Quick Lottery Mock Draft

by section214 on May 20, 2008 5:43 PM PDT in NBA Draft Comment 35 comments

Chicago - Michael Beasely
Miami - Derrick Rose
Minnesota - Brook Lopez
Seattle - Jerryd Bayless
Memphis - OJ Mayo
New York - Eric Gordon
LA CLippers - Kevin Love
Milwaukee - Danilo Gallinari
Charlotte - Anthony Randolph
New Jersey - DeAndre Jordan
Indiana - D.J. Augustin
Sacramento - Russell Westbrook
Portland - Nicolas Batum
Golden State - Darrell Arthur

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This is pretty eerily close to my FanHouse effort. Like really eerie.

We agree a) Westbrook falls, and b) the Kings take him over the leftovers. Cheers!

by Ziller on May 20, 2008 5:51 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I disagree with a lot of that section

I think chicago will take rose because if nothing else he’s from chi-town. Memphis just used a lottery pick on a point in conley so why would they take mayo? Also I don’t think the knicks need any more shoot first point/two guards on their roster and I think d’antoni will avoid Gordon. For us, if Arthur is still on the board, we have to go with him.

when will the Kenny Thomas Reign of Terror end?!!??

by diehardkingsfan5 on May 20, 2008 5:51 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Nothing but opinions

so you could be right. A couple of points, however -

Chicago doesn’t need to take the local guy to sell tickets. They may very well take Rose, but they have a lot of money tied up in Hinrich, and they’ve needed a low post guy for about 200 years. A front line of Noah and Beasley could be quite formidable.

Mayo is projected as an NBA 2, not a 1. Now, between Conley and Crittenton the Grizz may determine that their backcourt is set, so they may pass on Mayo anyway.

I think the Knicks will look at Gordon as the surest pick at #6. They really don’t care about who is on their current roster since they figure on blowing most of it up.

I would not mind Arthur instead of Westbrook.

Again, this is all extremely subjective…but fun!

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by section214 on May 20, 2008 6:01 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I really hate Jay Bilas

One of my hopes was that Arthur wouldn’t be considered top 10 material therefore the Kings would have a strong shot at him. With the Kings luck he’ll drop to 9. Grrrrr

One beef about Beasley/Rose. With Pax there is no guessing what will happen, but I do think that the thing to remember is that Rose is from Chicago, and Beasley is essentially the same player, almost, as Tyrus Thomas. Rose adds something tangible to the lineup, but what does Beasley add, other than more lineup issue’s with a team chock full of them? I just think it’s difficult to predict, but one would have to think the local impact of a boy like Rose would factor in heavily here. (It factored in somewhat with Eddy Curry.)

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on May 20, 2008 6:05 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Arthur

Pooling the internet mocks, he goes before #12 about 30% of the time.

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by section214 on May 20, 2008 6:08 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Beasley = Tyrus Thomas?????

I like Thomas, I have proposed Thomas as a trade target but dude can’t hold Beasley’s jock on the offensive end. You are looking at a scoring machine versus a raw talent. Thomas averaged 14 points a game less than Beasley in college and has yet to crack 7 a game in the pros. Beasley adds the legitimate post scorer that Chicago has attempted to get via trade for the last 4 years which will allow them to play a more conventional style of hoop. This is a no brainer for me, Noah, Beasley, Deng, Noccioni and Hinrich with a bench of Gordon, Gooden, Thomas Hughes Duhan/Sefolosha looks very good to me. This also allows the Bulls to sign and trade Gordon or deal Gooden and improve even further. This was a big night for the Bulls.

Hot dogs, get your hot dogs.

by jjham15 on May 20, 2008 9:58 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

And 1

I figure Beasley, Rose, Lopez, Mayo, Bayless and Gordon are locks to be gone by #12.

Five of these guys will also be gone, leaving us to choose from the balance: Love, Gallinari, Randolph, Jordan, Augustin, Westbrook, Batum, Arthur, McGee, Speights, Greene.

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on May 20, 2008 6:05 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

To emphasize the point about not needing to sell tickets: Only Detroit sold more home tickets than Chicago this season. That’s not a valid argument here.

It’s about building a basketball team in a market like Chicago. Paxson will take whichever he feels fills that goal best. Which means he’ll take Beasley.

by Ziller on May 20, 2008 6:06 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think the idea that Rose won't go to Chicago means

that Paxson is too high on Hinrich.

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on May 20, 2008 6:08 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Bulls Fans

At Blog-A-Bull they’re 70% in favor of Rose.

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on May 20, 2008 7:52 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Checking out Ford's mock draft

And Arthur, according to Ford, is slated to the Kings @ 12. He has Westbrook going 7th to the Clipps at this point. He also has Eric Gordon going to the Bucks, and being the reason they move Redd. (I find that laughable but whatever.)

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on May 20, 2008 6:09 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Lawson/Budinger/Rush/Hibbert/Batum

All available at #20 (Denver’s pick) according to Ford. No pressure, Geoff.

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on May 20, 2008 6:14 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

No easy answer here Section as you well know

Whatever Petrie does he’s probably going to have end up taking the best player available, and if that’s Joe Alexander that provides a serious problem to this team moving forward. Unless Alexander can translate to another player further down the draft, or something along those lines. Petrie’s work is nothing but tough going for sure at this point.

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on May 20, 2008 6:18 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yep

We could have had a shot at one of those guys had he pulled the trigger on the Artest trade. Oh well. Perhaps he has something else up his sleeve.

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on May 20, 2008 6:26 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

The one thing I've learned about draft prospects

vs pro players is that you know what you’ve got with the guys already around. With draft prospects it’s all hype until about October and all the flaws come tumbling about. That’s why so many guys don’t stick. I really don’t think it matters greatly that the Kings would take Arthur instead of say, Joe Alexander, but if that choice is Arthur vs Westbrook vs Augustin now you have an argument. I was against Hawes because of my own Smithings, but that was me.

I do know that if the argument is Arthur vs Westbrook (which I doubt but can hope) that the Kings are in a better position than if one or the other is available when they pick @ 12.

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on May 20, 2008 6:30 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe I'm alone in this

But I find the idea of the Blazers having Batum, Fernandez, Roy, Jack, Rodriguez in one backcourt a very scary prospect. The Blazers were the one team in the whole draft that it didn’t matter where they draft because of the way they approach drafting.

This means that I think the Blazers are a surefire playoff team if Roy plays 65 games at a healthy rate next season.

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on May 20, 2008 6:12 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

But to be fair Ford has Alexander going to the Blazers @ 12

And that could easily work too. I think Batum works better because he’s a SF and there is more of a need there (if the Blazers really have any) than any other spot maybe short of a Rose type PG.

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on May 20, 2008 6:13 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I take what I said back about Alexander

because I didn’t realize he was 6’8 and can play the two as well.

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on May 20, 2008 6:16 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Portland

It’s like asking for one card when you already have four aces. They’re going to eventually be ~~scary good~~ great.

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on May 20, 2008 6:18 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

That video on Alexander was scary

Did you see that kid jump off 2 feet? Forget his being white for a moment. He & Budinger both, according to Ford, rank among the top athletes in the whole draft, and that’s an upshot for the entire white race. (Ummm, yeah, not really.) I think the pisser is that with Salmons, Garcia, Artest, and Martin it makes for a poor draft to have a middle choice where so many swingmen making a strong impact are available.)

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on May 20, 2008 6:22 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Athletic swingmen are always available

which is why they always slide down to the late lottery.

Section 214 is one lucky schmoe

by Kfan in Korea on May 20, 2008 6:29 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

The thing about Batum that could make him so attractive to the Blazers

is that like Rudy Fernandez he doesn’t have to come over right away. He could stay in France another year or two before he does.

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on May 20, 2008 6:31 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Let me throw out a conspiracy theory

Let’s just say that the Iron Ranger (McHale) decides in fact he wants Jerryd Bayless shocking everyone in the Western Hemisphere. The Sonics could easily to decide that OJ Mayo is a guy they want since they badly need extra scoring anywhere they could find it. That is something that Mayo does.

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on May 20, 2008 6:32 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

And then

Brook Lopez falls to Memphis. Could happen.

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on May 20, 2008 6:35 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Lopez could fall further than that

He’s easily the biggest potential bust of any of the top 10 guys out there.

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on May 20, 2008 6:46 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Big Guys

The never fall as far as they should. They’re like crack to GM’s – they just can’t say no.

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on May 20, 2008 7:04 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

More Idea's since I'm tossing that out en masse at this point

If you’re Petrie, and you feel Arthur isn’t what he is, and perhaps you like Joey Dorsey, then it might be easier to get that athletic/rebounder/shot blocker in the 2nd round, and it would be easy to roll the dice on that type of player for next season. This is easier if you believe Westbrook is your PG of the future.

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on May 20, 2008 8:21 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

St. Stephen, with a Rose, in and out of the garden he goes...

I think the Rose draft is, along with the D’Antoni hire, a crisis of conscience for the Bulls. They have the type of parts presently where, as the initial euphoria over the D’Antoni near hire indicated, they could fire up a run and gun offense. Deng, Noah, Nocioni, Thomas, Gordon, are all ultimately more conducive to a primarily offensive rather than primarily defensive team. Beasley solves one problem, low post scoring, but Rose solves several. Look at Paul these past two New Orleans seasons and think about how much more effective everyone becomes if Rose can show even a glimmer of that. Thomas finishing off Alley-Oops, Gordon hitting treys off penetration. Even Hinrich, if he rotates over to two guard, benefits, he was always a more a Bibby style pop shooter than natural distributor anyway. What was the biggest criticism against the Bulls offensively last year? They hit way too many jump shots. Why? Because they had the parts for a transition offense but never the motor. Rose is that motor. For me it’s a no brainer. Draft Rose, the only player you realistically have to shuffle is Duhon, and he was unhappy there anyway. Beasley’s great, but the Bulls don’t need the low post scorer we presuppose they need if they find a facilitator first.

by rbiegler on May 20, 2008 9:12 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

The only #1 under 6'5" since 1980

Alan Iverson.

Maybe the performance of CP3 and Deron Williams signals a change to NBA GM’s. But year in, year out, size matters.

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on May 20, 2008 9:30 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I don’t think anyone is questioning the importance of size in the draft, but would we realistically argue that size mattering has been an effective tool in drafting? Or rather THE effective tool in drafting? Discounting Demetris Nichols the Bulls already have a whopping 8 players on their roster between 6’7” and 7’0” and more than couple with a similar skill set to Beasley. I love Beasley, he’s my favorite player in the draft, and if Miami had landed the first pick I’d spend hours arguing why they shouldn’t take Rose. I just think Rose is best for the Bulls and Paxson ain’t Oedipus…hell Oedipus ain’t Oedipus…the fact that smaller players rarely go first and that Beasley was the presumptive first overall pick most of the season shouldn’t fate his decision.

by rbiegler on May 20, 2008 9:52 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

My short list of players the Kings should draft at #12, should they be available:

I’m thinking a realistic list of PGs/PFs, who would, or may be available by #12 rolls around is as follows: Augustin, Randolph,Westbrook, Arthur, and Love. The reason I’m only listing those positions are that the Kings don’t need a SG, they have a SF in Artest/Cisco/Salmons, and they just drafted a C.

My order of need from this list goes:
1 – Randolph – Very athletic, can rebound and block, being compared to Chris Bosh. ...Just EXACTLY what the Kings need.
2 – Augustin – A pure PG who can be a floor general. Solid passing skills.
3 – Westbrook – A very well rounded PG, but doesn’t really excel in a specific category. If he polishes all of his skills right, he can be an all-star caliber player. ...but it’s a risky pick which comes down to his motivation to improve.
4 – Love – I’m giving a slight edge to Love over Arthur. Love can be a solid big guy who can shoot, and rebound, but lack of athleticism is a big turn-off for me. His game’s much like Brad Miller.
5 – Arthur – He’s shown he can score and shows flashes of brilliance, but I’m thinking he’s going to be a bit of an inconsistent player. His stats aren’t really anything to awe over, either, only averaging 12 points and 6 boards per game. He looks to be a project if drafted. He isn’t really NBA ready, but has the potential to be great if he has enough work ethic to polish his game.

by CloudyEyes on May 20, 2008 9:32 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

DeAndre Jordan

needs to fall to us and I will be a happy man. Thats the next Dwight Howard there.

by VenomySnicket on May 20, 2008 11:30 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

For posterity's sake...

An excerpt from David Thorpe’s ESPN Chat today…

Jamie (Utica, NY): David, for once I actually agree with Jay Mariotti and believe its a no brainer that the Bulls take Derrick Rose. He could be the next Chris Paul, he’s a leader and is a huge upgrade over Kirk Hinrich. Not to mention he’s from Chi-town. Who would you take? And can the Bulls deal Hinrich if they take Rose?

David Thorpe: As I told some people earlier, statistically speaking, power forward was the Bulls best position last year. PG was their worst. You do the math

by rbiegler on May 21, 2008 12:55 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I respect David Thorpe

But I’d love to see the stats to which he is referencing. Gooden and Thomas rank 35 and 36 in PER for PF’s. They sucked at guard, too, with Hinrich at 33 and Duhon at 55. In fact, Ben Gordon at 18 for shooting guards was their highest rated guy. PER is a guide, not a rule. But it is apparent that the Bulls need help almost everywhere. If I’m a Bulls fan I’m thrilled with either Beasley or Rose, especially since I was looking at guys like Westbrook, Augustin, and Arthur 24 hours ago.

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on May 21, 2008 1:08 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Their team had a down year last year that is apparent Section

But which players are down the most? That is probably the greatest question.

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on May 21, 2008 4:38 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs