Top 15 Picks Prediction

As for your draft, there are a lot of picks I like, a few I disagree with, and some reasonings I don’t think are valid.

Irving seems to be the easy pick, even though Cleveland’s wings suck and they have at least serviceable PGs. But when you are this bad, you have to take the best player.

The T’wolves are set for their backcourt,

Not even close. I’d just say the Wolves’ roster is devoid of talent outside of Love and so they should take the best player available.

Knight-Harris could be an interesting backcourt. They seem to be somewhat similar. Both are about the same size and more scorers than distributors. Harris is quicker, bu both are pretty good jump shooters. I don’t think this would be ideal, nor do I think Knight should go this high. But the Jazz are stuck for now with Big Al in the middle, so there aren’t a whole lot of options that make sense.

Valenciunas is a great pick, as is Vesely.

Kemba makes some sense for SAC, but I think Knight would be a better fit. 2 Gs that are much better in the lane than outside doesn’t seem very complimentary to me. I’m also not that high on Kemba.

Hamilton wouldn’t eb a bad pick, but I heard Piston fans are really excited about Bismack Biyombo. They think he would be a great defensive compliment to Monroe inside. DET also still has Austin Daye at SF.

Burks makes some sense for CHA, but their frontcourt is really not very good. Biyombo might be an otpion there, or perhaps Motiejunas? Or might they go with Leonard to replace Gerald Wallace? CHA’s roster is tough to figure out.

Thompson would fill a need for MIL, but that seems to high for me. I watched a highlight clip as someone mocked him to PHX, and I wasn’t all that impressed, at least as a lottery pick. JMO though. Perhaps Motiejunas or a Morris twin? The PF spot is pretty weak too.

Biyombo seems a lot like Ekpe Udoh. Would that be the smartest route to go? They also still have Biedrins on the roster. That would be 3 defensive/rebounding bigs. I think all 3 would be good compliments to Lee, but I don’t think any of those 3 could play together well or with Lou Amundson. But there also doesn’t appear to be any great options here, so why not go with the best player and try to work everything else out later?

Motiejunas could be a nice replacement if they manage to get rid of Okur. He’s still stuck behind Jefferson though.

I like Leonard, and we do need to worry about replacing Grant HIll in the next 2 years, but a PF might be the better option. Someone like a Marcus Morris would be a great fit for the offense. You’d ideally like to get a player with more potential, but who is that guy in this draft? Perhaps Tristan Thompson, but he’s a bit undersized and has plenty of development ahead of him. I don’t know if PHX is ready to wait that long. I really hate picking in this spot.

I think HOU could be a prime candidate for a trade. They have their PG spot set. They have Kevin Martin and Courtney Lee. They have Chase Budinger. They have Scola, Patterson, Hill, Hayes, Miller, and Thabeet at the F/C spots. I think they either go with a legitimate C prospect, or they look for a wing. That PF spot is packed with Scola for the present and Patterson/Hill for the future.

Why do you like Markieff over Marcus?

I don’t think Dumars would pass on Biyombo and that seems a bit high for Hamilton in my opinion. I think if they were to go the route of a SF, they’d go Leonard, who should be top ten based on everything I’ve read/witnessed.

I don’t think Markeiff will go before Marcus and I think you have the wrong Thompson at 10 (should be Tristian). Thing is, this order is going to fluctuate so much within the next month, that it’s hard to get a grip on where guys will go this early still. But good mock for the most part.

I’m following the draft process for years now, and there are so many surpising picks and interesting twists every year, so i find it interesting to see what ideas you guys have. Here’s what i think of each of your picks:

1) and 2) are no-brainers. No one can predict if the Wolves are gonna trade their pick, and as it stands now, Williams will be the most valuable pick even if they trade him.

At 3) it gets interesting: last week, i had Kanter there for the Jazz, but since he refused to interview for them (although his agent said he will interview for them later), that confuses me. I think the Jazz pick depends on what they plan to do with their roster - do they overhaul it and part ways with Harris, Milsap and Jefferson? If that’s the case, I expect them to go with Knight, who has by far the biggest upside of all remaining PGs (remember, he was the top ranked recruit in HS for a very long time). If they keep their guys, a SF makes more sense (if they play Hayward at the 2). In that case, i could see them trade down and go for a player like Vesley (AK-47 2.0? plus, he is…ahem..white…anyone else seeing a pattern here…?) or Leonard. On the other hand, Al Jefferson is not a true center (at least, thats what i think). It could be intruiging to pick a true C like Kanter or Valanciunas here, which would make Milsap expendable, since Favors needs minutes…i’m confused now, let me move on…

4) Assuming Kanter is still available, it’s a logical choice. They have a sure thing with Irving, Kanter is more of a high-risk/high-reward choice. So i agree with your pick here.

5) Another pick I’m not so sure with. But i tend to agree with your pick, since they seem to be quite high on Bayless as their future PG. I don’t see Walker as a huge improvement over him, and the Raps definately need a true C.

I’m almost 80 % sure that these will be the first five players taken, in whatever order. Walker and Vesley have a slight chance to crack the top five, but i wouldn’t bet on them. Biyombo is the dark horse here, i have no clue if he is the real deal - we’ll see.

6) Now it’s gets to the point where everythings possible. Vesley is a logical pick, the Wizards might set a new record for alley-oops with him and the other young guns (btw, is there a site that keep track of alley-oops? if so, lemme know!).

7) It’s kinde boring right now cause i tend to agree on almost every pick you’ve made so far. If Walker is available:
no-brainer.

8) Finally, i don’t agree! Assuming the Pistons are in rebuilding-mode, they might pick the best talent (not player) available, so i see them taking a chance on…Biyombo! I know, they already have Monroe as PF/C type player. But from what i’ve heard (and it’s not so much), Biyombo will be a Sege Ibaka-like player, in the best case. And every team needs that kind of defensive stopper.

9) I disagree again, but not because it’n not a logical pick. Other logical picks include: Marcus Morris, Motiejunas, Leonard, Hamilton, Thompson. But, remember: it’s the bobcats picking…so i see them picking a guy WAY too high here, like Faried, Vucevic, but ultimately i think they will pick…Jimmer!

10) From what i’ve read the Bucks will pick the best player available, so i’m going with Burks here. Fills a positional need too. Thompson is a possibility too, but i have Burks ranked higher.

11) On my board Biyombo is already picked. And i don’t think he is the type of player they need, considering they picked Udoh last year, who is a similar kind of player. Hard pick, but i’m going with the athletic wing here, Leonard.

12) Depends on what they do with the 3rd overall. If the go big with the 3rd, i think they’ll even take a look at Darius Morris (who i think i underrated right now). If they go small, then Motiejunas is a no-brainer, if he’s still available.

13) I agree, if he’s still there. Other possible choices: the Morris-twins, Hamilton, Thompson. Btw, since when is Gentry a defensive mindes coach?

14) see 13) (besides the Gentry comment, which obviously makes no sense here…)

15) Agreed. They will pick the best PF available here.

Btw, i think there will be plenty of draft day deals, even in the lottery. I consider the Wolves 2nd, the Jazz 3rd and the Wizards’ 6th picks the most likely picks to be dealt.

Another things btw, can someone please explain to me why Cory Joseph’s stock is THAT low right now??? DX has him ranked at # 60 overall…

i have done a little bit of research and came up with the following mock draft (not worth an own Fan-Post, since i’m too lazy to put reasons in there.):

All picks projected as teams’ situations right now (meaning, each team keeps their picks):

1) Irving
2) Williams
3) Knight
4) Valanciunas
5) Kanter
6) Vesley (btw, am i the only one who constantly wants to spell it “Wesley”)
7) Walker
8) Biyombo! (this name deserve an exclamation point!)
9) Jimmer! (same here! btw, am i the only one who thinks the Cats will screw this up?)
10) Burks
11) Leonard
12) Motiejunas
13) Marcus Morris
14) Hamilton
15) Klay Thompson

I’m going to project the whole first round. to make it easier, i’m including team names now:

16) 76ers: Faried (just to see a player the Knicks target getting picked right before them)
17) Knicks: Markieff Morris
18) Wizards: Tristan Thompson
19) Bobcats: Greg Smith (just picked a random guy who DX has projected at the end of round 2)
20) Wolves: Singler
21) Blazers: Vucevic
22) Nuggets: Singleton
23) Rockets: Brooks
24) Thunder: Honeycutt
25) Celtics: Darius Morris
26) Mavs: Selby
27) Nets: Nogueira
28) Bulls: Nolan Smith
29) Spurs: Tyler (btw, the best situation he could possibly find himself in)
30) Bulls: Bertans

they love stockpiling players who play the same position. Love, Beasley and Williams make 3 6"8 PFs, tho at least Williams likes to play on the inside (he does the perimeter stuff too tho).

I’d think they have to trade one of them at least, unless they want to play Beasley or Williams at SF

Minny might be best served trying to get Enes Kanter, tho just drafting him at #2 might not be the best option. Maybe they trade the rights to Williams for Kanter and another pick.