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A mock Draft where the Jazz don't take Hansbrough

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1. Blake Griffin- I don't trust the Clippers to not mess this up, but let's give them the benefit of the doubt.  They draft the only sure thing for them and take consensus #1 Blake Griffin.

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2.  Hasheem Thabeet- Anyone who thinks the Grizzlies will draft Ricky Rubio, haven't heard that he won't play in Memphis or Oklahoma City.  And it is his decision in part, because he can withdraw from the draft.  Besides, the Grizzlies want Thabeet more than Rubio to shore up there interior defense.

 

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3.  Ricky Rubio- The Thunder front office are debating about whether Rubio should be the pick here and considering his aforementioned unwillingness to play in OKC, the Thunder will either draft James Harden or else address their need for a center by trading this pick with Washington's 5th pick and either Javale McGee or Andray Blatche.  That is a sexier scenario, so it makes my mock draft and Washington drafts Rubio.

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4. Jrue Holiday- The Kings are the victims of this lottery, because they are going to miss out on getting the point guard they desperately want with Rubio and will also miss out on getting Griffin or Thabeet.  So they will have to address their point guard situation by drafting Holiday, who has a little more upside than Brandon Jennings or the other point guards.

 

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5. James Harden- Having already grabbed their center on draft day, the Thunder will take the draft's supposed best shooting guard to pair with all of their other young studs who play not the shooting guard position.

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6.  DeMar DeRozan- The Wolves will love the versatility of DeRozan who can play either the 2 or the 3 in their offense, which is a need with an unproven Corey Brewer.  And if DeRozan pans out, the Wolves will have an easier time moving obviously disgruntled small forward Mike Miller.  He doesn't hate the team, he just hates going from southern weather to Minnesota weather.  I would too.

 

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7.  Brandon Jennings- In case the Warriors aren't able to bring back Baron Davis, they will need to find a back court mate with newly extended Monta Ellis.  Jennings hasn't looked great in Italy and will need some time to adjust to American culture, but he has slightly ridiculous upside.

 

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8.  Jordan Hill- I think New York is too well managed to stick to a supposed promise that they made to Stephen Curry.  I think there is a good chance that the Knicks lose David Lee and Hill will be a cheap replacement to Lee's energy.  If the Knicks retain Lee and let Nate Robinson go, then I think Curry is the more likely pick.

 

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9.  Tyreke Evans- Evans will add some much needed athleticism to the Raptor backcourt and will be just one of the offseason moves that the Raptors make in hopes of appeasing franchise guy Chris Bosh.

 

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10. Jonny Flynn- Right now the Bucks are flirting with the luxury tax and are going to try to shed contracts in order to re-sign Charlie Villanueva and Ramon Sessions.  But as a back up plan, the Bucks draft Jonny Flynn in hopes of replacing Sessions.  They need a point guard and they know that he is used to cold weather and smaller towns.

 

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11.  James Johnson- The Nets will be tempted to draft Curry in hopes of luring Lebron James to New Jersey in two years, but even if they aren't as dissatisfied with Yi Jianlian as reported, they need a big guy who can play along Brook Lopez.  Johnson is the best bigman available at this point and adds some versatility to the Nets' lineups.

 

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12. Stephen Curry- The Bobcats have been notorious for drafting hometown talents in hopes of selling tickets and they will have two such options available to them in Gerald Henderson and Curry.  But Curry will win out, because the 250 fans in Charlotte will love him and loved Dell Curry when he was there.

 

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13. Ty Lawson- The Pacers have a plethora of talented wing players and drafted a center last year.  So with the possible departure of Jarrett Jack the Pacers will find his replacement by drafting National champion Ty Lawson.

 

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14. Earl Clark- The Suns will draft Clark hoping that he is the second coming of Shawn Marion.  Clark has an "odd game" as he himself described and the Suns thrive on getting athletic tweeners and letting them outathleticize everyone.  Or at least that used to be the game plan.  If Clark pans out and Stoudemire comes back healthy, then the Suns can consider moving Shaq to a contender for some pieces, or else just letting him expire.

15. Detroit Pistons- Gerald Henderson- The Pistons draft a Dukie in Henderson in order to pair him up with another new Dukie in Carlos Boozer.

16. Chicago Bulls- Austin Daye- If the Bulls are serious about shopping Tyrus Thomas this offseason for an upgrade at power forward, then they will want to add a wing or an athletic big man who can run with Rose.  Daye would be one of the most talented players available and could share some time with Luol Deng.

17. Philadelphia 76ers- Eric Maynor- The Sixers are probably going to lose Andre Miller to free agency and they will need to draft a replacement.  Maynor is going to establish himself as the best all around point guard not from Spain and will be a great pickup for the Sixers.

18. Minnesota Timberwolves- BJ Mullens- With three picks in the first round, the Wolves will have options, but I think they will take the risk with Mullens and hope that a serviceable point guard falls to them 10 picks later.

19. Atlanta Hawks-Darren Collison-  The Hawks take Collison, in hopes of reconciling the past when they passed up on taking Chris Paul or Deron Williams.  The Hawks then trade Marvin Williams and Acie Law, hoping that no one notices that they have officially given up on what they passed up the two point guards for.  Everbody notices.

20.  Utah Jazz- Dejaun Blair- The Jazz will go best player available at this spot and according to this draft, Blair would be that player.  If Blair is gone at this point, the Jazz would draft the best available point guard, probably, Patrick Mills or Nick Calathes.

21. New Orleans Hornets- Terrence Williams- The Hornets need size, but they will take the best player available in Williams and hope he can replace Peja Stojakovic down the road.

22. Dallas Mavericks- DeJuan Summers- Its hard to see really glaring needs that the Mavs can fill at this pick, so they will draft Summers and look to shop Josh Howard in private.

23. Sacramento Kings- Sam Young- The Kings have plenty of shooters on the wing, but they don't have a strong wing player who can get to the rim.  They take Young to fill that need.

24. Portland Trailblazers- Chase Budinger- There won't be a point guard or a center who will upgrade this team, so they will take a flier on Budinger, who is talented and has a pretty jumper, but has questioned toughness.

25.  OKC Thunder- Gani Lawal- The Thunder will continue to stockpile young talent by drafting 19 year old Lawal.

26. Chicago Bulls- Toney Douglas- Drafting Douglas will give the Bulls a backup plan in case they can't re-sign Ben Gordon, the Bulls' top offseason priority.  Douglas will also allow the Bulls to include Kirk Hinrich in any trade to upgrade the power forward position.

27. Memphis Grizzlies- Wayne Ellington- The Grizzlies will draft Ellington to give both OJ Mayo and Rudy Gay some backup minutes.  Ellington has a winning pedigree and a sweet jumper and can play behind or along OJ Mayo.

28. Minnesota Timberwolves- Nick Calathes- The Wolves will take the best point guard available because they still aren't sure about Telfair or Foye.

29. LA Lakers- Damion James- The Lakers are probably going to lose either Lamar Odom or Trevor Ariza to free agency and while James isn't the player that either one of those guys is, he is strong, versatile and a tough defender.

30 Cleveland Cavaliers- Marcus Thornton- The Cavs love surrounding James with athletic scorers and three point shooters and Thornton has the offensive ability to step in possibly replace Wally Szczerbiak next season.

So there you have it.  This is proof that you can make a mock draft without sticking Tyler hansbrough with the Utah Jazz.

If you don't like this draft or certain spots, then please comment.  You can even insult me.

 

 

 

This is a FanPost, not the work of the author of Ridiculous Upside. The People speak! Questions or comments about this post should be addressed in the comments. To issue a complaint about this FanPost, please email ridiculousupside (at) gmail (dot) com.

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