Mockery is the sincerest form of clairvoyance

Since I don't already write enough about the NBA, I'm going to write a 2010 mock draft with the newly announced lottery order. I'll just get through the lottery for now, but I might round out the first round or get to the second later.

1. Washington Wizards: PG John Wall (Kentucky)
   Congrats to Washington on winning the John Wall lottery. Barring any Len Bias, Darko Milicic, or Greg Oden/Blake Griffin situations, Wall should be an All-Star early and often. In case the Wizards need more incentive to take Wall, his reaction to the fall of the ping pong balls should say it all. Even though Wall would have no reason to want to go to Washington, he reacted well on ESPN's live feed of his "Congrats on going to New Jersey, now let's sign a contract" party. He wasn't at all upset by the Wizards winning #1, though he clearly could have been.
   
2. Philadelphia 76ers: F Derrick Favors (Georgia Tech)
   Everything I've read about this pick suggests that the Sixers will have to (and probably want to) shuffle some things around since they "won" the second pick. John Hollinger thinks they'll move Andre Iguodala. Hollinger also wrote a great quote about the lottery broadcast: "You could see the relief on point guard Jrue Holiday's face when the Sixers didn't land the top overall pick. Holiday was trade bait (and knew it) if the Sixers landed Wall."
   But, I'm going to assume, for the purposes of this blog, that no trades, etc. happen and every team picks where they're situated now. If that happens, I think Philly will take Favors for two reasons: (1) Evan Turner, the consensus #2 pick, is a very similar player to AI (version 2). He can do pretty much everything. (2) Teams are almost always willing to overlook things like NBA readiness for height and potential in the lottery picks. Favors isn't enormous (6'9" at 18 years old), but he has consistently been lauded as probably the best upside guy in this class.
   
3. NJ Nets: G/F/C/3B Evan Turner (THE Ohio State University)
   Poor Nets. In their (somewhat productive) wooing of LeBron James, John Wall would have been a nice carrot. But Turner wouldn't be a bad piece of broccoli. I watched a lot of Turner at OSU, and the attribute that stood out the most was his playmaking ability. He's just a gamer and a good pick at any point in this draft. Even if they don't land LeBron, the Nets could have a fun team to watch with Turner and CDR on the same court.
   
4. Minnesota Timberwolves: SF Wesley Johnson (Syracuse)
   Johnson was a surprise in the college game this year, and players like that are always scary, but the Wolves need a wing player and not a big man. They have five centers on their team, all under 25. They drafted three PGs last draft, with only Johnny Flynn ending up in Minneapolis, so I don't think they'll grab another here, especially since they have two other picks in the first round (16, 23).
   
5. Sacramento Kings: C DeMarcus Cousins (Kentucky)
   The Kings have an interesting team, with a lot of young talent, so I think they'll go best available here. In terms of talent and potential, that's Cousins. Of course, the questions with Cousins come from his attitude and character. Considering that, I don't really think Cousins will be a great or even good NBA player, but that's not what this blog is about.
   
6. Golden State: PF Greg Monroe (Georgetown)
   The Warriors could use about anything except a Steph Curry backup. I'm putting Monroe here based on something Doug Gottlieb said on SportsCenter this morning. Gottlieb thinks Monroe will beat up on the other prospects in the combine (which is on tomorrow morning, by the way) and in other tryouts between now and draft day. At this point, that sort of performance could be the difference between a sixth pick and a twelfth.
   
7. Detroit Pistons: SF Al-Farouq Aminu (Wake Forest)
   The Pistons haven't made great moves lately, and I don't think that'll change. The problem with this team is that they don't have any players that demand minutes at their positions or any spots that need an immediate replacement. They have decent players everywhere.
   They don't need Aminu, since they've recently added Charlie Villanueva and Austin Daye, but I think they'll go best available with plus upside and take Aminu.
   
8. LA Clippers: SG Xavier Henry (Kansas)
   It's starting to get complicated. Again, LA doesn't have any pressing needs. They have Eric Gordon, one of the best picks of the past few drafts, at shooting guard, but I think they'll get Henry, let them play together on occasion, and then put 6'7" Henry in to replace 6'3" Gordon to guard some of the bigger SGs that they'll face. Henry is definitely an upside pick at 19 years old, but so was Gordon, and that's worked out pretty well so far.
   
9. Utah Jazz: C Cole Aldrich (Kansas)
   I've seen Aldrich going earlier than this, but I have a hard time putting him ahead of here because he is a known quantity. His upside is behind him. The Jazz, as a playoff team and with no need to rebuild, are in a perfect spot to draft a known quantity. They don't really need a center, but Aldrich, with his tenacity and work ethic, is a Utah-type guy.
   
10. Indiana Pacers: PF Ed Davis (UNC)
    The Pacers have multiple reasons to take Gordon Hayward here, and maybe they'll trade down to get him. But, if they stay here and Davis is still available, I think they'll take him.
    Davis was projected as a #3 pick last season and going into this year. Two things really hurt his stock: (1) He was injured (again), showing his frailty and limiting his exposure. (2) He dominated number-wise while healthy, but has not shown much emotion or motivation. If I'm an NBA GM, I'm not trying to build a team around Davis. He's also got the Psycho T connection in Indiana and can compete with Roy Hibbert for next Gentle Giant of the NBA.
    
11. New Orleans Hornets: SF Luke Babbitt (Nevada)
    The Hornets were one very serious injury away from a playoff season. Their most pressing needs are on the wings since James Posey has been mostly a disappointment and Mo Peterson and Peja Stojakovic are both 32. I like Babbitt because he can train under Peja and eventually replace him. He's not a big name, but he could be a solid pick here.
    
12. Memphis Grizzlies: C Daniel Orton (Kentucky)
    The Grizzlies need SFs with Rudy Gay probably leaving and literally no one behind him, but they have two other picks in the first round (25, 28). I think they'll fill need with those spots and draft potential now. Orton, who averaged only 13.2 minutes/game in his sole year at Kentucky, is nothing but potential now.
    
13. Toronto Raptors: C Hassan Whiteside (Marshall)
    Every mock draft I've looked at has Toronto taking a big, with Chris Bosh a likely defector. Whiteside and Epke Udoh are both options here, but I think Whiteside is both a better Bosh doppelganger and Andrea Bargnani compliment than Udoh.
    
14. Houston Rockets: PF Epke Udoh (Baylor)
    The Rockets are an enigma, as they seem to play better with fewer stars. The mock drafts I've seen suggest they would be lucky to get Udoh here, but I think he'll be available since he lacks the name recognition that most teams need in the lottery. Houston should definitely take a big, since they have Aaron Brooks, Kevin Martin, Trevor Ariza, and Shane Battier as backcourt scorers.
    

That's it for now, and it was exhausting. I may try to get Gordon Hayward drafted in my blog with further mockery, but I think I've made my key picks here.

Quote of the Week:

"They're probably going to continue to be taller than us as the series goes on."

-Steve Nash on the LA Lakers