You can't go two feet in this crazy NBA internet without stumbling over a mock draft. They're everywhere. And around May they multiply like Shawn Kemp. And don't get us wrong, we think it's fantastic. Everybody deserves a voice on this big old web (it's world-wide, you know), and the best part of the draft is the conjecture regarding it. So we encourage you to make your own Mock Drafts in the Fan Posts and link to the best ones you find in the FanShots. If we think yours is particularly interesting, we'll push it to the front page and might make it our Mock Draft of the Week!
One thing we do want to clarify is our position on Mock Drafts. Many mock drafts simply rank the players based on overall value, regardless of the drafting team's needs. It's pretty natural, considering the vast amount of insider information necessary to get into the heads of front office officials, and even then, you've got the informal data like player interviews and coaching preferences. Other's attempt to predict picks based on what they feel the teams will do. This is a brave endeavor, but difficult given the above reasons and the fact that a lot of the time, GMs choose to disregard what we like to call, "all rational thought and common sense." Ridiculous Upside will occasionally dip into these Mock Drafts in an effort to provide a total picture of the draft, but it will not be our standard protocol.
So unless otherwise noted, all Ridiculous Upside Mock Drafts are based on what we feel are the best fits for the given team's personnel. To this end, selections are rarely made based on the "best talent available" theorem. We don't assert that these mock drafts should be considered accurate predictors, professional insight, or anything other than a work of opinion. Awesome, awesome opinion.
Furthermore, while we love trades and pretty much any element of roster fluidity, we won't be addressing the possibility of trades within the mock drafts unless they've already been finalized. We won't hypothesize about a team needing to trade their pick and will instead simply assume they use their assigned draft pick.
Thanks for your time, tip your wait staff, and if you're out on your bike tonight, do wear white and listen to the Stones.