Can Danny: 2010 Mock Lotto
No hoops today so I thought I'd toss up the first mock lottery (which is kind of a waste since we don't know the order of the draft) but I can't sleep. So here's my first crack at it. It features a couple of big trades and one reach.
1.New Jersey Nets: John Wall - The next trick is to move Devin Harris. I think Josh Smith or Michael Beasley could be options. Maybe Harris and Yi for Smith and the #24 pick? There should be a lot of options and with this draft being pretty poor for point guards after Wall, the Nets should be in a seller's market.
2. Minnesota Timberwolves: Evan Turner - A perfect fit for the Wolves. He should be their leading man in the backcourt and take pressure off of Jonny Flynn while allowing Corey Brewer to settle into his niche and not force him to create his own offense so much. The only way this isn't Turner is if they move Al Jefferson for a shooting guard and decide to go with Derrick Favors alongside Kevin Love.
3. Sacramento Kings: DeMarcus Cousins - The Kings rolled the dice on the talented but troubled Tyreke Evans last year and hit a home run so they try to do the same with Cousins this season. Derrick Favors is a solid option as well, especially if you're trying to add some defensive presence around 'Reke but Cousins is simply too talented to pass up.
4. Golden State Warriors: Derrick Favors - He should be a defensive force and I think that a Favors, Anthony Randolph, and Steph Curry trio has some incredible upside. The downside, of course, is that Randolph should have emerged already and Favors is a bit of a project. Still, I think he's the best option for the Warriors at this point, although they might want to try to make a deal to swap picks with the Kings so they can grab Cousins instead.
5. Washington Wizards: Greg Monroe - If Al-Farouq Aminu proves that he can play PF in the pros, I take him here. But if I was the Wizards, I would do what the Knicks haven't been doing and customizing a team for my free agent target. For the Wizards, that man is hometown hero Carmelo Anthony. I like the Andray Blatche/Greg Monroe frontcourt and think another top pick or signing could help land 'Melo. (Then again, they may also want to consider selling high on Blatche if they dont' think he'll ever really put it together in the attitude department.)
6. Dallas Mavericks (via 76ers): Wesley Johnson - I'm not completely sold on this one but I think the Sixers are desperate to start over and, quite frankly, the remaining prospects aren't so appealing that I wouldn't sacrifice the pick to dump a big contract. And the Sixers dump two in this deal - the Mavs acquire Andre Iguodala, Elton Brand, and the #6 pick for Erick Dampier's non-guaranteed money and Caron Butler's expiring deal. It's a lot to give up but the Sixers were already talking about giving away Iggy just to dump one year of Sam Dalembert's contract. If they could dump the three years of Brand, it'll cost more. Mark Cuban can eat a salary like Brand, who, even now, would probably be the best post player that Dirk's played with in years. Wes Johnson serves as a sixth man and could play alongside Iggy at times.
7. Detroit Pistons: Cole Aldrich The Pistons are in a similar predicament to the Sixers but their guys have more talent. I think they could make a deal without the pick, perhaps building the Pistons That Could Have Been in Denver with Rip Hamilton and Ben Gordon to the Nuggets for Kenyon Martin and JR Smith. (Although the Nuggets might not take that much salary either way, or would need a PF) I doubt anything would get worked out by draft night so I think The 'Stones fill a spot of need and add a low post big man in Aldrich.
8. Los Angeles Clippers: Al-Farouq Aminu - He's a small forward who will add some defense to the proceedings in L.A. He seems like a perfect fit for the Clippers.
9. Utah Jazz: Donatas Motiejunas - I'm sure the Jazz would love to deal this but I'm not sure what's out there for them. They're finally almost out from under Andrei Kirilenko's monster deal and I'm not sure if they want to swap it out for another questionable deal like Luol Deng. If they can't swing a deal for a small forward, they end up opting for Mehmet Okur's eventual replacement.
10. New Jersey Nets (via Pacers): Ed Davis - The Pacers give up the #10 pick and Mike Dunleavy's expiring contract for Devin Harris and Yi Jianlian. If they drive a hard bargain, they could also grab the #27 pick but when has GM Larry Bird ever done that? The Nets complete an almost perfect draft, grabbing two great young prospects to team with Brook Lopez, Terrence Williams, and Courtney Lee. I might actually consider waiting a year before spending the cap space to see if they can't grab one more top prospect.
11. New Orleans Hornets: Paul George If someone is dumb enough to take Emeka Okafor's awful contract off of their hands, the Hornets should give up this pick and say thank you very much. I just don't think that that team exists. If they use the pick, they should try to figure out which small forward is the best: Paul George, Damion James, Gordon Hayward, etc. Basically, they should look for a young version of what James Posey never was for them. Right now, I'd go for George.
12. Memphis Grizzlies: Xavier Henry - I think the Grizzlies go through with their OJ Mayo/Hasheem Thabeet for Monta Ellis deal. I'm not a huge fan of it for Memphis but it's not awful. Henry steps in at the shooting guard spot and should be a great fit since he can shoot the ball and that's what the Grizz need, someone to feed off of Ellis, Randolph, and Rudy Gay (should they re-sign him).
13. Toronto Raptors: Patrick Patterson - The Raptors are stuck with Hedo Turkoglu and Andrea Bargnani for a while now so they might as well draft a guy who makes sense alongside them. Granted, they'll probably look for a defensive minded big like Hassan Whiteside but I think that Patterson is the best player available and, while he wouldn't ever replace Chris Bosh, he could be a better fit given the roster the Raptors have.
14. Houston Rockets: Hassan Whiteside - With Brooks, Martin, Ariza, Scola, and Ming, the Rockets are set with a team that I don't think will ever go anywhere. Their biggest need is probably a backup big man since Yao is always banged up. Daniel Orton is a bigger body but Whiteside has the upside (although late lotto bigs almost never seem to live up to their upside.)
