The NBA draft is coming up on June 25th and this year's draft is one of the weakest in recent memory. Since I'm pretty much the brown Bill Simmons I'm going to go ahead and prognosticate for you. This right here is the official Kabob Evans NBA Mock Draft and it's what I think each team should do. Agree or disagree with my picks? leave a comment.
With the first pick in the 2009 NBA draft, the Los Angeles Clippers should select-
Blake Griffin...Duh...Griffin is pretty much a lock to be a great forward in this league. He's basically a smaller half white Dwight Howard who is developing an outside game according to some video I watched on ESPN (that I can't watch right now). That sounds like a phenomenal basketball player to me. Personally, if I was Mike Dunleavy I would do the right thing and let OKC draft Blake Griffin.
What the Clippers will do- Save money by drafting Taylor Griffin or they'll draft Blake but I'm hoping they eff it up.
With the second pick of the 2009 NBA draft, the Memphis Grizzlies select-
Ricky Rubio. Ricky Rubio probably has the talent to go number 1 overall but Blake Griffin is the safer choice. The Grizzlies are quietly putting together a talented young team but what they lack is depth. Ricky Rubio could start over Mike Conley who I like but hasn't really produced thus far in the NBA and Conley would give them a good point guard off the bench. I really hope Rubio is going to be a great NBA player but at the same time I'm depressed because I just realized that all of these guys are younger than me...Oh well, there's still time for me to get on a D1 program and then get drafted...I could always go overseas.
What the Grizzlies will do- Either draft Hasheem Thabeet or send Rudy Gay and this pick to the Cavaliers for Ben Wallace's expiring contract because Chris Wallace will do anything he can to help contenders get over the hump.
With the third pick of the 2009 NBA draft, the Oklahoma City Thunder select- Hasheem Thabeet. The Thunder have a pretty solid foundation in Durant, Westbrook, and Green. Offensively they are pretty set and drafting a point guard might upset their chemistry since Westbrook has been picked to be the point guard of the future in OKC. Thabeet could be a decent center for the Thunder but I don't really like him, however it's too early to pick anyone else so I guess Thabeet it is.
What the Thunder will do- The Thunder will probably draft Thabeet, he's a good chemistry guy and they're apparently following the Portland Blazers approach of building a team if Rubio falls to them though, it'll be hard to pass.
With the fourth pick of the 2009 NBA draft, the Sacramento Kings select-
Jonny Flynn. The Kings have a pretty good group of guys in Kevin Martin, Spencer Hawes, and Jason Thompson but they also have Beno Udrih. Beno Udrih is a horrible basketball player. I'm sure he's a nice guy but the man cannot run point in the NBA. The Kings need a point guard and the best one on the board is probably Jonny Flynn and that's bad news for Jonny Flynn. The Kings are hemorrhaging money and they'll probably trade all of their promising talent for expiring contracts while keeping Flynn or Martin on the roster so they can still sell a few season passes.
What the Kings will do- They'll probably draft some dude from Europe because he's cheaper and they miss Vlade Divac. To be fair, we all miss Vlade Divac.
With the fifth pick of the 2009 NBA draft, the Washington Wizards select- Jordan Hill. I'm going to be honest because I could never lie to you. I have no idea who the Wizards should pick, they're awful. I would say they need front line help but they have like 4 centers and 3 power forwards, I'm sure they'll trade some of their players for expiring contracts. Probably Jamison and Haywood or Etan Thomas. So I guess they will need front line help because I don't think you can win that many games with Petcherov and Songalia at the 4 and 5 therefore I suppose Jordan Hill would be a good pick. He's athletic and could help on the boards and defense.
What the Wizards will do- Probably something stupid. They'll draft Stephen Curry or something even though every guard they have is a scorer. They should have cut ties with Agent 0 and gotten a pure point guard so they could build around Caron Butler.
With the sixth pick of the 2009 NBA draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves select-
Stephen Curry. The Timberwolves are pretty much the only team that would trade up for Hasheem Thabeet so that could happen (I totally made that up but they do need a center). Minnesota has a sorry back court with Telfair and Randy Foye and they need some perimeter scorers which is exactly what Stephen Curry is. This is a good pick for both parties since Curry will get a lot of minutes without major expectations and Minnesota is going to get a good shooter. I really don't think Curry is going to be a great NBA player and really I don't think he's worthy of a top ten pick but this draft is garbage.
What the Timberwolves will do- The Timberwolves could really do anything and it'd be ok. As long as they don't reach for like Dajuan Blair they really can't make a bad pick here just because they have so many holes to fill (that's what she said?). I like Al Jefferson, Kevin Love, and Corey Brewer even though he looks like an African AIDS orphan (dude, you live in America how can you be 6'9 and weigh 115 lbs?) so I hope that they just trade all of those guys to the Rockets for like Von Wafer or something.
With the seventh pick of the 2009 NBA Draft, the Golden State Warriors select- James Harden. Look, I have no idea what the Warriors should do and I have no idea where James Harden should go so I'll say this is a good fit. The Warriors have some good pieces but have a terrible coach. I had several Warriors on my fantasy basketball team and managed to win despite all of Don Nelson's line up changes. I know that Corey Maggette is a piece of crap and Monta Ellis isn't. I know that Anthony Randolph and Anthony Morrow are good players who should get major minutes but they don't. They can't get rid of Stephen Jackson and they shouldn't. I guess they should probably get a center but the only one that can run with them is BJ Mullens and why would you pick BJ Mullens this early? So I guess what I'm trying to say is, no one cares who the Warriors pick because they'll find a way to screw it up.
What the Warriors will do- I don't know, trade the pick for a bottle of Jaegermeister for Coach Nelson?
With the eighth pick of the 2009 NBA Draft, the New York Knickerbockers select- DeMar DeRozen- I really don't think that Lebron will leave Cleveland and I'm beginning to think that the Knicks don't either. Still, the 2010 free agent class will be one of the best ever and if DeRozen is able to live up to his potential he may be one of the reasons a player like Chris Bosh or Dwayne Wade would come to New York. DeRozen is an athletic freak and fits into Dantoni's seven seconds or less offense so I expect the Knicks will pick him. He's not going to make an instant impact but eventually he may get there. Who knows!?!
What the Knicks will do- Draft Erick Devendorf to be Lebron's errand boy just in case.
With the ninth pick of the 2009 NBA Draft, the Toronto Raptors select-
Tyreke Evans. I would say that this is a toss up for the Raptors between DeRozen and Evans and they'll just pick whoever is left on the board. The Raptors need a perimeter scorer and Tyreke Evans is just that, they're pretty much set at their other positions but they need someone to take away Joey Graham's minutes and they might as well just pick Evans to do that.
What the Raptors will do- Probably pick some international like Omri Cassipi because that's just what the Raptors do.
With the tenth pick of the 2009 NBA Draft, the Milwaukee Bucks select- Jeff Teague- This pick is really contingent on Ramon Sessions. If the Bucks can resign him I think they should go with Gerald Henderson as an insurance policy on Michael Redd and Richard Jefferson (who'll probably get traded before the deadline). If they can't resign him, and they won't be able to because really, who wants to live in Wisconsin? I think they should pick either Brandon Jennings or Jeff Teague, I'd give the edge to Teague because Jennings kind of seems like a jerk.
What the Bucks will do- The Bucks will draft someone to break Brett Favre's knees effectively ending his career. I just know it.
With the eleventh pick of the 2009 NBA Draft, the New Jersey Nets select-
Jrue Holiday. I would say that based on talent, Gerald Henderson is the best pick here but the Nets don't need another slashing guard/forward. Holiday gives them depth since he can play the 1 or the 2. He also has a phenomenal name for an R&B singer.
What the Nets will do- Who knows? Then Nets could pretty much do anything and they'd still end up in the playoffs because they play in the East, I just hope they don't screw up Devin Harris.
With the twelfth pick of the 2009 NBA Draft, the Charlotte Bobcats select-
Dajuan Blair- I like Dajuan Blair more than most and he fits here because he gives them front court toughness. The Bobcats are surprisingly thin up front and Blair could give them some depth and probably even start for them. He's a tough rebounder and he destroyed Thabeet in their match up this year. He's tough and a good quality team guy. Henderson just doesn't fit here because he does pretty much exactly what Gerald Wallace does and they have plenty of point guard depth provided they re-sign Felton, even if Felton goes Augustin showed flashes of brilliance last year and could step up to take the starting spot.
What the Bobcats will do- I would say that they would reach for BJ Mullens. It's not a terrible pick either, Mullens would give them some size and he's a solid scorer, I just think Blair is better.
With the thirteenth pick of the 2009 NBA Draft, the Indiana Pacers select- Gerald Henderson. You have to go with Henderson here just because he's the best value and the Pacers could use anything right now. When you look at it based on necessity I guess they could use a guy like Blair so I suppose they'd take him if he was on the board and he probably will be. However in my draft he's already taken so they get Henderson. Henderson is good but he plays like a small forward when he's only 6'4 making him undersized. He's a scorer and a good teammate which is something the Pacers value but already have in Brandon Rush. So you know, I have no idea what they should do.
What the Pacers will do- Nothing? Why would I know? It's the freakin' Pacers, they're one of those teams that has decent players but no potential so they're going to be stuck in the middle of the pack for the foreseeable future. Danny Granger should get out before the Pacers ship him out in a body bag like they did Jermaine O'Neal.
With the fourteenth pick of the 2009 NBA Draft, the Phoenix Suns select- Brandon Jennings- The Suns are going no where any time soon. They're aging and they don't have overwhelming talent. With that said they are a playoff team provided Amare is healthy and they decide to run. Jennings goes here because he can help them now and he's probably a top ten talent in this draft so why not take the best player on the board? I don't like Brandon Jennings because if players go oversees then that means the American games suffers. The NBA should be the home of all the best basketball players in the world. Josh Childress could play on any team in the NBA but he's over in Greece giving up his spot to a lesser player. I don't want basketball to be played like soccer with superstars bolting to new teams every few years.
What the Suns will do- Draft Taylor Griffin if he's still on the board so he and Robin Lopez could keep each other company.
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