We are full swing into the NBA and NCAA seasons, so what better time than now to mock out the first 10 picks for the 2014 draft. This draft class has created serious buzz for what seems like forever. Many experts out there, including myself, see between six to eight players that have all-star potential. This will be the first of six mock drafts I will be doing leading up to the draft. I chose the 17th of each month as the dates to base my mock on seeing that the season ends on April 16th. Instead of doing a top 10 list, which many sites do, I instead chose to do a top 10 based on the standings as of the 17th. This will allow for me to consider the teams assets and needs as well as player talent. More than any other league, teams in the NBA tend not to employ the best player available strategy. Here’s my current mock draft:
1st Milwaukee Bucks 5-19 – Of any team in the league, the Bucks are in need of the most help. Bad ownership is largely responsible for their current lack of talent. They are bare at every position except center where they have Larry Sanders. Milwaukee will be looking for the player that has the best possible upside and chance to be a franchise player. Andrew Wiggins SF (Kansas) is that player.
2nd Utah Jazz 6-21 – The Jazz are a team that I thought had a few NBA pieces to work with; however, I am now not quite as sure as I was coming into the season. Their position with the biggest need would be small forward. It just so happens that the best player available now is Jabari Parker SF (Duke), a perfect fit.
3rd Philadelphia 76ers 7-19 – This team started off the season like gang busters with three straight wins and have gone 4-17 since. The 76ers may have found a gem in point guard Michael Carter-Williams who they took 11th last year, but after that wow. Nerlens Noel to me is still a question mark. Drafting a front court would make sense and the best player available again fits their need: Julius Randle PF (Kentucky).
4th Denver Nuggets (New York 7-17) – This pick, as you see, belonged to the Knicks but the Nuggets will be laughing if the Knicks can’t snap out of their early season funk and end up handing them a top five pick. The Nuggets have one position that is set in stone in Ty Lawson who is playing at a all-star level. The issue with the Nuggets is that they are not the greatest half court team. As a result, drafting Joel Embiid (Kansas), a center that can run with them and post up, would be ideal.
5th Sacramento Kings 7-15 – The Kings draft history in the last few years is not great. Other than DeMarcus Cousins, there is not another player on the roster that is an untouchable asset. What they don’t need is another shoot first guy. Aaron Gordon PF (Arizona) is a superior athlete that does not need plays ran for him to score.
6th Orlando Magic 8-17 – The Magic stole the best player in the 2013 draft, Victor Oladipo, and will be sitting in position to do the same thing again this year at six. Dante Exum PG (Australia) is the number one point guard in this draft and is probably ranked lower because he is not playing in the NCAA.
7th Atlanta Hawks (Brooklyn 9-15) – The Hawks own this pick but I can’t see Brooklyn finishing this low. The issue is that the best players available are at power forward and point guard. The Hawks have a large chunk of cap locked up at these positions. They should go with Dario Saric PF (Croatia) and hope he stays in Europe for another year.
8th Cleveland Cavaliers 9-14 – The Cavaliers are a mess at this point. They went a little off the board last year in choosing Anthony Bennett and that is not paying off to this point. They have front court depth and a great point guard in Kyrie Irving. The best players on the board are still at those two positions; however, Marcus Smart PG (Oklahoma State) is too good to pass up and I would expect a trade.
9th Chicago Bulls 9-14 – The Bulls have to be worried about the long term health of Derrick Rose. The best player on the board is 6’5” Zach LaVine PG (UCLA) which makes the most sense. If they decide to rebuild and buy out Carlos Boozer, this pick could go in a totally different direction.
10th Memphis Grizzlies 10-13 – The Grizzlies are another team that I feel won’t end up with a pick this high as they are seriously underachieving under the direction of the new coach. However, if they do, I see them looking to add a replacement for Zach Randolph. Noah Vonleh PF (Indiana) would fit beside Marc Gasol for the foreseeable future.
We will see how things shape up in a month from now. That gives players a lot of time to improve their draft stock and NBA teams to move 15 games up or down the standings.
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