Mock Draft 3.1 I decided to change it up a bit…NO TRADES BUT GOOD COMMENTARY.

i agree 100% that the raps take Tyreke he’s exactly what they need, which is big scoring guard who has star potential

Raps will look towards taking Evans because he reminds alot of people of a young t-mac…

nobody except the 1st would pass rubio

The raps will definitely pick a SG..
They need a slasher, who can score and break down defense, and now with Coach Triano’s fast paced offense (similar to the 7-Seconds-or-less) Either Evans, or DeRozan will be perfect fits…

The only thing is that there is more potential in DeMar DeRozan, and Brian Colangelo has said he isn’t going to limit his options by choosing a position or type of player, He is going to see what player has the most talent and potential when it gets to the 9th pick….

The only hesitation that I can see between drafting these 2 players, is that DeRozan has been in the top 5 for so long, and if he drops down due to other teams needs not being at the Slasher… He will end up as a Raptor…

Thanks for postin…i agree with both

I agree noone should pass on Rubio but heres why i put him at 4

2- Memphis moved Crittenton and Lowery so Conley can lead…Why take another PG? Unless that go after Stoudemire, you dont take a PG.

3- OKC could take him but you move Westbrook to the 2, Green to the 3 and Durant to the 4? Nah. I say take a big man and keep everyone at there postions now

Killer- I agree with you completely. Since they will run the 7 sec O, you need a slasher. I like DeRozan more because he reminds me of Vince and T-mac. But i think Evans will give you more now. Unless you trade Bosh and look towards 2010 and beyond…you need some instant sucess.

Its great to finally find somebody with constructive ideas and criticism…

My thoughts on the whole Bosh issue, are split between 2 options:

1 – Based on this year’s draft pick, and the new coaching of Triano… The team will try and build a completely new style of play, and try and create an environment in which Bosh would want to remain…

2 – OR they will try and trade Bosh either through the year, or more probably a Draft Day Deal. In which they will pair Bosh and Kapono, for a 1st round pick, and then two 10-15 ppg role players… maybe a SF and bench Center…

But yea either Evans or DeRozan will be the perfect fit for the team, filling that fast athletic off guard position in the starting line up…

For OKC Green has never played the 2…you have it backwards KD didnt work out at the 2 and Green at the 3…now they are at the 3 and 4 respectively. Now they have holes at the 2 and the 5. I cannot see them taking Rubio. I bet they are hoping that Thabeet will drop to them because that will fill a huge need for them at this point and time. If they do not have Thabeet drop to them I can see them drafting Harden through either a trade or just a minor reach at 3 (remember Westbrook looked like a reach at 4 last year, turned out fairly well eh?). All in all I would say Thabeet>Harden>Rubio>Derozan as the 4 possible players that they could look at drafting this year.

Thank you

and also…i only see 1 thing…Trade Bosh. ( Another thing : Why not move the Toronto Franchise to Seattle)

Bosh is gonna leave in 2010. I think they could get 2 or 3 good players and a 1st round pick for him.

My best senerio for Toronto

Bosh and Kopono to GS for Randolph, Turiaf, Morrow and a 1st rounder

to that trade gives you
Upside
Shooting
Defense and another 1st rounder

You know what your talking about. Bosh is going to leave you have to trade him. They need to except it and get it done. I agree with your mock draft all picks make sense for each team.

Thank you. Tell other people to check it out!

rubio goes to memphis. gasol cant play pf. enough said. thabeet’s just defense, he fits okc better.

Thanks for posting…Cannot agree

Rubio may drop we seen many player drop…what makes him different?

Gasol can play PF. Thabeet best fit is Memphis. He can make Memphis a West team with a East philosophy. Memphis is young, they should be a team that force jumpers and play inside out and win on athleticism

As another poster said you have his positions wrong. He’s never played PF. He’s a SF who did play out of position at SG before. Also Jennings can shoot? What you basing that on. I have not watched his games in Italy but I read that shooting is a major problem for him…

The knicks wont do that trade

my bad…my mistake…i got them mixed but still…why move them?

I saw a couple of his games…i thought he could by this draft class standards and the level he should be in the NBA

He is all on opinion. But what did u think of the mock ?

Granted, Jrue seems to be a great player who will probably end up taken earlier than projected on the boards. But assuming Flynn gets taken before the Suns’ turn, their priority remains in securing a talented playmaker to replace Nash in the near future.

Therefore, I think the Suns would pick up Ty Lawson of UNC, someone who can really fly down the court and make good decisions with the ball under both pressure and finding that split second seam to an open shooter through traffic.

Playing point for a traditional powerhouse like UNC and carrying them to several deep title runs are all you need on your resume.

NYK is the team looking towards 2010. They may move up and try to get Rubio…he fits

I agree with most of your picks, especially 1 thru 4, but one question – if Indy takes Jonny Flynn (or a PG for that matter) what do you with Ford, Jack and Diener (player option this year)? I know there were times where it was Ford-Jack in the back court.

Also, with the TOR-GSW trade proposition – can Bosh get enough touches? Ellis, Captain Jack, Maggette all need the ball. Trade Turiaf and you’ve lost out on your most consistent bench big man.

Wicked work on the mock though.

cheesepillow – Good call on Lawson to the Suns – while the rumors have it that Phoenix is enamored with Flynn, Lawson’s a better choice than Jrue.

I think Harden will go to OKC and I dont think that Marc Gasol can play power foward. But thats a pretty good mock draft….

Yash- I like Lawson…but the hype Holiday is getting ( Doug Gottlieb put him 3 in his mock on espn.com), he wont fall out the lottery.

Bosh will get the touches….he will be there big man who can run and Maggette and Jack will give up the ball more or get traded…

Billyk- Maybe. I like Harden. He can go to OKC. but then your staying Green to the bench IMO. Well then move Gasol to bench and start Arthur or Warrick.

If OKC picks Harden they could have a potential starting five of Westbrook, Harden, Durant, Green, Kristic. I think that Marc Gasol is a better center than Thabeet so Gasol would start….

I say go with the PF. Green is more of a SF. I also think if they really wanted to. Take Harden and try to move up to get Blair or Mullens at around 18-22?

That makes sense I like Blair but I feel Mullens will be a bust. I like your thinking QHaynes….

If OKC is to trade to draft Mullins or Blair; I think the most likely trade partner would be Chicago at the 16th. I feel that both Utah(20th) and Atlanta(19th) will be eyeing for a big man as well.

Also, 76ers and T-wolves probably want/need to keep their picks at 17th and 18th to fill in holes in their roster regarding depth in the back court.

I liked it……..Nice work QHaynes

Billyk- thank you. But Mullens is a guy i wanted to put in my lottery to be honest with you. He will go higher than many people think. I wouldnt be surprised if he went 12 or 13.

Cheese-I agree.

i just think that if rubio fell to three, okc would take him as trade bait, because he has so much more value than hill..also i dont know about the wizards taking clark, they already have butler and jamison at the forwards, unless of course they do deal one of them which very well could happen

I agree….they could use him as trade bait…but name the last team that did that? Unless they have a deal with NYC, its very unlikely.

About Washington, I gave them Clark because they could use a nice point forward. Jamison needs to come off the bench

took aldridge instead of thomas, because they knew the blazers picking right after them wanted aldridge, and we wanted thomas, so we tried to get some value out of it..that turned out to be a disaster though..

and as for jamison, you see that contract extension he just got? that is a hell of a lot of money to pay some one who is coming off the bench

Yea but usually most teams take players to trade for players….wasnt that a swap trade?

Jamison need to come off the bench…play him a good 28-32 mintues a night….

rubio to the kings for jordan hill and the kings later first round pick..makes sense for both teams

I dont think so…I think If Sac cant get Rubio…they will look at either

Holiday or Jennings.

The 2nd 1st round pick is really valuable.

it could be a bigger trade involving more players between the two teams until it reaches equal value..i agree with you that it does matter how much sacto likes the other pg prospects in whether they would choose to pursue rubio or not..as far as memphis possible frontline if they took thabeet, that would be the SLOWEST frontline of all time..to me, jordan hill next to gasol would be a better fit than thabeet..though they always could sign a milsap or boozer and move gasol to the third big man, then it would make more sense

It would be a little slow…But you have Arthur, Thabeet and Gasol.

If i was the Memphis GM heres what I do.

A- Draft Thabeet

B- Trade

Gay, Gasol and 28 pick to Suns for Stoudemire and Tucker.

Now this would be you line up

Conley, Mayo, Arthur, Stoudemire, Thabeet

what do u think?

i would throw in darko’s expiring to match the money, and then with that cap space they would still have sign artest or hedo

conely-mayo-hedo-amare-thabeet

I like the way u think….

(NYK-MEM) Lee, Hughes and Chandler for 1st round pick, Darko and Buckner
[It seems to me that the Grizz would be better taking a chance on Hill or Thabeet than they would with Lee. And Lee seems like a better fit for D’Antoni than Hill (obviously, they couldn’t use Thabeet). I suppose the Knicks might take Rubio there, or maybe Jennings, but I just don’t see it. Also, I’m not sure the Knicks would want to trade Hughes for a draft pick, when they could potentially trade him as an expiring contract for a better player.]

(GS-TOR) Bosh, Graham for S.Jackson, Turiaf and 1st round pick
[As a Ws fan, this sounds great, but it’ll take more than that to get Bosh. Probably Randolph and Ellis.]

(MIL-WAS) Bogut for Blatche and 1st rounder
[Doesn’t make sense for either team. McGee looks like he might be as good as Bogut, so why trade a #1 for him? It’s not like the Wiz are on the verge of a championship, or something. Bogut, on the other hand, if healthy, is a key offensive cog for the Bucks, and Blatche can’t replace that. Is that worth it for, who, Brandon Jennings or James Harden? Maybe, but probably not.]

(DET- MIN) Prince, Johnson and a 2nd rounder for 1st round pick, Foye and S.Williams
[Makes sense in the “Detroit trying to break up the team” sense. Might be too much for Minnesota to give up for a guy who won’t be around by the time they might get good (Prince) and a guy who probably isn’t nearly as good as everybody hoped (Johnson).]

I didnt say they were perfect trades….tell me what u think about my mock tho…

But ill try to defend my trades.

(NYK-MEM) Lee, Hughes and Chandler for 1st round pick, Darko and Buckner- I kinda like this trade. Gives Mem Lee, a athletic forward who can do a little somthing and a expiring contract and you can maybe take a piece from this deal and try to get Stoudemire.

(GS-TOR) Bosh, Graham for S.Jackson, Turiaf and 1st round pick- Trust me…it wont take alot. I think if they would bite if you switched Jackson and Turiaf with Bellini and Randolph.

(MIL-WAS) Bogut for Blatche and 1st rounder- I thought it was not a bad trade. If I was Washingotn, i’d try to blow this team up. Blatche is good but for Bogut? I’d do it. For MIL, You get a young SF/PF and then you can trade down with that pick. I agree, not a lot of sense but put some more pieces on this trade ( E.Thomas, M.James from WAS, Bell, Bogans and maybe even Alexander) and it could get done

(DET- MIN) Prince, Johnson and a 2nd rounder for 1st round pick, Foye and S.Williams- Agree completly.

is that 1st rounder the 2nd or the 27th? if that’s the 27th, the knicks would lose 3 starters for 3 bench players. darko’s still young and he might actually be good in mike d’s system but no, i don’t think it’s a good deal on the knicks side. if it’s the 2nd pick though, i think that could work. knicks get rubio at the 2 and maybe earl clark/derozan with the 8th (i dont think they’d still need cabezas or curry if they get rubio).

GSW-TOR
That’s not a bad trade, but how bout this instead? C-Magg + Crawford for Bosh + Humphries. Raps need good wing players who can create their own shots. C-Magg though a blackhole on offense can really put up numbers and get to the freethrow line. Did you watch crawford last season? he was like going to get 30 every game. salaries match, nellie wants crawford to opt out or else… and c-magg’s not a great fit in nellie’s system and i’ve read somewhere that they’d want to actually trade c-magg back to LA for BD (why not for bosh instead?). since no draft picks are involved in this trade, golden state can still get jennings (based on this site’s mock).

TOR / GSW
C Bargs / Biedrins
PF Eark Clark / Bosh
SF C-Magg / Capt. Jack
SG Crawford / Ellis
PG Calderon / Jennings

as a raptors fan, i would be incredibly happy if that trade went down

(DET- MIN) Prince, Johnson and a 2nd rounder for 1st round pick, Foye and S.Williams

You better not be talking about the #6 pick. Because if you are…lol…NO.

No way the Grizzlies take Thabeet to move Gasol to the PF. Gasol can only play the 5. He can’t guard the quicker PFs in the league. Saying Clark will be drafted by the Wizards won’t happen either. They already have Caron and besides Griffin, SG is their biggest need since Haywood is coming back (ug). There is no way Jamison is coming off the bench when they pay him $15 million/year and he is actually productive.

There is no way you can trade David Lee on draft night because he is RFA

Mas- No i mean the 18th pick

Kovi- Gasol can come of the bench. I heard on other websites they want Thabeet alot. Clark would be a good fit for Washington. The wizards are also shopping Jamison.

Ezmoney- Ya you can he is a restricted FA. That means you can make Sign and trade deals with him and teams can only sign him to offer sheets.

THANK U ALL FOR READING MY MOCK. To me, it doesnt matter if we agree or disagree, I just like people reading and posting…Thank you

EVERYONE READ MY MOCK OVER I MADE SOME CHANGES!!!!!1

i know holidays stock is up but 6? the pacers have tj ford why get johnny flynn. raps take tyreke in hopes of having a good year and keeping bosh. and why have teague when they have barbosa. i updated my post 1.0

Good Questions.

Well, Westbrook went 4 last year because he could play good O, Excellent D. Holiday will go high. I think he is in the 4 to 10 range now. He will be look at by some teams as a project but He could work out well as a 6-4 PG or a slasher at SG.

Flynn is great. He could replace Ford. Ford is a good PG. Flynn has the potential to be great. Ford maybe IND’s 2nd PG. Jack is more a scoring PG, he will be use as a SG like last season.

I hear bout Toronto. I had Evans going there too. But, I think the Writing is on the wall, Trade Bosh. By taking Hill, you get a replacement and by Trading Bosh, you can get a young slasher.

Barbosa is a PG who can play SG and is more suited for SG. By taking Teague and letting Nash teach him, you can have Teague be your PG.

I don’t like Jordan Hill’s game, but I don’t think he slips out of the top 5, nor would he go to Toronto if he did. I understand the logic behind replacing Bosh, but I don’t think you do it with this draft. The crop of PFs next year is going to be so much better. I mean, you’re gonna have guys like Greg Monroe, Patrick Patterson, DeMarcus Cousins, and Craig Brackins. I’d wait until next year to get Bosh’s replacement.

I know Holliday’s stock is soaring, but I don’t think he’s gonna go as high as 6. I think if they wanna go with a combo guard, they’d be better off going with a guy like you’re alternate for the pick, Tyreke Evans instead

I REALLY like the Earl Clark pick. He’s who I have going to GS, and I think he would complement Anthony Randolph very well.

I think Indiana needs to go big at 13. I know people on this forum don’t like TJ Ford, but if can he stay healthy, he’s a very good PG. I think Indiana should take Dejuan Blair at 13 to add some depth to their frontcourt.

I dont like his game either. I think he will stay in the top 5. I think someone will shine in a couple workouts and Hill falls. He could be another good PF we see in the L. He could be a 15,9 guy in his prime. If Toronto decides they want to Trade Bosh, you need a immediate big man to replace him. You can still take a big man next season.

I agree but Holiday’s upside have him going top 5 and I think Minnesota takes a high Upside guy with there 1st pick. Holiday, Mullens and Summers ( The other 2 guys they draft in round 1) can provide Minnesota with 3 young guys who have great upside and in the case of holiday, a solid Defender who can play SG or PG. ( Theirs even talk he may go to Sacramento at 4)

I think so too. Ellis, Jackson, Clark, Randolph and Biedrens would be a great upside look. Plus they have Wright, Turiaf, Bellinelli. (Dont be surprised if Tor wants Randolph for Bosh though)

Indiana should go big but to do that they need to trade down. Mullens, Lawal and Daye are too high a reach for 13. Or they can Try to move up for a Hill.

that’s the only site that actually says that griz wants thabeet. it’s conflicting with this site: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/may/22/griz-plan-visit-talk-with-rubio/

i don’t know bout you but i’m going with the local writers from memphis.

Im gonna look for the link….I will post when i find it

But i think Thabeet would be a better fit with Mem instead of Rubio

Also, what did u think of my mock?

If you take Hill you give up a chance for the playoffs. IF you take Evans you have a chance for playoffs in east because the guy could get 15ppg with that team. If you take Hill you put him on the bench to learn from Bosh for 1 year. then who does he have to teach him Bargnani? Hill is not the answer for any team but definately not the Raps.

I dont think thats true.

Bosh- C
Hill-PF
Bargani-SF
Graham-SG
Calderon-PG

And i also put Hill there think the Raptors would be smart to Trade Bosh.

I will updated my mock on Monday

people are ranking him high because he can play D along with his Upside.

He was a top defender at UCLA, he also showed he is a great combo guard. The numbers wont show it but he is not bad.’

I put him at 6 because with Rubio and Jennings off the board, Holiday makes sense as a good PG who can defend.

That makes sense. I like your mock. Almost good enough to be an acurate guess

Thanks…i think i gotta make some changes in the top 5 tho…

Ricky rubio seems like he doesnt want to play for OKC or Memphis tho, so that would be the only thing worth changing

I know…but will teams bypass him or use him as a chip to Trade?

This reminds me when The bucks wanted Noah and he said no so he fell.

They should use him as a chip to trade to phoenix in a stoudemire deal. That way phoenix gets their point gaurd

I would like that idea if they had a side deal in which you are trading NASH as well to get more players.

tell me what u think

Memphis- Rubio, Mihm, Arthur and Jaric
Phenoix- Stoudemire, Tucker

Mihm and Jaric would help because Stoudemire has a big contract.

and then

Pheonix- Nash, Dudley
Portland- Webster, Outlaw and Pryzbilla

I absolutely LOVE that idea. I think that trading Nash and Dudley(who i actually want to stay with the suns because of his attitude and work ethic) is a good idea, as long as the suns get outlaw and pryzbilla.

That roster would be crazy

PG-Rubio
SG-Richardson ( who would be next to go)
SF-Outlaw
PF-Arthur
C- Shaq

bench
Webster
Barbosa
Mihm
Przbilla
Jaric
Gorbic (the PG)

That would be playoff bound team. Why would you send Richardson away and for who?

Because he showed you last year…he’s not a great SG. He is a typical great SG on a non-winning team ( Think Jamal Crawford)

I think i would let him get his value up and ship him away….

and another thing….Trade him for a expiring contract…if u can get a expiring contract ( T-mac) and Shaq’s 22 mil off the books, your automatically in the 2010 race

But J-rich was a solid scorer for them last season 17ppg. Plus, T-mac is injured every other month. I do agree that they should lose shaqs 22 mil salary. Who would they trade for him?????? I was thinking maybe they could trade him for a future 1st rounder and a young player. Tell me what you think

If i was the Suns and i made all these trades…I would try to find a way to trade J-rich for

Marvin Williams or Andre Iguadala

When it comes down to Patty Mills, do you think that he is of good enough quallity to become a top 20 pick

1st- Im updating my mock Tomarrow instead of Monday

2nd- Yes. Mills is a pure PG. He could go 18 to Minn or 19 to ATL.

Are you going to move Ricky Rubio into the #4 spot?????

Where do you have Budinger? Dont you think he’s a lottery pick?

1st- Im gonna change it up because im gonna move some people up ( Budinger, Lawal) and move some people down ( Rubio, Hoilday)

2nd- Yea. Budinger is a mystery guy in this draft.He can go as high as 10 and he could go as low as 25 because many teams think he is not tough,

He will probably be the Nets pick at 11

He could go there.

You have a good basketball mind. Whats your favorite team.

if earl clark falls to them at 11, if not i think it’s james johnson (if they’re looking to get an sf) probably not bundinger. he’ll go somewhere in the mid to late 1st round.

Im actually a Knicks fan.

Rivals-I agree but Budinger can provide right away

You are pretty lucky with this draft. You get Steph Curry. Nations leading scorer. That should be exciting.

or you get Derozan, that is also pretty exciting.

we had no 2010 pick in round 1

That doesn’t matter. Your team is destined for great things. The Knicks opened up salary cap space for Lebron and possibly D-Wade. So, That would be an amazing team if you have Steph Curry, D-Wade (at sg), and Lebron (at sf). You guys would be unstopable. I also hope that they resign Nate Robinson. That would be a huge plus!

Why is Tyler Hansbrough ranked so low in the mocks. He is an outstanding player. It just doesn’t make sense to me

I think we not getting Lebron.

If im NYK, i want anthony randolph from gs.

Do you like D’antoni. Why you guys not gettin LB

I like Dantoni

LBJ is not going to NY. He looks to happy in CLeveland.

Ok then, why isnt hansbrough going higher in the draft?

Many NBA teams don’t wanna invest in a guy who is not athletic and all he will be in the NBA is a hustle player

Basically, he is a waste pick.

In my opinion, Tyler Hansborough is a great player. He is UNC’s all time leadiing scorer, he gets to the foul line frequently, and he gets rebounds. Even though he’s not athletic, he has great credentials.

all the college awards mean nothing in the end. Yea he is a great college star all time but it wont translate to the NBA.

He got to the foul line alot because he hustled and alot the players he faced were undersized, out of position and non-nba prospects.

true,

Thanbk you…good questions and tomorrow

Check out MOCK DRAFT 3.5!!!!!

Alright man I will, take care

Chris Herrington of MemphisFlyer.com wrote this: “The order of the day, as I play catch-up, is fallout from Chad Ford’s report that Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley is pushing to take Hasheem Thabeet #2 over the dissent of his basketball staff.

Before I split town this morning, I heard Commercial Appeal Grizzlies beat writer Ron Tillery — who is certainly closer to Heisley than any other NBA media person — shoot this down on his radio show, saying that Heisley wasn’t particularly enamored with Thabeet and also saying that Heisley told him directly that the Grizzlies are going to make a hard push to get up to #1 and take Blake Griffin.

Team insiders I’ve talked to have also denied the report, implying that Heisley isn’t familiar enough with Thabeet to be sold on him. But no one will say the Grizzlies wouldn’t [draft] Thabeet or some other player at #2 rather than Ricky Rubio. I get the sense from talking to multiple team sources over the past couple of days that complications surrounding Rubio — from his agent to his buyout to the threat of him pulling out of the draft — are a concern.”

The Grizzlies wont pass on Rubio because they already have Conley. That doesnt even make sense. The Grizzlies have the second pick. Rubio is the second best player. They should take the second best player. Period. The end. Everything else will work itself out. Plus you say they already have Thabeet. Well they also already have Marc Gasol. If Kevin Durant was in this draft and the Grizzlies already had Rudy Gay your saying they should pass on Durant and pick Horford?Also the “Rubio doesnt want to play in Memphis” stuff has been shot down as a false internet report.