Mock Lottery Draft Part I
I have decided to do a mock draft of the first 14 (lottery) picks of the draft. These picks are ones that I would do if I was the GM of every team in the lottery. Of course, I am assuming that there are no trades, etc. Feel free to chime in with your input and bash me all you want.
#1 Chicago Bulls-Michael Beasley, F
Pros: Beasley is the most talented player in the draft. When you have the first pick, you want to choose the best player available and not pick by position or hometown. Beasley is a force on the inside (a gaping hole for the Bulls) and has good range on his jumper for his size. He is young and will continue to mature strength wise while also improving on his jump-shot.
Cons: My worry with Beasley is his mental makeup and he has the look of becoming the next Derrick Coleman, which is not a positive
#2 Miami Heat-Derrick Rose, PG
Pros: Young Point Guard who is very athletic, quick and has a great handle. He sees the floor well and can slash when called upon. Seems to have his mental game put together and is an intelligent point guard as the floor leader.
Cons: Not a great shooter, though I think this will improve over time. There is a fine line between being the unselfish player in the clutch and not wanting the ball in the clutch; I’m not sure which one he falls into.
#3 Minnesota Timberwolves-Jerryd Bayless, PG
Pros: Very quick and athletic scorer with a good handle. Some question whether Mayo should be picked ahead of Bayless. I saw Bayless play Mayo at USC and Bayless took the challenge of guarding Mayo in the second half (Mayo did not guard him). He might have been working harder on the defensive end than the offensive end. He took it personally to go up against him and showed his strong competitive nature, while taking Mayo out of the offense. I believe this is a key component to a makeup of a point guard as a leader of the team.
Cons: Can he make the transition from a scoring PG to a pass-first PG? Why didn’t Bayless play that kind of defense that I saw on Mayo every game and every play?
#4 Seattle SuperSonics-OJ Mayo, PG-SG
Pros – Mayo is one of the best pure athletes in the draft and has a huge potential upside. I don’t see him playing PG in the NBA as his size and scoring ability make him better suited to the 2. Putting him on the floor with Durant provides two explosive offensive options.
Cons - Mayo has the ability to be a great defender, but as of yet has not shown much interest. There may also be a question as to whether he will ultimately be satisfied being the second offensive option behind Durant.
#5 Memphis Grizzlies-Brooke Lopez, C
Pros: A true 7-footer who is agile, athletic and coordinated. A pretty good low-post scorer and shot-blocker who should only get stronger over time. Centers in the NBA take longer to develop and Memphis needs to be patient with his development, which is fine as they should be pretty bad for a few years anyways. Stanford’s guards were horrendous this year, but they ended up finishing 2nd in the PAC-10 and made a good run in the tourney. Plenty of this needs to be contributed to Lopez (Brooke and Robin).
Cons: I question his toughness as he does seem to play soft at times. He needs to get stronger to bang with some of the bigger bodies in the NBA and become a better defender and shot-blocker.
#6 New York Knicks-Russell Westbrook, PG-SG
Pros: Up there with Mayo as the best athlete in the draft. A good kid who is a great defender and a tough competitor. He looks to feed his teammates and is a winner, something the Knicks need desperately. Westbrook would be a great pick for the Walsh era and changing the mentality of the team. I look at him to possibly have the potential of being the next Brandon Roy.
Cons: Not a great shooter and there are some questions regarding if he is a PG or SG. He was the 2nd/3rd option for UCLA this year. Is he moving up on the draft board solely because of his tremendous athletic ability?
#7 Los Angeles Clippers-Joe Alexander, SF
Pros: The Clippers have lacked toughness for years and with Alexander they have the opportunity to take arguably the toughest guy in the draft, both physically and mentally. Combine that with remarkable athletic ability (watch the youtube videos) and good size and you have a really nice pick for the Clippers at #7. Effort alone should be good for at least a couple garbage buckets per game.
Cons – Alexander has only been playing basketball for about 5 years and needs work in most skill areas, shooting, ball handling, and general basketball knowledge.
Part II will continue tomorrow with picks 8-14.
Image Source* shakedownsports, pictopia, fannation
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June 26th, 2008 at 12:26 am
Chicago Bulls-Michael Beasley, F is very good
June 26th, 2008 at 6:32 am
Wow . . . nice analysis; however, despite the fact that I am a Chicagoan, I believe that the Bulls will (or should)take Derrick Rose, who in my opinion is the most complete player in the draft, with the No.1 pick. Derrick Rose is a proven leader, and champion qualified and quanitified throughout his basketball career.
Derrick Rose led his high school Simeon to back-to-back state championships, a feat that is extremely difficult to accomplish in the State of Illinois. During this time, D-Rose, displayed the uncanny ability to lead and lead well, making his teammates better and helping them to rise to the challenge. Ironically, he did the same thing at Memphis minus the eventual championship; nevertheless, he led the Tigers to the NCAA Championship only to be outclassed by a more complete roster of McDonald’s All-Americans.
As I watched the Bulls painfully flounder last season . . . they seemed lost at times, and it seemed painfully obvious that the team: (1) lacked a true floor general to provide leadership, and to act as an extension of the coach on the floor; and (2) that the young Bulls also lacked a guard on their roster who possessed the physical ability, and skills to create, and effectively distribute the ball from the point guard or “1″.
Derrick Rose is a good kid, from a good basketball oriented family, and doesn’t carry any baggage with him–he is a model citizen clear and plain. Yes, we, Chicagoans want the Bulls to draft Derrick Rose because anyone that grew up hooping in or around the City of Chicago that has achieved the level of success that Derrick Rose has is going to be one of Chi-Town’s elite blue-collar ballers, (a true gladiator on the hard wood), and when it is a point guard of Derrick Rose’s calibre, well, of all my years of balling, watching ball and analyzing ball–Derrick Rose is the best guard to come out of Chicago since Isaih Thomas, and Derrick Rose is bigger and stronger than Isaih ever was off the dribble.
The Bulls can trade for the inside presence that management feels the team so badly needs or develop it; however, dynamic point guards are born not made. Tonight John Paxson who I have always admired and respected will make the biggest mistake of his GM career if he doesn’t draft Rose at No.1. If the Bulls draft Beasley, he will be a great player, but drafting Michael Beasley does not resolve the Bulls point guard and glaring leadership issues. The Bulls need a leader; draft a leader, Derrick Rose is a proven leader who will despite his youth stabilize what appeared to be an unstable franchise last season.
June 26th, 2008 at 11:34 am
I agree with Dey on the topic of the number one pick. Rose should be drafted first and immediately start looking for teams to trade Heinrich and Tyrus Thomas/Joakim Noah for someone like Marion in Miami. I think that trade helps both teams out. Miami gets a PG that doesn’t have to be the leader (D. Wade) but can still contribute and play defense. Miami also gets help along their horrible front line. Chicago gets Marion who would come in and be able to play the four in the east and would be a good hustle/dirty work guy and help side defender for Beasley.
Rose is the better over all player to me because he can bring it on both ends of the floor and as far as what Jaime said about him not wanting the ball in the clutch see the NCAA final game when he stepped his game up in the second half after a not so great first. One shot killed that great second half for Rose not to mention a National Championship for him and Memphis.
Beasley has the potential to be great. So did Glen Robinson and Derrick Coleman. If I were giving a major position in a firm and I had a good character guy and a bad character guy and each of them were great in talent, is it even a question? I guess the argument comes down to how much better of a player you think Beasley is and if that much better of a player is worth the risk of him not burning the place down.
Love the Bayless over OJ Mayo pick. I think Bayless is more of a “number one” type of a guy than OJ Mayo. Mayo seems like he doesn’t play hard (NH)all the time. Typical spoiled brat syndrome. I like Westbrook better than him too. He kid is the best athlete in out the the three by far (you tube that kid) and his question marks are his shooting but I’m not sure if he really had the opportunity to shoot the ball at UCLA on that team. The form on his jumper doesn’t look bad at all so it can develop…but I’ve been saying that about Andre Iguoldala’s too.
June 26th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Very valid points J. and Dey. I don’t think the Bulls can go wrong with either pick. I do, however, want to point my Rose fans to the following article.
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/mariotti/1025691,mariotti062608.article
Apparently, Rose doesnt think he will just win the Rookie of the Year next year but wants to tackle the MVP over the likes of Lebron, Kobe, Paul, etc. Do you still draft him #1? He is obviously delusional. The guy averaged 15ppg last year in college and now thinks the next year he can take the MVP?
June 26th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Essentially, I like where your head is at Jaime… I was a Beasley fan, but the more and more I read about Rose and watch him play, I am convinced he is the guy for us. Beaasley will be better than coleman, but no Barkley… yet his personality is similar to Barkley.
-Michael
June 26th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Jaime:
I read the D-Rose article that highlights his rather lofty ambitions. I say, “more power to him!” I mean you set your goals high, and even if you do not reach the top of Mt. Everest, at least you gave it your all. Derrick Rose is going to go out and compete every night. The kid is a winner, and hungers for victory; and yet, his incessant need to win never comes at the expense of the team. In fact, Derrick Rose’s resume clearly reflects that he is the consummate team player, if not the quintessential team player.
It is very seldom that I jock somebody like this, but I really like this guy’s energy, and despite the lack of ego, he does exude a confident swagger which is needed to excel and produce in the NBA. Derrick Rose could have average 40 points per game while at Simeon High School, but even then he deferred to the best interest of the team. At Memphis, he could have probably averaged 20 – 25 points per game, but he is a true point guard that does whatever his team needs him to do.
Will Derrick Rose win the league MVP as a rookie? Highly unlikely, but I like his moxie and posturing in sharing his dreams and NBA aspirations. I won’t read too much into a statement that can be easily overblown. Instead, I just accept it as his goals for the 2008/9 NBA season.
If Derrick Rose contends for Rookie of the Year honors the Bull’s fortunes will be far greater than they were last season.
October 22nd, 2008 at 1:04 pm
[...] dont get me wrong, I do not think OJ Mayo was the best player in the draft. As I stated in my draft preview blog, I felt Michael Beasley was the most talented and I would have taken him with the first pick. [...]