Magee's 1st of 2 mocks

[magee]

I'll give brief, short sentences for reasoning of picks.

1. Bulls: Derrick Rose. Big-time player in big-time market. Let the Hinrich and Gordon rumors heat up.
2. Heat: Michael Beasley. Look for the Heat to try and acquire someone like Przybilla for Haslem.
3. Timberwolves: OJ Mayo. Wouldn't be surprised if they trade down for Gallinari. McCants can be dealt.
4. Sonics: Russell Westbrook. A lot of people would say this is too high for Westbrook, but he's shown more on D than Bayless, although he's not the complete scorer. With Durant getting most of the touches, Seattle needs a leader by example. I see it more from Westbrook than from Bayless. We'll see.
5. Grizzlies: Kevin Love. First piece to build around Rudy Gay. Can outlet the ball to Conley/Cittenton. They'll go best available shooting guard at #28 unless they like Monta Ellis enough.
6. Knicks: Jerryd Bayless. Great combo guard, perfect for D'Antoni's system, especially at 6. Can score right away. Should compliment David Lee and Wilson Chandler very well.
7. Clippers: Eric Gordon. Don't like the pick, but it depends on if they feel Shaun Livingston is healthy enough to make this pick. I say they think he is.
8. Bucks: Joe Alexander. Not enough playing time at WVU to warrant being selected this high, but that's what great athleticism, quick step and work ethic can do for a player. Should really excel in the D-League, then for Skiles. (Another option: if guards are taken, Bucks trade down for depth, re-sign Ersan Ilyasova to long-term deal. he killed it in Spain this season for AXA Barcelona.)
9. Bobcats: Roy Hibbert. 21, ready now, can pass, Okafor does well when not guarding the bigger of the 4/5 opponents. First surprise of the draft.
10. Nets: Brook Lopez. Robin may be a workoholic, but low-post scoring is very valued in this league. Unfortunately, if Brook is taken, they are drafting the wrong Lopez.
11. Pacers: DJ Augustin. Can step right in and be Tinsley's back-up, until Tinsley is dealt.
12. Kings: Danilo Gallinari. Thought: they use him at the 4, spacing the floor with shooters at every position with this future line-up: Beno Udrih, Kevin Martin, Francisco Garcia, Gallinari and Spencer Hawes. Gallinari can play secondary point behind Udrih in sets or even behind Garcia in certain sets.
13. Trail Blazers: JJ Hickson. Can score. Would get ample playing time in the D-League. Once he is ready, can make for a solid 3-man rotation with Greg Oden and LaMarcus Aldridge.
14. Golden State Warriors: Donte Greene. Big man. Can shoot. Decent rebounder. Not always tuned in. Tim Thomas, Jr., anyone?
15. Suns: Robin Lopez. Pending they don't trade Boris Diaw, Lopez can spell Shaq, play next to both Amare Stoudemire and Diaw while not taking away any of their offensive touches. Best fit of the draft so far.
16. Sixers: Darrell Arthur. Low release on jump shot negated by elbow being far enough from his shot to turn post defenders away. Foul trouble will cost him potential to turn into 18/9 PF.
17. Raptors: Mario Chalmers. Climbing up draft boards for need of PG. If they trade TJ Ford, they would want ready-now type of PG, not another project. Their project is turning Andrea Bargnani into a rebounder.
*18. Wizards: Anthony Randolph. Blatche is their future C, Randolph would be their future PF.
19. Cavaliers: Nicolas Batum. Anyone else think James would benefit from playing power forward since the Cavs have had a horrible time replacing the one good power forward James had (Boozer)? I'm probably the only person who thinks this and this picks resembles that thinking. That, and Wally Szczerbiak is done.
20. Nuggets: Courtney Lee. Someone needs to replace JR Smith when he bolts to San Antonio for their full MLE. Otherwise, I see the Spurs signing Roger Mason and trading this pick to the Grizzlies.
21. Nets: Brandon Rush. Best player available.
22. Magic: Marreese Speights. Stays in state, turns into nice low-post threat next to Dwight Howard.
23. Jazz: Serge Ibaka. Nice project, potential Paul Millsap replacement if he jettisons for a bigger contract Jazz don't want to offer.
24. Sonics: DeAndre Jordan. Wasn't impressed by him, but I know he won't slip this far. Should battle Mohammad Sene for back-up minutes.
25. Rockets: Kosta Koufos. Nice back-up to Yao. They're set at PF, although I'm puzzled as to why everyone thinks they need another one when they have 17 on their roster.
26. Spurs: Chris Douglas-Roberts. Steal of the draft. Perfect fit for San Antonio. They can still sign Mason, but they can also go after a big man w/ their MLE.
27. Hornets: Ryan Anderson. Very underrated. Solid rebounder. Better right now than DeVon Hardin will ever be.
28. Grizzlies: Alexis Ajinca. He'll definitely go higher than this, but due to a few surprises, he falls this far.
29. Pistons: Jason Thompson. Will replace Jason Maxiell's roster spot when he is dealt.
30. Celtics: Omer Asik. Project for big man coach Clifford Ray in a couple years, pending he's still on the team. He's the reason for Perkins' development into a great supporting center.

Bad, but some of these scenarions could play out. Someone could reach for George Hill in the first round, too.

Second Round:

31. Timberwolves: Bill Walker. No guarantee his knees will be 100% ever again, but he's worth taking with a non-guaranteed pick.
*32. Sonics: Javale McGee. Not too impressed, but he definitely has potential.
33. Trail Blazers: Davon Jefferson. Lotto talent worth seeing if he pans out.
34. Timberwolves: Nikola Pekovic. Stash him overseas. Better than Loukas Mavrokefalidis.
35. Clippers: Gary Forbes. Could get some good looks playing next to Nick Fazekas when they are both in the D-League.
*36. Trail Blazers: Nathan Jawai. Another project, but worth drafting. Better than Joel Freeland.
37. Bucks: Joey Dorsey. Could play next to either Yi or Bogut.
38. Bobcats: Jamont Gordon. Slick handle, can find Bobcats shooters. Nice bargain. Brown will like, yes.
39. Bulls: DJ White. Good low-post scorer, nice compliment to Noah.
40. Nets: Richard Hendrix. Worth the pick. Not much else to say.
41. Pacers: Pat Calathes. Nice fit in Obie Trice's system.
42. Kings: Malik Hairston. Aggressive, only 21.
43. Kings: Sasha Kaun. Garbage man, could be nice compliment to all the offensive players Sacto has.
44. Jazz: George Hill. Good back-up to Deron Williams.
45. Spurs: Mike Taylor. They love the D-League. They'll like this kid's potential.
46. Sonics: Sonny Weems. Could be the SG they're looking for.
47. Spurs: DeVon Hardin. Worth taking. Probably won't pan out, but you never know. That's what the D-League is for.
48. Wizards: Ante Tomic. Probably will be taken higher. Needed to find a place for him somewhere.
49. Suns: Luc Richard Mbah a Mounte. Nice back-up to Grant Hill, eventual replacement.
50. Sonics: Semih Erden. Another boom or bust pick. Eh.
51. Mavericks: Alex Maric. if Aaron Gray can make a team and contribute, Maric can, too.
52. Heat: Othello Hunter. Young, has a lot of potential. Could develop into Beasley's back-up.
53. Jazz: Shan Foster. Say bye-bye to CJ Miles.
54. Rockets: Mantas Kalnietis. Nice combo guard, athletic. Could turn into nice fit next to Aaron brooks in the back court.
55. Blazers: Nikita Shabalkin. From Russia. He reminds me of Zach Randolph, minus the baggage.
56. Sonics: Carlos Suarez. Sturdy SF, former teammate of Sergio Rodriguez.
57. Spurs: Charles Rhodes. Low-post scorer. May be too small for NBA, but he can score in the post.
58. Lakers: Maarty Leunen. Solid fit in Triangle. Played the point in high school, at 6'9". Great shooter, but won't show up in big games, as in take them over.
59. Pistons: JR Giddens. It's all mental. Physical gifts are there. Needs to piece it together. More potential than Alex Acker.
60. Celtics: Chris Lofton. Should make Eddie House expendable.

*This is pretty bad. Maybe I should've actually put some thought into this. Oh well.

[jman3134]

Just a quick correction to make: DeAndre Jordan is picked twice and there is no Anthony Randolph.

Also, JaVale McGee?

[dustinzb]

There is NO way in hell we take Hibbert at 9, thats ridiculous

[magee]

I wasn't paying too much attention while writing it up. I'll throw Randolph in at 18.

Forgot about McGee. My bad.

And dustinzb, they probably won't, but he's the type of player that can fit in there. My next one, with more time spent, will be the day of the draft.

[PhilipNelsonFan]

HA! THAT'S WHERE MY HICKSON-TO-13 IDEA WENT!

Davon Jefferson, though? Ugh. 23 years old, sketchy academic history, hands aren't great, and hasn't mastered body control. Give me Richard Hendrix and his low but projectable upside. Or Pekovic.

Outside of that, I like it. I'm not a huge fan of every reach and every slippage in the first round but outside of Anthony Randolph no one seems too far out of place. I trash Russell Westbrook like it's going out of style, but the reasoning behind the pick makes sense. Not totally sold on Ryan Anderson's pro potential, but 20 and 10 in the best basketball conference in the nation speaks volumes.

For the second round, I'm surprised you have Malik Hairston going as high as he does; he's the best pro prospect of the Oregon kids but I like Taylor much better. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute will be drafted in the 30s; he's a very underrated talent in this draft. Aleks Maric is not as good as David Padgett, who does have a lengthy injury history but I believe can really help a team as a role-playing backup center. Also, for whatever reason the Spurs have three second-round picks; unless one has been recently conveyed to them I don't understand why.

[magee]

Because I wasn't paying attention and probably put them too many times. I was messing around and maybe next WEdnesday I'll pay more attention to what I put on there.

[magee]

Damn. I guess this was read by someone who writes from a San-An paper. Either that, or we both remember they tried to trade for JR Smith a while ago.