Mock Draft

This is my favorite time of the year in the NBA, when the Finals are going on and less that 3 weeks away from the NBA Draft. I absolutely LOVE analysing and trying to predict who will go where, and learning about each of the players. No doubt that this thing will cause many of you to go "HUH?!", or think "gosh, you sure have a lot of time on your hands..."! I really wanted to put this in a table format, but this will have to do for now.

1. Orlando: Emeka Okafor - This is really a no-brainer. Back spasms and all he is hands down the best player in the draft.
2. Atlanta: Dwight Howard - Atlanta will trade up to take this hometown highschool phenom, who looks to be like a cross between a Tim Duncan and a Kevin Garnett (ie: a mean Duncan with ball-handling skills).
3. Chicago: Luol Deng - To me he's the consensus #3 pick. Chicago is basically set at PF/C with Chandler/Curry or will be, after trading one of them. Don't forget they also still have AD.
4. Charlotte: Andre Iguodala - Iguodala has been shooting up the charts after his latest workout. He is an extremely well-conditioned athlete with great skills and can literally do it all out on the court, and is the perfect type of player for the new franchise to build around.
5. Washington: Andris Biedrins - Kwame Brown is done.
6. Clippers: Shaun Livingston - Here's where it gets tricky. LAC trades down to take a point guard? I know it's wishful thinking that they'd pass on Gordon but it does make sense as they want a kid who will pass first, given that they already have established scorers on their team..
7. Phoenix: Pavel Podkolzine - Pavel should have declared last year, he wasted an entire season in the Italian league and basically did nothing in the past year. He could have been raking it in all this time. If he pans out, he and Amare Stoudamire will make a formidable frontcourt for the Suns.
8. Toronto: Ben Gordon - Ben Gordon is the next Baron Davis. Yes, you heard it here first. This guy has Baron Davis written all over him. They're both BIG guards, love to shoot first and are ridiculed for being somewhat of a ball hog. They both play great defense, and are lethal from 3-pt range. The game comes naturally for both of them.
9. Philadelphia: Josh Smith - Just makes sense to take this guy who for now will supplant Glenn Robinson, but in the future will we asked to score instead of Iverson.
10. Cleveland: Josh Childress - Cleveland is just looking for grounded players who have a solid game so as to not ruin the already great chemistry on this team. Childress was the leader of his Stanford squad and is a fairly mature player, despite what you might think when you see his hair.
11. Golden State: Kirk Snyder - Really at this point I could care less about who gets taken. I see that the Warriors need a SG/SF and to me it's down to Kirk, Luke Jackson, Sergei Monya.. so take your pick.
12. Seattle: Peter John Ramos - Ramos is another one of those tall kids who has shot up the rankings, really for no good reason other than he is an okay player who happens to be really tall. With Calvin Booth as their only legitimate C, Ramos just makes sense.
13. Portland: Devin Harris - It's hard to believe Harris falling this far but I am basing this edition of my mock draft on need, and none of the above teams after Toronto really needs a point guard. It would've been Telfair here but that dude is dropping like a brick after recent workouts.
14. Utah: Dorell Wright - This one comes out from left field. A highschooler, virtually unknown. He will be at the slam dunk competition, if he gets drafted and gets 10-15 minutes per game. If there's a human highlight reel in this draft class, it's him. Utah needs that kind of player, to attract the fans. I mean sure Kirilenko is no slouch, but wait til you see this kid dunk..!
15. Boston: Jameer Nelson - I think Boston would have wanted Wright, or they might take JR Smith here. It's really unfair that a player like Jameer Nelson gets overlooked in the draft. He's really a great leader and in terms of floor generals he is the best in this class -- but he's tiny. I think he'd mesh really well with Mr. "Heart on his sleeve" Paul Pierce.

Other notables: Utah takes Swift, LAC takes Araujo, NOH takes Jackson, Miami gambles on Telfair, Nuggets take JR Smith.

I've revised this thing about 40 times in the last 3 days and I think it might stand. Of course workouts are still going on, teams cut deals with kids and rumors fly, and so this is a "mock" draft in every sense of the word.

IF Toronto gets Ben Gordon, we will be contenders in the East once again. Babcock has seen first hand what a different a scoring point guard can make with Cassell in Minnesota. I mean basically you're getting Cassell and Hudson in one player. I can't see how Babcock could pass on him if he's there.