im not even going to call it a deal, i'm going to call it a steal) to Phoenix. Wow. Why would Phoenix break apart a two-time division winner? I don't know. In my mind, If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I can't see Phoenix going anywhere else with this pick with Beasley and Mayo gone, so Derrick Rose it is. But, you never know. If Rose becomes what he can be, what a tandem Rose and LeBron would be. But, I still think Nash-Carter-LeBron is pretty tough to beat.
4.
Houston Rockets f/Den via Orl - Russel Westbrook PG UCLA 5.
Chicago Bulls - Jerryd Bayless SG Arizona 6.
New York Knicks - Kevin Love PF UCLA 7.
New York Knicks - Eric Gordon SG Indiana This is the back end of back to back picks for New York, and the third of 6 straight picks owned by New York and Chicago. With Westbrook, Green, Thornton and Bynum, New York now has 4 solid pieces of a young, dynamic starting lineup, and they need one more position to complete them, Shooting Guard. Eric Gordon is a perfect fit for them here, as Westbrook and Green are not exactly labeled as scorers, unlike Gordon.
8.
Chicago Bulls - Brook Lopez PF Stanford Well, this was going to be number 4 in a series of picks from rebuilding teams, but, it was leaked that a deal has been struck with Chicago to send the #8 pick to a division contender, and the team that reached the Eastern Conference Finals, Detroit. The Pistons really need to find a replacement for Rasheed Wallace down the road because he seems to be on his last legs. Brook Lopez is the pick.
9.
Chicago Bulls - Anthony Randolph PF LSU At this point in the mock draft, the Bulls have two pieces to work with, TJ Ford and Jerryd Bayless. A solid 1-2 punch down the road. But, Chicago still needs to find that golden franchise player they can build around, (and in my opinion, they will get another shot at it next year, as they likely will have another top pick). So, why not Danilo Gallinari here? Why not Brandon Rush or Joe Alexander? Because those three players, while good players, are simply just not pieces you can build around. At 19 years old, Anthony Randolph has tremendous upside. His potential has a ridiculous high ceiling. What the heck, go with the highest risk/reward pick you can if your Chicago. Because as of right now, it's not looking too well down in Chi-Town.
10.
New York Knicks - DJ Augustin PG Texas I personally really like what New York is doing. Right now at this stage in the mock, New York has a starting lineup of Westbrook, Gordon, Green, Thornton and Bynum. The only thing he really needs at this point are backup bigmen, and a good backup point guard. At #10, there are too many good players to pass up to draft the backup bigmen, as he has yet another pick at #14 to grab one of them. You might be asking: Joe Alexander, Danilo Gallinari? My response: Raja Bell, Bobby Simmons. He already has capable guards/small forwards off the bench, so why not continue to build a great, underrated young team by drafting a great underrated young point guard. The biggest knock against Augustin is his size (lol, get it? biggest knock?), but for a backup point guard, size isnt too important. Augustin is has ridiculous speed, and will help electrify the bench down in New York.
11.
Detroit Pistons f/Miami Heat - Joe Alexander SF West Virginia Miami really did not get the best deal here with this pick. All they needed to have a balanced starting lineup was a point guard, and the best point guard on the board now is....Mario Chalmers or George Hill, who are completely out of the question this high at pick #11. So, Miami goes with it's next biggest need, depth. Miami's bench is dismal. So, why not take the best available player, "Combine Superman" Joe Alexander, proving that some white guys can jump.
12.
Utah Jazz - Brandon Rush SG Kansas Utah is coming off a good season, and they do have a great foursome in thier starting lineup, with Olympian Deron Williams, Richard Jefferson, Amare Stoudemire and Zydrunas Illgauskas. The only thing missing is a Shooting Guard, and they need to shore that sore spot up if they want to be a legitimate title contender. Sure, Daniel Gibson is a great player, but, he is better suited as a sharpshooter coming off the bench. What they need is a true impact player at SG that can also defend against the bigger Shooting Guards in the league, and at 6'6, Brandon Rush gives them that. Coming off a national championship with Kansas, Brandon Rush is a winner, and a great player with high potential as well.
13.
San Antonio Spurs - Danilo Gallinari SF Italy Sorry, Danilo, no Mike D'Antoni here to assure you an undeserved top 10 pick here. Danilo really drops in this mock draft, along with fellow small forward Joe Alexander, but i think legitimately it can happen. The teams that were higher up in this draft just did not have a need in the Small Forward area. (Except Chicago, but see my reason for the #9 pick.) The Spurs have just one big task this offseason: Sign Andre Iguodala. Once they do that, they can move Andre to Shooting Guard to make room for the best available player on the board. They could've used a true point guard to move Monta Ellis to Shooting Guard, but there's just not a capable starting point guard on the board.
14.
New York Knicks - JaVale McGee C Nevada What better place for a young center with great upside and potential, who has been compared with Andrew Bynum, to go? Oh, yeah. The team that has Andrew Bynum, The New York Knicks. McGee has great size, athleticism, and can even drop back and shoot from three. The only thing New York needs to complete thier rebuilding process in my opinion is a backup bigman, and McGee is a great pickup for them here. In 3 or 4 years expect New York to be in the Conference Finals, at least.
15.
Los Angeles Clippers - Robin Lopez C Stanford Most critics will say the team holding the #1 pick in the draft has a good chance of being the biggest winners in the draft, but with the amount of picks that teams like New York and Chicago have, you need to have a strong draft throughout. The #1 pick was a great one in Michael Beasley, but Los Angeles still has this pick at #15, and i can't think of any other way they can go with this one, but to draft a center. Nenad Krstic is going to stay at a 70 now that he's in Europe, so they need some youth and potential down low. Robin Lopez, the "other" Lopez twin, hardly takes a back seat to his brother Brook. Some scouts say that Robin has more potential.
Los Angeles Clippers - Michael Beasley PF Kansas State 
Atlanta Hawks - Derrick Rose PG Memphis
New Jersey Nets - OJ Mayo SG USC
if the "worst" hapens and I keep my pick, i'll definetely draft Mayo.
