Mock Draft V.6

Well, another day, another couple trades in the NBA...Golden State has sent Jamal Crawford to the Atlanta Hawks for Speedy Claxton and Acie Law. This is actually quite a smart pickup for the Warriors, they shed salary, make space at the patented GS Combo Guard position for more minutes from their young gunner Monta Ellis. This also secures them some cap relief with Speedy Claxton and his 80% insured contract. Finally it allows the Warriors to quietly pick up a young Point Guard (Law) in the event that things sour between Ellis and Coach Don Nelson even further.

The next trade has the Blazers at #24 and Mavs at #22 swapping picks this year, in exchange for this the blazers are giving up two 2nd round picks at #56 this year and the latter of two picks in 2010. This has pretty big implications as rumors have swirled stating they are after the Kings coveted Omri Casspi. They plan to stash him in europe for a couple years while Nate McMillan continues to build around his young nucleus in The Rose City.

with this new news, i have revamped my Mock Draft...again...and wait their will be at least one more tomorrow as well, possibly even two more depending on the news wire. I will explain the Lottery Picks,here we go...

1. Clippers- Blake Griffin PF 6-10 250 Oklahoma
Big Surprise here, this is as big a lock as what they use over at Fort Knox.

2. Grizzlies- Hasheem Thabeet C 7-3 265 UCONN
My sources (I always love saying that) think that the Grizzlies have given up on trading the #2 pick and have settled on Thabeet as their new big man.

3. Thunder- Ricky Rubio PG 6-4 180 Spain
This is where things start to get a little shaky, there is a good chance this will be Harden as the thunder seem to be only lacking a wing who can score in bunches and a Shot Blocking big man ie. Thabeet, with the latter already gone, Harden to me seems like the logical choice. Although...Rubio has been rumored to be a Sam Presti turn on and as such they have reportedly hired a prestigious law firm in Barcelona Spain to try to begin working on Rubious large buyout(reportedly 6 Mill).

4. Kings- Tyreke Evans SG 6-5 220 Memphis
From what i understand the Kings have Ricky Rubio at the top of their Draft board with Tyreke Evans as a Close second, there is a good chance that despite Rubio being available they may still pull the trigger on Evans...

5. Wolves- James Harden SG 6-5 225 Arizona St.
The Wolves really want Hasheem Thabeet and Ricky Rubio, that has been their plan all along, now it appears that neither will fall to them in this draft, so plan B has to be getting two new guards to fill their trade depleted backcourt, in my opinion that has to be Stephen Curry and James Harden...

6. Wolves- Stephen Curry SG 6-3 180 Davidson
See Above...

7. Warriors- Jordan Hill PF 6-11 235 Arizona
From all accounts the Warriors have promised this pick to Jordan Hill, i fully expect that promise to be fulfilled.

8. Knicks- Jrue Holiday PG 6-4 200 UCLA
The Knicks have been trying to secure Stephen Curry this entire time, however with him off the board, they move on to the next best Point Guards, they have Jrue Holiday and Brandon Jennings at the top of their board, from what i hear, Jrue blew them away at the last workout and as such moved to the top.

9. Raptors- DeMar DeRozan SG 6-7 215 USC
The Raptors have had their eye on both Stephen Curry and DeMar DeRozan from the get go, i fully expect them to take DeRozan.

10. Bucks- Jonny Flynn PG 6-0 195 Syracuse
The Bucks could go three ways, from what i hear their Board is as follows: 1. Holiday, 2. Jonny Flynn, 3. Jeff Teague...im pretty sure that this will be Flynn at this point, he also would not be adverse to playing in a cold climate town...

11. Nets- Terrence Williams SF 6-6 220 Louisville
The Nets have had their minds on Jonny Flynn, Terrence Williams and Tyler Hansbrough, since flynn is gone, im almost positive this will be TWill, unless they decide to trade down to select the Hyper Athletic Phsyco T.

12. Bobcats- Gerald Henderson SF 6-5 215 Duke
The Bobcats have had their eyes on Gerald Henderson and Terrence Williams from the Get go, but at this point have made the leap to promise this spot to TWill if he is available, as he is not, Henderson appears to be the selection.

13. Pacers- DaJuan Blair PF 6-8 265 Pittsburgh
The Pacers have had their eyes on Jonny Flynn and Jrue Holiday for Quite some time, but with neither available and their pressing need for a front court presence im pretty sure this will be DaJuan Blair.

14. Suns- Earl Clark SF 6-10 230 Louisville
15. Pistons- Austin Daye SF 6-10 200 Gonzaga
16. Bulls- James Johnson PF 6-8 255 Wake Forest
17. 76ers- Brandon Jennings PG 6-1 170 USA
18. Wolves- BJ Mullens C 7-0 255 Ohio St.
19. Hawks- Ty Lawson PG 6-0 200 North Carolina
20. Jazz- Tyler Hansbrough PF 6-9 235 North Carolina
21. Hornets- Chase Budinger SF 6-7 210 Arizona
22. Blazers- Omri Casspi SF 6-9 215 Israel
23. Kings- Jeff Teague PG 6-2 175 Wake Forest
24. Mavs- Eric Maynor SG 6-3 170 VCU
25. Thunder- Josh Heytvelt PF 6-10 250 Gonzaga
26. Bulls- Sam Young SG 6-6 220 Pittsburgh
27. Grizzlies- Derrick Brown SF 6-8 225 Xavier
28. Wolves- Jonas Jerebko SF 6-9 220 Sweden
29. Lakers- Patrick Mills 6-0 175 Saint Mary's
30. Cavs- DaJuan Summers PF 6-9 245 Georgetown