Its finally here! Who is going where? For my Blazers I predict that they get Damian Lillard and Meyers Leonard. My other predicted draft order:
Anthony Davis
Thomas Robinson
Michael Kidd Gilchrist
Bradley Beal
Andre Drummond
Damian Lillard
Harrison Barnes
Dion Waiters
Austin Rivers
Tyler Zeller
Meyers Leonard
Kendall Marshall
Jared Sullinger
John Henson
Nobody doubts that Davis is going to New Orleans first, but after that it’s anybody’s guess. Not only is there no clear second pick, the number two pick goes to Charlotte. They had a real front office now, but nobody is sure if Cho will be able to make the best draft choice or if Jordan will insist they take the Carolina guy (Henson) or something. The order of the first round looks like this:
That Brooklyn trade looks so horrible now, in this draft that number 6 pick could easily turn out into a franchise player.
I think MKG goes #2 after all is said and done.
They weren’t getting a franchise player at #6. It was a bad trade because they gave away a lottery pick for either Gerald Wallace (who they didn’t need because they stunk) or for nothing (if he opts out of his contract). So the trade was denounced as stupid immediately. They could have either improved their roster with that pick or made it part of a trade. Instead, they are trying to trade back in to the first round, which means they’ll have to give up something else. The consensus seems to be that this is a deep draft with a lot of quality guys and maybe only one or two franchise guys, so the Nets were probably not getting a superstar with that pick.
There are a lot of rumors that Charlotte is willing to trade the second pick because they need some more choices, what with the sucking and everything. And the Rockets (picks 14 and 16) are supposedly very interested in trading up, maybe with Sacramento.
I know the Cavs would lose their minds if MKG fell to them at #4.
The Nuggets at #20 are really interested in John Jenkins from Vandy. I guess they’re desperate for 3 point shooting because he could last to the 2nd round. However, the Nuggs have done really well with their somewhat late 1st round picks recently (Lawson and Faried).
The Wizards are badly hoping that Beal makes it to them at 3. I’m certain they’ll take whoever’s left between Beal and MKG, possibly Barnes may be in the conversation, though anyone besides Beal is redundant for them (with that trade for Okafor and Ariza they’re loaded at forward, they already have an MKG-like player in Chris Singleton, and their biggest need is outside scoring).
I’m not too high on Robinson. He’s got the NBA body, but I’m not convinced he brings enough offense to be that high of a pick; same with MKG.
Taking Drummond at 3 would be a disaster, and hopefully they’re not dumb enough try another “high-risk, high-reward,” possible knucklehead. That may work out on a good team, but the Wizards are definitely not the right situation for that type of player (as has been demonstrated).
The Rockets are busy as hell. First they traded Chase Budinger to Minnesota for the 18th pick, which gave them #14, #16, and #18 together. Then they traded Samuel Dalembert and the #14 pick to Milwaukee for the #12 pick. The word is that they’d like to move up even further, get into the top 10, and trade whatever they can get for Dwight Howard. And for a couple of days there have been reports that Charlotte could trade the #2 pick for Cleveland’s two first-round choices.
The Bucks move down 2 spots and add a functional veteran center while dumping roster clutter and not adding salary. It works for the Bucks. I hope Houston can also ultimately get what they want out of this trade.
The Cavs want who? Beal? I feel like that may be a mistake. They’ve got needs everywhere; aside from Irving they’ve basically got nothing. I mean, who’s the next best player behind Irving-- Varejao?! I like Varejao but he’s an overpaid role player. He definitely puts in the effort but he’s not a “core” guy.
I’ve been high on Beal to the Wizards, but I’m warming up to MKG.
I’m hoping Charlotte takes Barnes at 2 because Jordan is an idiot (or Thomas Robinson; some mocks have him in the top 4). That will leave Beal or MKG for Cleveland at 4. I’d prefer Beal, because they already have a poor man’s version of MKG in Alonzo Gee, and I think getting a scorer is more of a priority than an energy/intangible guy.
And Varejao is NOT overpaid. He’s one of the best frontcourt guys in the league.
Which is completely idiotic because:
Why Houston is going through all this effort for a guy like that is beyond me.
I don’t listen to sports talk radio much outside of football season, but I caught a bit of it the other day. The general idea is that the Cats might trade down to 4 and get Barnes, much to the dismay of all.
No trades so far - Davis to New Orleans, Kidd-Gilchrist to Charlotte, and Beal to Washington. Of course it’s possible some of those picks are going to get moved later, but right now Cleveland is on the clock.
The Wiz got their man. I’m happy with it. I was really afraid the Cavs were going to knife in there and take him ahead of us (revenge for RG3 maybe?).
Not sure MKG is the player the Bobcats need over some of the other players on the board, but hey, it worked out for my boys.
I think I like Gilchrist for Charlotte, or at least I like that choice compared to the theory they were going to overreach for Henson. And now we have our first big surprise- Cleveland take Dion Waiters fourth.
The Cavs needed a guard, and I like Waiters. He wasn’t anywhere near this high on any pundit board I’ve seen, but I had read a few things here and there about this possibility. Like any other draft pick, time will tell whether this was foolishness or genius, and my gut is leaning toward genius.
Robinson goes to Sacramento at five, but the big question is whether he’s staying in Sacramento. I’d love to see Houston pull off some of its grand ambitions.
They’ve definitely got some real big ideas about-- something.
Robinson is going to be a good player. He may not become a superstar, but worst case he’s going to be a solid player for a very long time.
“Hey, small child! A lady you’ve never met is telling you you’re about to move all the way across the country. Say something about that on TV!”
:smack: