Can Danny: Trading Down
The 11 and 12 picks are going to the Kings and Pistons via a couple of my deals. The Kings should be able to grab a Jason Thompson replacement at the eleven spot but the question is which flawed big man do they roll the dice on? Late lottery big men are tough to judge because the track record of the established guys is just as shoddy as the supposed high potential guys. For every Brook Lopez, there's a Mike Sweeney. For every Amare Stoudemire and Andrew Bynum, there's a Saer Sene or Patrick O'Bryant.
It's about now in the draft process (and probably a bit earlier for this year's crop), that it's hard for fans to really judge the prospects. Yes, people will still have their favorite sleeper prospects but when judging between guys like Hassan Whiteside, Ekpe Udoh, Patrick Patterson, etc. things like attitude, work ethic, etc. start to become more and more important and could be the key to determining between a bust and a productive player. I can give the best guess from the info I have so far but these picks are the most fluid in mock draft, for better or for worse, because any reports on the rumor mill can affect the perception of a player.
Looking at the Kings options, right now I'm leaning towards Patrick Patterson. A jack of all trades, master of none, Patterson still has room to grow and should be a nice addition to the Kings frontcourt. Ekpe Udoh should be a great off-ball defender but all reports have him being a bit weak in the post and a project offensively so I'm not sure if he is really what most teams need. As we've seen in these playoffs, height is important but having someone who can bang in the post is just as important. The risky reach du jour seems to be Hassan Whiteside, a guy with a load of upside but a questionable attitude. I just can't recommend any team take that chance this early in the draft. He reminds me too much of guys like Jerome Moiso or Patrick O'Bryant. Even Javale McGee, who fell and looked pretty good in his rookie season, has leveled off. The super athletic string beans scare me off so I'll have the Kings grab Patterson, who's just come off playing with a high usage point guard in John Wall so playing with Tyreke shouldn't be anything new.
And that leaves us back at Detroit.
If the team wants to consider getting tougher, they could look at Kendrick Perkins in a deal of #12 and #36 for Perk and #19. It's hard for me to be objective on this one because I can't stand Perk and would be happy to see him go (and I think Xavier Henry could really benefit from the mentorship of Ray Allen.) For now, I'm going to stay away from that one.
The Pistons also might look to their neighbor in the north. Toronto is in about as bad position as Detroit with so-so players on big contracts. They also have the added bonus of Hedo Turkoglu now announcing that he doesn't want to go back to the Raptors. Ben Gordon for Hedo? A salary dump of Hedo for Tayshaun Prince's expiring deal? Joe Dumars might consider that although once you consider the length and amount of the aging Turk's contract, I think the smart move is to stay away.
I'm still stuck as to any deals that the Pistons might actually pull off. I might have to come up with a post for them alone later but, for now, I'll just have them add some defense and grab Ekpe Udoh. Udoh might not be the strongest guy but maybe Ben Wallace doesn't retire and shows him how to work a weight room. And with two picks from the Grizzlies trade, the Pistons can afford to roll the dice on a guy like Udoh. Also, of the remaining players, Udoh might have the best trade value so he could be used in a sign-and-trade or future deal.
