Mock Draft 2.0

I apologize up front for the length of this, but I had some thoughts I wanted to share on each of the picks.

Why They will: Irving is a player that fits as need and he can run behind Davis for awhile to get his feet wet.

What I’d do: I’m coming around to the idea of picking Derrick Williams here and taking the best PG @ #4

Why They will: With Rubio in the mix now I think a pretty intriguing line-up of Rubio-Johnson -Williams-Beasley-Love could get the Twin Cities fired up.

What I’d do: Trade down or out, adding more youth will not help this team now

Why They will: Their point guard of the future that can learn behind Harris for awhile.

What I’d do: Probably exactly this. Only Cleveland has a better shot to improve through this draft, if I’m a Jazz fan I’m happy.

Why They will: This team has holes everywhere, so you take the player with the greatest upside potential and hope for the best

What I’d do: After taking Williams #1, you gotta believe that Knight would be available here.  Whatever happens draft night, I think the Cavs story is starting to get interesting again.

Why They will: If the Raps have a strength it is in their backcourt, so you’d think they would lean towards making a pick to bolster their front line.

What I’d do: See if I could get a team to take Calderon and the #5 for a proven commodity

Why They will: Yi has proven to be a bust, so maybe shifting Lewis to the 4 and adding Leonard @ the 3 improves this team’s prospects

What I’d do: Gut the hell out of this team and start over, with someone like Alec Burks paired with Wall in the backcourt.

Why They will: Allows ‘Reke to play off the ball, adds some pop to a team in need of it, though some say that Evans and Walker won’t mix well.

What I’d do: Go best available, which is probably Walker at this point.

Why They will: I’m thinking the new owner wants to start off with something he can sell to the fans, so while there might be players with more potential out there (Valanciunas) , I think he asks Dumars to go for the sure thing.

What I’d do: I’m leaning towards Biyombo here; his defensive potential seems like something the Pistons need.

Why They will: Mr. Jordan needs to get something right, so I think he goes low risk with this pick

What I would do: With another pick ten spots down, I think this is the time to take a shot at the jackpot and go high-risk/ high-reward, so Biyombo in other words.

Why They will: Teamed with Bogut, Jennings, and CDR the Bucks would have a nice young core.

What I’d do: This team has too many duplicate parts that don’t mesh well and cost too much, so this pick in addition to a promising player and one with a bloated contract might need to be put on the table.

Why They will: If the Ellis rumors are true then this guy should be his replacement.

What I’d do: I’d see if I could get Cleveland to take Ellis and the #11 for the #4 and make a big splash.  Of course this is just wishful blogger pipe-dreaming and wouldn’t happen in a million years.

Why They will: They have some problems along their front line.  Jefferson can’t or won’t defend, Milsap is under-sized, Favors is still a work in progress, Okur has been injured, and AK-47 might be gone. So the potential is just too much to pass up here.

What I’d do: After taking Knight, I’d probably go with Jimmer.  Utah will probably be lottery bound for the next two years anyway, so why not make a pick for the fans.

Why They will: PHX has always had good shooters, and if there’s one thing Jimmer does well it’s shoot.  Beyond that, I think he might actually be a good fit off of the bench for this team.

What I’d do: Trade Steve Nash, let Hill walk, and start the re-build now.

Why They will: Houston is a team with a lot of good players, but not really at the center position which is where I’d play this guy at in the NBA.

What I’d do: Take the best available big, which just might be this guy.

Why They will: If the draft shakes out like this I don’t think Larry will be as excited as he was when Granger fell in his lap, but the Pacers could use the depth a player like Harris would give them.

What I’d do: Add some shooting with a player like Hamilton.

Why They will: If Iggy is gone, then you need to replace him.  A scoring threat that can hit some shots would fix a lot of problems.

What I’d do: See if I could get Cleveland to take Iggy and the #16 for the #4 and pick Kanter

Why They will: Chauncey needs a competent back-up & eventual replacement

What I’d do: Draft and stash Jonas Valanciunas.

Why They will: Nick Young is good, but John Wall is the future and he needs some scoring help.

What I’d do: Either draft Brooks or look for a back-up to Wall (sorry Mustafa)

Why They will: Trading Wallace took a big bite out of this team’s toughness quotient and adding a defender of this quality should help repair that.

What I’d do: I don’t think I’m sold on their PG’s, so I’d look to either shore up that spot or the 5.

Why They will: The potential is there and with Rubio and whomever they grab @ #2 they are set for awhile so the buyout isn’t an issue.

What I’d do: Well, I’ve already traded down from #2 so I’d take the best available player and see what I could get done elsewhere.

Why They will: Oden will probably never be what he was supposed to be, so giving Aldridge some help would be a good idea.

What I’d do: If I’m Portland, I have two goals this off season, shore up the middle and the point.  I don’t think there is a PG available here that wouldn’t be a reach, so I’d probably make the same pick.

Why They will: Adding some defense and rebounding to this team would make them that much scarier.

What I’d do: I might look to address the Felton/ Lawson issue by trading one and drafting a back-up…yeah, that’s what I’d do

Why They will: Even though they went big went their prior pick, their front line picture hazy enough, that they need to go big again.

What I’d do: Maybe go with a shooting big man like Harper to add some variety

Why They will: Buyout issues will push this guy down the draft order and if he’s here Presti takes him faster than you can say Nikola Mirotic.  Stashing this guy away for awhile is why he’s so attractive to OKC

What I’d do: This

Why They will: Might help replace some of the toughness lost when Perk left town, plus they don’t have a lot of players locked up at this position.

What I’d do: Plan for a future without Pierce and Allen and take Davis Bertans.

Why They will: Can play either wing, and I think that’s Dallas’s main need now.

What I’d do: This sounds about right

Why They will: NJ blew their load to get Williams so if they get anything out of this pick it will be gravy. Parsons  seems like a nice piece of the puzzle for a rebuilding team like this one.

What I’d do: Take the best available forward

Why They will: Derrick Rose is great, but he can’t run this team all game every game. If Jackson is gone at this point look for them to go grab the best SF or CT or available.

What I’d do: Try my damnedest to package the 28 and 30 along with some of my lesser players to grab a quality two guard or small forward.

Why They will: Might be a bit of a reach, but the Spurs could use some length and athleticism along their front line.

What I’d do: Take the most NBA ready player available.  The Spurs don’t have time to worry about potential if they want to milk as much success out of the core group as possible.

Why They will: Smith is a bit more of a combo guard than a true SG, but pairing him with Rose makes for some interesting match-up issues.

What I’d do: Try my damnedest to package the 28 and 30 along with some of my lesser players to grab a quality two guard or small forward.