We've seen hundreds of mock drafts, and with the actual draft still 18 days away, hundreds await. I've always wanted to assemble one of my own, but never felt like I had enough college b-ball knowledge to drop the blazing hot draft that you guys deserve -- so I brought in reinforcements.
Ladies and Gentlemen, most of you know them by their screen names tsteidel and TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsMichaelBourn. Now you shall refer to them as "Silent Destruction", the official Liberty Ballers college experts. They came. They saw. They conquered. Hours of research later, the greatest mock in the history of mocks has been assembled.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns regarding this mock draft, leave them in the thread. Remember, I had nothing to do with this -- it was all them -- and I greatly appreciate it. Thanks guys!
Without further adieu...
FIRST ROUND
1. Los Angeles Clippers -- Blake Griffin
Comments: Obvious.
2. Memphis Grizzlies -- Hasheem Thabeet
Comments: Speculation that the owner really wants Thabeet and the cost of Rubio's buyout is so large that Thabeet would be their choice.
3. Oklahoma City Thunder -- Jordan Hill
Comments: Russell Westbrook was dirty last year, so they will want to stick with him and give some frontcourt help.
4. Sacramento Kings -- Ricky Rubio
Comments: Desperate need of a real good PG -- sorry Beno you are not it.
5. Washington Wizards -- James Harden
Comments: With the likelihood that Caron will leave after this year because of cap reasons, another wing player wouldn't hurt.
6. Minnesota Timberwovles -- Demarr Derozan
Comments: Excellent field goal percentage can greatly benefit from the extra room in the NBA mid-range game.
7. Golden State Warriors -- Brandon Jennings
Comments: Allows Monta to move to more of an off-the-ball guy who can catch and drive, and provides some stability in that crazy offense.
8. New York Knicks -- Stephen Curry
Comments: D'Antoni really loves this kid and he's a nice fit into the 7 seconds or less motif.
9. Toronto Raptors -- Earl Clark
Comments: Excellent wing player who can shoot, drive, play defense, and rebound -- very athletic.
10. Milwaukee Bucks -- Jrue Holiday
Comments: They should go with Flynn but for some reason they like Holiday more.
11. New Jersey Nets -- James Johnson
Comments: Powerful wing player who can also step in and play the four.
12. Charlotte Bobcats -- Wayne Ellington
Comments: Jordan loves to draft UNC prodigies. Wayne can catch and shoot off screens and provide a true shooting guard presence to go along with the core of Wallace, Okafor, and Felton/Augustin.
13. Indiana Pacers -- Eric Maynor
Comments: Good size and ability to run an offense. He fits well with the Indiana up-tempo offense.
14. Phoenix Suns - Johnny Flynn
Comments: Eventual successor to Steve Nash -- possesses ability to drive and kick.
Picks 15-60 after the jump, including your Philadelphia 76ers!!!
15. Detroit Pistons -- Tyreke Evans
Comments: Rip's getting old, so they may want to go with a young guard to take over. Evans has a tremendous ability to score, although he's pretty streaky.
16. Chicago Bulls -- Gerald Henderson
Comments: Henderson has a nice mid-range game and with the probable departure of Ben Gordon, the Bulls need a new wing player. Henderson may develop a three, but as of right now he's a mid-range player who can get to the hoop.
17. Philadelphia 76ers -- TYWON LAWSON!!!!
Comments: We all know we the Sixers need a point guard and with Lawson's comparisons to Jameer Nelson, he seems to fit very nicely.
(jsams: YES!!!! OH YES!!!)
18. Minnesota Timberwolves -- Jeff Teague
Comments: Teague provides a true point guard to a team with Randy Foye, "the combo man" and Telfair, "the bust".
19. Atlanta Hawks -- Terrence Williams
Comments: Nice athletic wingman to come off the very, very shallow bench in Atlanta.
20. Utah Jazz -- DeJuan Blair
Comments: Boozer is probably leaving so Blair comes in to be the bruiser to get rebounds at power forward.
21. New Orleans Hornets -- BJ Mullens
Comments: New Orleans attempted to deal Tyson Chandler at the deadline, which leads us to believe he will soon be gone. BJ is the replacement.
22. Dallas Mavericks -- Patty Mills
Comments: Jason Kidd may or may not return. Assuming he does return, he isn't getting any younger. Dallas needs to start thinking about the future at point guard.
23. Sacramento Kings -- Chase Buddinger
Comments: Chase provides a scorer to play alongside K-Martin and possibly a target for Ricky Rubio.
24. Portland TrailBlazers -- Tyler Hansbrough
Comments: Tyler adds rebounding and toughness (and a really tight jersey) to a finesse Portland team.
25. Oklahoma City Thunder -- Darren Collison
Comments: Collison provides the Thunder with a true point guard to compliment Westbrook's hybrid-ness(is that a word).
26. Chicago Bulls -- Taj Gibson
Comments: With the future of Ty Thomas and Brad Miller being in question, Chicago may want some help on the inside.
27. Memphis Grizzles -- Gani Lawal
Comments: Lawal's athleticism fits in well with the current Grizzles team.
28. Minnesota Timberwolves -- Dajuan Summers
Comments: Summers is a wing/inside player who can provide help in the Love/Jefferson frontcourt.
29. Los Angeles Lakers -- Omri Casspi
Comments: Casspi adds to the foreign player club they have in LA. He's also a wing guy who may take over for Lamar Odom.
30. Cleveland Cavilers -- Sam Young
Comments: Young has a nice mid-range game, and he's a wing player who can provide some scoring to a team who desperately needs some.
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SECOND ROUND
Note: Here's the un-cut version for the second round.
31. Sacramento Kings - Josh Heytvelt - after getting a PG and SF, they could use someone to backup Hawes
32. Portland TrailBlazers - Emir Preldzic - no more immediate needs so take a slasher who can score and keeping him in Europe for a while can't hurt
33. Washington Wizards - Jeff Pendergraph - bruising 4/5 that can play when Washington goes small with Caron and 'Tawn at the forward positoins - since their bigs get hurt a lot, having some help in the frontcourt is a must
34. Denver Nuggets - Austin Daye - can be the finesse to the powerful front line they have and can also score in bunches off the bench
35. Memphis Grizzles - Curtis Jerrells - passed on Rubio before so they need a back-up for Conley
36. Detroit Pistons - Robert "My SAT scores were very bad" Dozier - possibility of losing 'Sheed means a replacement is needed
37. San Antonio - Dante Cunningham - hybrid forward who plays excellent defense and fits well into the San Antonio system
38. Portland TrailBlazers - Marcus Thorton - no immediate needs but a 2 guard off the bench who can score can't hurt - possibly stash in D-League to improve
39. Detroit Pistons - Derrick Brown - nice crafty lefty with a number of different talents to go along with Prince
40. Charlotte Bobcats - Jeff Adrien - a bruiser in the frountcourt - can learn from fellow UCONN alum Okafor
41. Milwaukee Bucks - Dionte Christmas - possible replacement for Micheal Redd - can flat out shoot
42. Los Angeles Lakers - Leo Lyons - versatile forward who can play 3/4 in case Ariza and Odom are gone
43. Miami Heat - AJ Price - serviceable backup who is not named Smush Parker or Chris Quinn
44. Detroit Pistons - Rodrigue Beaubois - stashed in Europe until Will Bynum hits free agency
45. Minnesota Timberwolves - Chris Johnson - long, lanky shot blocker from LSU than can add a new piece to a developing frontcourt with Jefferson, Love, Summers (who we have them picking), and Shelden Williams
46. Cleveland Cavilers - Jerel McNeal - Mike Bourn's Boy! - slasher who can provide some lightning off the bench
47. Minnesota Timberwolves - Jonas Jerebko - can shoot from deep and is really developing on the defensive end - stay in Italy for a year and then come over to contribute
48. Phoenix Suns - Wesley Matthews - a nice two guard who can drive to the basket and score - also ability to kick out to shooters is very nice
49. Atlanta Hawks - Jodie Meeks - definition of instant offense off the bench - along with Williams, adds scoring to that otherwise weak bench
50. Utah Jazz - Danny Green - more athletic Kyle Korver who can hang out at the arc and bang home triples
51. San Antonio Spurs - Jermaine Taylor - outside shooter with slashing ability - Finley and Bowen are old
52. Indiana Pacers - Alade Aminu - can work pick and roll with a true pg (Maynor, TJ Ford) - would go undrafter in most drafts but it is a frontcourt weak draft
53. San Antonio Spurs - Vladimir Dasic - has size and athleticism and SA loves foreign guys - can toughen up by learning from Parker and Duncan
54. Charlotte Bobcats - Joe Ingles - wing player to eventually replace Boris Diaw and Gerald Wallace. Aside from those two, they're very slim at the 3. Ingles comes in with potential and athleticism
55. Portland TrailBlazers - Toney Douglas - he's the best player available. He adds toughness on D and more scoring to a team that looks loaded for next season
56. Portland TrailBlazers - Milenko Tepic - yet another pick for Portland - athletic tall PG with a high celing but is a little raw at the moment
57. Phoenix Suns - Jon Brockman - frountcourt man who can bang inside and is better than Lou Amundson
58. Boston Celtics - Tyrese Rice - with eventual departure of Eddie House, Rice fills in that role with some PG skills and is a local boy out of BC
59. Los Angeles Lakers - Lester Hudson - in top 10 in scoring in college the past two years - because of aging D-Fish, can get some time off the bench and score in bunches
60. Miami Heat - Alex Ruoff - shown he can shoot although he sits a lot of games out cuz his nerves to get to him a lot
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There you have it. Once again, give it up for "Silent Destruction". Thanks for the 2-round mock guys.