The Draft Prospects Thread.

[The Big Three]

Hippos, feel free to post your mocks here as well as the NBA forum, I enjoy reading them and I'm sure everyone here would as well. Also, how do you think Singler's game will transition to the NBA?

[UConnCeltics]

Singler will be another JJ or Reddick if you ask me... great baller but style of play not for the NBA;

[The Big Three]

I started out thinking Kyle Singler will be too weak or unathletic for the NBA, but he's only a Freshman. He still has a lot of time to get bigger, and could probably be used in the NBA as a shooter to stretch out the defense.

[The Big Three]

What do you guys think about Bill Walker? Will he be a lottery pick this year?

[disco]

What do you guys think about Bill Walker? Will he be a lottery pick this year?

Watching him play last year, he always looked more like a nba player than college player to me. He has all the physical attributes (could be slightly taller) and his skills aren't too bad either. I think he's under-valued in most mocks, I have him at 16th in mine.

[monthh]

Walker has huge upside, but is he a guy that will focus on his game 100% and make himself a star? Right now I think he is just a natural talent. A team like Memphis will take him late in the draft and try to coach him up, but if he wants to party and act like a teenager, then I don't see him improving all that much.

If he works hard then he is a lottery talent.

[Oakman34]

bill walker=j.r. smith

[Efunk7]

bill walker=j.r. smith

nah...walker = early vince carter...

[BigShot87]

Lottery predictions anyone? Let's go Nets

[monthh]

This is my top 15 at this point. This is based on where I think thier draft stock is, with my personal bias as to how good I think they will be as pros mixed in.

1. Derrick Rose
2. Michael Beasley
3. Jerryd Bayless
4. O.J. Mayo
5. Brook Lopez
6. Eric Gordon
7. Danilo Gallinari
8. Anthony Randolph
9. DeAndre Jordan
10. Nicolas Batum
11. Russell Westbrook
12. Kevin Love
13. Darrell Arthur
14. Kosta Koufus
15. Javale McGee

I think Joe Alexander is a guy on the move, and I think Koufus is on the decline. I could see the two of them switching spots in the near future.

Anthony Randolph moved up recently for me, but I can't picture myself putting him over Gordon or Gallinari so I think my top 8 is pretty much set unless someone can really come out of nowhere and knock Randolph out.

Batum is on the way down as well, but personal bias keeps him in the top 10. I think DeAndre Jordan could be on his way down as well, which I think helps Westbrook, Love, and guys like that.

This is my next 15. And before anyone asks, I have Ajinca at 31, Tomic at 36, and Pekovic at 49, all of which are way, way too low.

16. Mareese Speights
17. Joe Alexander
18. Roy Hibbert
19. Chris Douglas-Roberts
20. Chase Budinger
21. D.J. Augustine
22. Victor Claver
23. Brandon Rush
24. Donte Greene
25. Serge Ibaka
26. Mario Chalmers
27. Robin Lopez
28. D.J. White
29. Jason Thompson
30. Ty Lawson

I of course see a ton of potential movement here. Claver is supposed to pull out, so he would be gone of course.

I don't like having Augustin that low, but I just don't know who to drop. I would probably be able to move him up to 18 without much problem, but that is in the future.

I know a lot of people will have a problem with Rush and Greene being so low, but I don't think Rush has made his move yet. He played well in the tournament and I think moved up about 5 spots based on that, and I would not be shocked to see him move up another 5 spots with workouts. It will take time. As for Greene, I think at one point he was just about in the top 10 range, but then he fell flat and his game fell apart. I think people see the potential, but when you have teams go from worst to first like the Celtics did this year, getting rookies to help out right away like the Hawks and Sixers did will be the norm for this year. Greene is not ready yet, and I think is on the decline, but about as low as he will go at this point. With good workouts I could see him moving up as well.

The last 5 players I think are really solid picks for winning teams. Two of them have been in the Final Four, two of them played in big time conferences at a high level, and Thompson is an athletic 6-10 guy with skills.

Looking outside of the top 30 I think there are a bunch of guys waiting to move up a lot. Walker (32), Hickson (33), and Jefferson (35) will rocket up the draft boards with workouts and guys pulling their names out I think. I could see Walker and Jefferson jumping close to the top 20 and Hickson the top 25.

Beyond that, I think there are a couple of guys that I think could contend for the 1st round as guys start to withdraw their names. Ryan Anderson (34), Weaver (37), Hendrix (40), Hudson (41), Weems (44), and Dorsey (47) are all guys that I think have a real shot at moving up 10 to 15 spots.

And for anyone that is wondering, Goran Dragic is my 60th best player, and Tello Palacios is at the bottom at 158. Looking at the bottom of my list, I think JaJuan Smith (138) from Tennessee has the best shot of moving up and getting a look in the 2nd round. As for the guy that I think could actually play in the NBA that is really low on my list, I like Ben Strong from Guilford (152) because he is 6-11 and can do some work down low. I also think Steven Hill (150) has a real chance to move way up and maybe someday play in the NBA if he cuts his hair so he can see.

[CaptainOwlClub]

wow- great post

i like most everything you have there- & you explained most of my questions- like jordon who i think you have at least 6-10 spots early

how are your rankings going to change after the workouts?- do you get to watch them?

also what is your take on courtney lee's game in the nba?

[i seen hippos]

Mayo, Gordon, Westbrook and Batum are too high.

Budinger, Augustine, Koufos and Lawson are too low.

I think Westbrook has the potential to be the biggest disappointment in the draft. I still think Kofous will be a top 10 pick after workouts.

[Qlippers]

What do you guys think about Bill Walker? Will he be a lottery pick this year?

Bill Walker has the NBA body, he's strong and athletic. His jump shot is inconsistent and the lacks the dribbling ability to separate from defenders. He has lottery potential but there are still alot of tools he needs to work on.

[monthh]

Thanks CaptainOwl. I think guys like Jordan are too high for my personal taste as well, but you can't help where they go. I've even said over the years here that I wouldn't draft a non-Oden type in the top 20. McGee, Koufus, and Jordan I probably wouldn't personally touch before 25 (although I do think Koufus could be a very good player, but the risk is very high). Lopez I might take somewhere between 10 and 20 because I do think he could be a very good player. I wish I got to watch the workouts, but instead I can only read about them like everyone else.

As for Courtney Lee, we have talked about his before, but I see a very good player, but like thousands before him it all depends on if he gets a chance to show what he can do. There was a guy a few years back named Henry Domercant from Eastern Illinois that I thought could have been a solid NBA player, but he never got drafted and has bounced around overseas. If given the shot I think he could play in the NBA in a Barbosa/Louis Williams role. I think Lee could be a backup in the NBA for sure. If a team that needs a guy that can get the ball in the hoop then he could fill that role. He is pretty average outside of that and that is why I don't think he will ever become a star or even a starter in the NBA. Average athletic ability, average size, average defense, average passing, and limited potential. He is, however, not bad at anything. He will play right away, is saavy, has very good fundamentals, can make shots from anywhere on the court with consistancy, and although he does make some silly plays, he is a smart player. I think with a team like the Spurs, Jazz, or Lakers he would do really well. I would say my best comparison of him is what Paul Millsap is for the Jazz as a hard working forward, Courtney Lee could be for a few teams as a scoring gaurd.

Hippos, Mayo, Gordon, and Westbrook may be too high in your eyes, but I think those guys have pretty much locked in their draft range. Mayo will be in the top 5 or 6, Gordon will be in the top 10 or 11, and Westbrook will go in the lottery.

I too think Westbrook's current skills are overrated, but I think the NCAA Tournament gave a glimpse of the huge upside that he has, despite how rocky his game was. Even when he wasn't shooting the ball well, he still played D (held Courtney Lee to 7-29 shooting) and grabed 11 boards against WKU. In their first round game he shot poorly (as he did quite often throughout the year), but he still had 7 assists. Against Xavier and Memphis, he got his shot falling and went 17-30 from the field. The Texas A&M game was just horrible for him, though. He has all the skills (except two huge knocks in size and shooting) you would want in a prospect. This guy can do everything and has the ability to do anything in the NBA, but I still can't believe all the time he went like 5-7 or 2-4 to save his shooting percentage from looking downright awful.

Batum I agree with because he has fallen into the 20's most likely, but I am a fan and as I said, will drop him down as we get closer to the draft.

I'm with you on the Koufus pick. I said in some topic here that I think he will end up being the 10th best player in the draft. I'm really keeping him up that high based on personal bias, just like Batum. But again, I am with you on him.

I talked about how I didn't like having Augustin so low, but I don't know who to drop. I'm not a big fan of Budinger, Speights, or Hibbert, and I could see him move past Douglas-Roberts, so 17 would be the highest I could put him in my eyes, and to me the difference between 17 and 21 is basically meaningless.

I don't like Budinger all that much, although he is growing on me and I am starting to think I might like him if he fell to the Rockets. And I am a UNC fan so I would love to put Lawson much higher, but I'm not sure on the wrong team how effective he will be. I see a few teams that may want to push the tempo as a good fit, but overall I see him as a guy who will have a specific and limited role with a team, just like Dorsey with defense and Hudson with scoring.

Qlippers I think you hit it right on the head with Walker. He has some good qualities and some bad qualities, and a ton of potential. He is the perfect example of natural talent that just needs to work on his game for a couple years and then take a couple years to put his skill together to reach his full potential.

[hippos]

Lawson is def. hit and miss. He can do well on a team like Phoenix, GS, Atlanta, Philly, etc. He will always get abused by the Deron Williams of the NBA and will be outplayed at his own game by the start speedsters such as Parker, Ford, Paul, etc. Nothing more than a middle of the pack starter, but to me he won't be a complete failure. I think his speed even coming off the bench will be valuable to any team and if he can keep improving his shot he can become quite an all around offensive player. On defense it is another thing. He is fast, but I don't think he will ever have the lateral quickness to make up for his lack of size like Ford does.

I myself have gone a bit sour on him, but I'd still place him in the top 22 in this year's draft because there are teams that could use a starting pg or a backup for a few years until the current starter is gone.


I agree with on where Mayo, Gordon and Westbrook will go (less so Gordon unless he has great workouts). I just wanted to point out that I don't feel they are 4th, 6th, 11th best quality players in this draft. You said exactly what I feel about Westbrook. He shows flashes, but I would have liked to see him back at UCLA for one year without Collison. Unfortunately it appears Collison is the one coming back to school.

I'd still like Toronto to look at Batum at 17 if Budinger and Rush were gone, but I've never been very high on him. I was the one saying Gallinari was better 2 years ago when everyone thought I was crazy. He just hasn't shown much skill yet on offense. There's a difference between showing underdeveloped skill and not showing much (he's solid, don't get me wrong). To me he could be another Pi