After the last workouts, I've decided to update my mock draft. I'll do another one a few days before the draft, but, as of now (keep in mind that this is what I think WILL happen, not what should happen. Also, there are no trades in this mock, and I'm going to make comments only on the lottery picks):

1.- Toronto.- LaMarcus Aldridge.- I still don't buy all the hype about Bargnani. I think it's all a smokescreen to try to trade the pick. If they stand pat, Aldridge is the pick, and he would give TO the best young frontcourt in the whole league.

2.- Chicago.- Tyrus Thomas.- Thomas physical ability and upside makes him leap above Bargnani. Brandon Roy could be the dark horse here, even if it's only a long shot.

3.- Charlotte.- Brandon Roy.- This is a need pick. Roy is, by far, the best SG of the whole draft, at clearly the Bobcats weakest position.

4.- Portland.- Andrea Bargnani.- Portland is rebuilding, and Bargnani gives them another good, albeit unready, piece to build upon.

5.- Atlanta.- Patrick O'Bryant.- A bit of a reach, but big men are so scarce these days that O'Bryant gets into the top ten thanks to one of the worst front offices of the NBA.

6.- Minnesota.- Rudy Gay.- Another team rebuilding, but they need to do it as fast as possible, or they would risk losing KG. Gay is the pick, as one of the most ready players of the whole draft.

7.- Boston.- Sergio Rodriguez.- A shocker, I know, but Danny Ainge is in love with him. He's not ready yet, but he has the most upside at his position in the whole draft. There are questions about his ability to run an offense, but he's getting rave reviews in all his workouts.

8.- Houston.- Adam Morrison.- How can they pass on Morrison?. With T-Mac and Yao to open the court, Morrison will thrive on that team. There will be tears of joy if he gets drafted by Houston.

9.- Golden State.- Shelden Williams.- I don't think our front office is so high on Carney as I am, and there are no other big men that should be taken at nine. Reddick could be an option, too.

10.- Seattle.- Alexander Johnson.- Another player whose stock is raising due to some great workouts. A hard worker than can add the toughness Seattle lacks inside.

11.- Orlando.- Ronnie Brewer.- Deshawn Stevenson ain't the answer at SG. Brewer is. That will give them one of the most dynamic backcourts in the league with Jameer Nelson.

12.- New Orleans.- Rodney Carney.- The Hornets need all the help they can get at the wings and inside, and Carney will become a starter soon for them.

13.- Philly.- Randy Foye.- A combo guard to help Iverson and Iggy. They could go big with some prospect like Hilton Armstrong or Cedric Simmons, too.

14.- Jazz.- Cedric Simmons.- Okur and Boozer are too soft inside on defense. Simmons will help with that inmediately.

15.- Hornets.- Hilton Armstrong.

16.- Bulls.- Rajon Rondo.

17.- Pacers.- Marcus Williams. (There's always a player that seems to fall for no reason. He's this year's Danny Granger.)

18.- Wizards.- JJ Reddick.

19.- Kings.- Shawnee Williams.

20.- Knicks.- Maurice Ager.

21.- Suns.- Hassan Adams.

22.- Nets.- Jordan Farmar.

23.- Nets.- James Augustine.

24.- Grizz.- Shannon Brown.

25.- Cavs.- Quincy Douby.

26.- Lakers.- Kyle Lowry.

27.- Suns.- Marcus Vinicius.

28.- Mavs.- Thabo Sefolosha.

29.- Knicks.- Saer Sene.

30.- Blazers.- Mardy Collins.

Be stupid for the Warriors to get another PF! Unless he gets traded immediately.

Carney still the player the team should get because SF is the position that was the worst last season!

The Raptors need a true Center as well. That is a must for them so I'll say the Italian guy will go to them

migya wrote:The Raptors need a true Center as well. That is a must for them so I'll say the Italian guy will go to them

Bargnani is a 3/4. He CAN'T play center. That's why I don't think there's even the slightest chance he goes to Toronto, unless he's traded in draft day.

As for Shelden Williams, I'm sure he'd play center for us, even if he's a bit undersized.

Keep in mind this is what I think will happen. I would go for a SF, too, but I'm not sure our front office will go for one if Gay is not available.

Yo, TMC - where'd Reddick go?

TMC wrote:After the last workouts, I've decided to update my mock draft. I'll do another one a few days before the draft, but, as of now (keep in mind that this is what I think WILL happen, not what should happen. Also, there are no trades in this mock, and I'm going to make comments only on the lottery picks):

1.- Toronto.- LaMarcus Aldridge.- I still don't buy all the hype about Bargnani. I think it's all a smokescreen to try to trade the pick. If they stand pat, Aldridge is the pick, and he would give TO the best young frontcourt in the whole league.

2.- Chicago.- Tyrus Thomas.- Thomas physical ability and upside makes him leap above Bargnani. Brandon Roy could be the dark horse here, even if it's only a long shot.

3.- Charlotte.- Brandon Roy.- This is a need pick. Roy is, by far, the best SG of the whole draft, at clearly the Bobcats weakest position.

4.- Portland.- Andrea Bargnani.- Portland is rebuilding, and Bargnani gives them another good, albeit unready, piece to build upon.

5.- Atlanta.- Patrick O'Bryant.- A bit of a reach, but big men are so scarce these days that O'Bryant gets into the top ten thanks to one of the worst front offices of the NBA.

6.- Minnesota.- Rudy Gay.- Another team rebuilding, but they need to do it as fast as possible, or they would risk losing KG. Gay is the pick, as one of the most ready players of the whole draft.

7.- Boston.- Sergio Rodriguez.- A shocker, I know, but Danny Ainge is in love with him. He's not ready yet, but he has the most upside at his position in the whole draft. There are questions about his ability to run an offense, but he's getting rave reviews in all his workouts.

8.- Houston.- Adam Morrison.- How can they pass on Morrison?. With T-Mac and Yao to open the court, Morrison will thrive on that team. There will be tears of joy if he gets drafted by Houston.

9.- Golden State.- Shelden Williams.- I don't think our front office is so high on Carney as I am, and there are no other big men that should be taken at nine. Reddick could be an option, too.

10.- Seattle.- Alexander Johnson.- Another player whose stock is raising due to some great workouts. A hard worker than can add the toughness Seattle lacks inside.

11.- Orlando.- Ronnie Brewer.- Deshawn Stevenson ain't the answer at SG. Brewer is. That will give them one of the most dynamic backcourts in the league with Jameer Nelson.

12.- New Orleans.- Rodney Carney.- The Hornets need all the help they can get at the wings and inside, and Carney will become a starter soon for them.

13.- Philly.- Randy Foye.- A combo guard to help Iverson and Iggy. They could go big with some prospect like Hilton Armstrong or Cedric Simmons, too.

14.- Jazz.- Cedric Simmons.- Okur and Boozer are too soft inside on defense. Simmons will help with that inmediately.

15.- Hornets.- Hilton Armstrong.

16.- Bulls.- Rajon Rondo.

17.- Pacers.- Marcus Williams. (There's always a player that seems to fall for no reason. He's this year's Danny Granger.)

18.- Wizards.- Shawnee Williams.

19.- Kings.- Mardy Collins.

20.- Knicks.- Maurice Ager.

21.- Suns.- Hassan Adams.

22.- Nets.- Jordan Farmar.

23.- Nets.- James Augustine.

24.- Grizz.- Shannon Brown.

25.- Cavs.- Quincy Douby.

26.- Lakers.- Kyle Lowry.

27.- Suns.- Marcus Vinicius.

28.- Mavs.- Thabo Sefolosha.

29.- Knicks.- Saer Sene.

30.- Blazers.- Nick Fazekas.

Second rounder. That f*cker sucks.

Nah, I thought about him going to the Warriors... and then forgot about him.

It's fixed in the original post. Wizards. He's on the bubble of 15-20,maybe higher. But I don't see it right now. Maybe if he has some good workouts from now on, he'll crack the top ten, but right now there are concerns about anything except shooting.

I still say the team should trade the draft pick along with Murphy and maybe even on other player for a great SF or Center if possible

migya wrote: if possible

That's the problem. I don't think there are any good trades available right now. We're probably "stuck" with the pick.

After doing alot of reading on Rudy Gay, he would be a steal if the Warriors could get him.
I can see the Raptors and Bulls going for a Center,
Bobcats going for a SG,
Blazers getting Morrison if he is still available which he should be,
Hawks and Celtics taking a PG or a Center if no PG is available (though if Harrington leaves, Gay would be great fit but they still have Marvin Williams to fit in more time for),
TWolves looking more for a PG or Center because KG and Davis are SF and PF but they could get Gay with Davis going to SG
and the Rockets would most probably take the best player left but looking for a PF and Gay would most probably be picked and made their starting PF.

There is a chance that the Warriors could get Rudy Gay and if he is available, he probably would be a better pick than Carney

migya wrote:There is a chance that the Warriors could get Rudy Gay and if he is available, he probably would be a better pick than Carney

No doubt, but he's getting rave reviews on his workouts, so I don't think he'll drop behind Minny.

But the TWolves have KG at PF, Ricky Davis at SF and McCants (who they love) at SG! Where would Gay play? The TWolves need a Center or PG which is why I reckon they'll go for O'bryant

migya wrote:But the TWolves have KG at PF, Ricky Davis at SF and McCants (who they love) at SG! Where would Gay play? The TWolves need a Center or PG which is why I reckon they'll go for O'bryant

McCants didn't pley much his first season, and Ricky played a lot of SG. If they can get Gay, they'll trade one of those two. Then again, McHale keeps calling the shots there, so I wouldn't be surprised if they pass on him for, say, Reddick (which would be one more stupid move to add to McHale's resume).

I really can see Gay go down as far as 7th or 8th pick but I reckon the Rockets would put him at PF which is their weakest position right now.

The Warriors will get the raw end again!

migya wrote:I really can see Gay go down as far as 7th or 8th pick but I reckon the Rockets would put him at PF which is their weakest position right now.

The Warriors will get the raw end again!

maybe, though they've done really well lately, Dun excepted, with their picks. Ike may end up as the 2nd or 3rd best pick of 2005, not bad for #9

Maybe Mullin can steal a star in this draft but the thing is that there really is enough players at each position and if someone doesn't get moved then there will be at least one position that has too many guys with the draft pick! One of dun or Pietrus needs to go if a SF is chosen

coltraning wrote:maybe, though they've done really well lately, Dun excepted, with their picks. Ike may end up as the 2nd or 3rd best pick of 2005, not bad for #9

Yeah, but we were lucky to get him. What I mean is that everybody knew Ike was a monster offensively, but he was undersized. That's the only reason he dropped to #9.

And migya is right. If we draft a SF (and I don't think Carney is the mix, as we haven't even invited him to workout, something we did with Reddick), Pietrus will probably be traded this offseason.