Why the eff not? Everyone else has a mock draft up, probably so that if they actually get it right they can point to it and say "See! I told ya so!". Well, I'm not going to do a full mock draft, because I'm not gonna get everything right. But I will make some predictions:
1. Greg Oden goes to Portland. Yes, ideally they would love to trade this pick to Seattle for something, but that ain't happening. Because Seattle is in a win-win situation: pick Durant, fan base is happy, tickets are selling, trade Rashard Lewis; if Oden falls to you, even better! Re-sign Lewis, go to war with Ridnour/Wilks, Ray Allen, Lewis, Wilcox, and Oden.
2. Durant goes to Seattle. Because, as I mentioned above, Oden has to go to Portland. If a trade was going to take place, it would have happened by now.
3. Atlanta Hawks - take Al Horford with the #3. If they passed on point guards before, you think you can shame them into taking a point now? BS. It's like Matt Millen and the Detroit Lions - the draft strategy does not change.
4. The Grizzlies will take Mike Conley, Jr. at #4. They need a point, and look who is available at #4? The best point in the draft. This will be the biggest waste of 10 minutes of waiting for a pick during the draft. The rookie GM is not going to swing a deal under the gun of the draft.
5. Boston will trade #5, probably to Golden State. Boston has no strong preferance, and doesn't want to waste the pick on a risky choice like Yi Jianlian. We see Jason Richardson's huge contract and the #18 going to the Celtics for Yi and Wally Szczerbiak. Or something along those lines... the Celtics might also get next year's #1 pick, too.
6. Milwaukee will take Jeff Green. They need a SF. Take the best one available.
7. Minnesota will take Corey Brewer. Best SG available, on a team that needs someone, anyone, to help Kevin Garnett out.
8. Charlotte - Joe Kim Noah. Can we just send all NCAA Tourney winners to the Bobcats upon declaring for the draft.
9. Chicago - Spencer Hawes. (Snicker).
10. Sacremento - Brandon Wright, a PF to replace Ron Artest.
11. Atlanta - will try hard to trade down one or two spots, but to no avail. They have to stay ahead of the Clippers (#14), if they want Acie Law IV. They end up taking Law IV here.
12. Philadelphia/New Orleans - don't matter. Two of the three SG/SF: Al Thornton (Philly), Nick Young (NO), or Julian Wright (my pick to slip the furthest - all the signs are there - playing a stacked position, no one is too high on him, no one is really needing a SG/SF that badly... enjoy the Green Room, buddy. Bring Snickers.)
14. LA Clippers - Thaddeus Young! Sh*t, Young is like the new Darius Miles. There has to be one in the league at all times.
15. Detroit - everyone thinks they promised Rodney Stuckey that they would take him. That seems preposterous to me, but what do I know?
16. Wizards - Either Julian Wright (to replace Jamison), but probably Jason Smith. Prediction: Many closeups on Julian Wright right here.
17. Nets - Josh McRoberts. If they were smart they would trade down a few spots, and pick up Nick Fazekas. Oh, wait... they are smart (generally). Sh*t, look for them to make a deal, move down, and get Fazekas.
18. Boston Celtics - they'll get Julian Wright here, making it a steal for them. Hey, actually not a terrible team - Rondo, J-Rich, Pierce, Jefferson... and Wright coming off the bench? Plus maybe even two picks in next year's PG-heavy draft?
23. I got bored. Seriously, who cares who the Heat or 76ers take? Or the Bobcats? Nah, Knicks are up. If Sean Williams is up, the crowd is going to get pumped. Still, I think Stephane Lasme is the pick.
2x. Phoenix is taking Morris Almond.
There, got that out of the way. We'll look back on this someday soon (like Friday morning), and laugh at my predictions.
For more intelligent analysis, check out Cobra Brigade, or Tremendous Upside Potential (the king of Mock Drafts - seriously, I champion TUP, as he is very focused on someday replacing Chad Ford or Mel Kiper), or Empty The Bench. Um, that last link is just because they are up on the latest rumors around the NBA, not necessarily because they are doing a mock draft.
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J-Rich and Pierce in Beantown...ooohh, I like that. I've always liked Richardson. That could be quite a scoring duo.