The NBA lottery has come and gone but the draft is still to come. With that in mind, here is my first lottery mock draft of the year. I will only list the lottery picks and as was the case last year, this mock does not factor in any possible trades. So keep that in mind. Here goes:
1. LA Clippers – Blake Griffin: A slam dunk pick even for the hapless Clippers. Griffin has star talent and potential. He could be another Amare Stoudamire. Even the Clips can’t fuck this up.
2. Memphis – Ricky Rubio: Things get tricky here. Rubio has said he won’t play for the Grizzlies and they already have a talented young PG in Mike Conley. Unfortunately, the drop-off in talent after Rubio is rather severe so another pick isn’t a smart move. If it was me, I’d trade the pick to Minnesota for the T’Wolves’ three first-round picks but since this is a no-trade mock, the pick is Rubio.
3. Oklahoma City – Hakeem Thabeet: I’m not a huge fan of Thabeet’s but the Thunder BADLY need help in the frontcourt and he’s the best center prospect in this draft. So I expect them to ignore talent and reach for a need. At the very least, he should be an adequte defensive player. If I was the GM, I wouldn’t take Thabeet but prior to selecting Kevin Durant and Jeff Green, the Thunder/Sonics spent a few years gobbling up centers in the lottery. Look for the trend to return with Thabeet.
4. Sacramento – James Harden: The Kings badly need a point guard and Jrue Holiday could vault up to this spot. But I think Harden is the third-best player on the board and if the Kings go strictly on talent and potential, he should be the guy. But I would not be surprised if when the dust settles Holiday is the pick here.
5. Washington – Brandon Jennings: The Wizards reportedly want to trade this pick so I think another team will end up here. The Wizards could use a point guard to allow Gilbert Arenas to play shooting guard. I’m not a big fan of Jennings but a lot of people like him a lot and if the Wizards keep the pick he could be the guy.
6. Minnesota – Jrue Holiday: The Timberwolves BADLY need a good point guard and I think Holiday has the most upside of any point guard in this draft other than Rubio. The T’Wolves are a mess but Holiday would be a great pick for them.
7. Golden State – Demar DeRozan: DeRozan has terrific potential as a wing scorer at the next level. The Warriors have needs everywhere but a good scorer is always a valuable asset. DeRozan could be a 20+ per game guy in the NBA.
8. New York – Stephen Curry. The Knicks reportedly love Curry and while I wouldn’t take him in the lottery he appears to be the guy they will select. Other than the fact he’s very thin and has no clear position at the next level I love this pick.
9. Toronto – Tyreke Evans: The Raptors need a strong perimeter scorer. Evans isn’t a great shooter but he has the skills to play both backcourt position and in time he could become a very good player. He has Top 5 potential in this draft so this would be a nice find by the Raptors at 9.
10. Milwaukee – Jordan Hill: The Bucks are stuck. They really like Holiday but he could be gone and they badly need a power forward but other than Griffin this draft doesn’t have a very good one. This is another team that should be looking to deal. But if they can’t, taking Hill is probably the best they can do. He could be a very average NBA player but at worst he should be a solid rebounder. They reportedly are interested in DeJuan Blair so he could be the pick here.
11. New Jersey – Ty Lawson: The Nets need a backp point guard and Lawson is a proven winner with solid skills. He isn’t a dynamic talent but a Harris-Lawson combo at point guard should be very good in New Jersey.
12. Charlotte – DeJuan Blair: Blair could be Tractor Traylor Redux – a fat guy who gets motivated for the draft and then bloats up once he gets his contract. On the plus side, he’s a dynamic rebounder and he is a physical player and the Bobcats badly need both.
13. Indiana -Earl Clark: The Pacers would love to get Blair but they’ll settle for Clark. He could be another Charlie Villanueva – a tweener forward who doesn’t play hard consistently. The plus side is he has a lot of skills offensively and that will be a plus in the Pacers’ wide-open offense.
14. Phoenix – Gerald Henderson: Henderson is a solid shooting guard but doesn’t appear to be a special one. The Suns, though, need to start adding some young talent and Henderson comes from a winning program and has been well coached. Both will appeal to Steve Kerr.