The day is here and it has been a crazy lead up to the 2014 NBA draft. We have seen players flying up the draft board over the last few weeks a la Damien Lillard two years ago including Elfrid Payton and Noah Vonleh. We have seen guys falling as their games are picked apart like Tyler Ennis. Lastly, we have seen the injury bug hit a few of the big names leading in to the draft: Julius Randle and Joel Embiid who I had projected in four of my five previous mock drafts to be going first overall. This latest injury may be too much for teams to overlook at this point with so many previous big men having their careers ended by the same injuries. The list is too long to get into at this point so let’s just see if he held the top spot.
NBA mock draft
1st Cleveland Cavaliers 33-49 – My opinion on Lebron has wavered again. I felt that if the Cavs were able to add a franchise center, which think Embiid has the potential to be still, to Tristan Thompson, Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters and their 1st from last year in Anthony Bennett that they might just have had a real shot at convincing Lebron to come back. Now I feel the risk in taking Embiid is too high and they need to go in another direction. If they keep the pick, and I am not sure they will, they will take for the second year in a row a Canadian in Andrew Wiggins SF (Kansas). If they do this they will be taking a player that plays the same position as Lebron and that may just be the final door closing on a return home for the King. Side bar: I think that they could deal the pick to Minnesota in a package for Kevin Love and make a trio of Love, Lebron, and Irving. That trio would be better than any in the NBA and a force to be reckoned with for years to come.
2nd Milwaukee Bucks 15-67 – The Bucks have not hid the fact that they are in love with Jabari Parker SF (Duke). They will be drafting him with the 2nd pick unless the Cavs decide to take him over Wiggins. These two players are the consensus top two picks right now and looked at as the safest two picks. They feel that Parker is the most NBA ready guy, which is true. They also feel that being a kid from the mid-west, Chicago to be exact, he will be a player willing to stay and build this franchise into a winner and not be looking for the first opportunity to get out of Milwaukee. This is the biggest lock in the draft if Parker is on the board here.
3rd Philadelphia 76ers 19-63 – This is where things now get a little harder to predict. The 76ers could continue their slow build or try to take the next step now. I feel like this would be a good time for a team to take a chance on Joel Embiid C (Duke). Whether this is Philly taking him here or they deal the pick and move down a couple spots, he should not slide past third overall. Every player in the draft past these top three is accompanied with some kind of question mark. My gut says they take him and tank out one more season.
4th Orlando Magic 23-59 – Dante Exum PG (Australia) has been the player that I have had the Magic taking in every mock to this point and that won’t change in the last one. They need a point guard and he was impressive at the combine with his all-around skills and athletic ability. The one thing that could derail this from happening is if the 76ers decide not to tank out one more year as it seems that they are a little intrigued with the idea of a huge back court which would pair Michael Carter-Williams and Exum.
5th Utah Jazz 25-57 – Utah is a team that are in a spot that does not suit them to make a pick. They need help in the back court badly but the players that are on the board at that position are not worth the 5th overall pick. I had them taking Gary Harris for a couple of mocks but he seems like too much of a reach this early as time has gone on. They are another team that has been looking to deal leading into this draft. They are trying to go up and get Parker but would have to move into the top spot to get him and don’t seem to have the assets to do it. Rumour is that they are offering the Cavs Derrick Favors and the 5th pick for the 1st overall pick. This shows that they are not sold on their own young bigs. Because of this, I feel like they are going to take draft stock riser Noah Vonleh PF (Indaina). They can always deal Favors later or keep both as Noah is more of a stretch power forward along the lines of Chris Bosh now.
6th Boston Celtics 25-57 – Everyone knows that Boston is after Kevin Love. If they get him their pick will be made by the Timberwolves. If Ainge can’t pull off this block buster deal I still have them picking Marcus Smart PG (Oklahoma State). I think that if they can’t pull of the Love deal the next logical step will be to deal Rondo and in that case Smart can step right in to the starting point guard spot. In saying that, they don’t need to deal Rondo if they take Smart. They could ultimately end up playing them together. They would be a touch undersized but both are scrappy guards who excel when they are being overlooked or underestimated.
7th Los Angles Lakers 27-55 – I really like Julius Randle PF (Kentucky) at this spot and have all season. His game will translate to the NBA just about as good as any player in the draft. He will step into the league from day one with a spot light on him that will make him have to push himself to perform at the highest level possible. I am not a Kobe Bryant fan; however, having Kobe Bryant there to teach him how to go to work every day won’t hurt since he is probably the hardest worker in the NBA. I think that Randle is a much better all-around player then we saw last season at Kentucky and he will have a little more freedom to show off his full repertoire of skills in LA.
8th Sacramento Kings 28-54 – The best player on the board is Aaron Gordon PF (Arizona) and I would not be surprised to see the Kings pass up on him although I see this as a mistake. I have not been infected by the Kings and their lack of reason and logic so I say they take him. He is one of the best athletes with real size that we have seen come into the NBA since Lebron and Dwight. He is without a doubt being over looked by many because of the freak athlete at the top of the ranking, Andrew Wiggins. He will be quick enough to be a big small forward in the NBA but is also big enough to guard the power forwards on almost any team. I see him becoming a regular on the all-NBA defensive teams early in his career and an all-star down the line.
9th Charlotte via Detroit Pistons 29-53 – Charlotte have a point guard that can create for himself and others in Kemba Walker and a post presence that demands a double team in Big Al Jefferson. They could take one of the two purest shooters in either Nik Stauskas or Doug McDermmot SF/PF (Creighton). I feel like they have been interested in McDermmot from the early stages and why not be? He is a player that can shoot from range but can also post up smaller players. He will struggle on the defensive end but the team can game plan for that accordingly and ultimately they know what they are getting into.
10th Philadelphia via New Orleans 34-48 – Like Charlotte before them, the 76ers will now have a big point guard who can create in MCW and two post players in Nerleans Noel and Joel Embiid. So what is missing? Shooting. Nik Stauskas SG (Michigan) will bring that in spades. His game really grew this past season at Michigan. He went from a spot up shooter to a shooter that was able to get to the hoop and create in the pick and roll. There is no reason to think that he will not continue to improve.
As a new addition to my mock draft, I may as well finish up the lottery for you guys.
11th Denver – Gary Harris SG (Michigan State)
12th Orlando – Rodney Hood SF (Duke)
13th Minnesota – Elfrid Payton PG (Louisiana Lafayette)
14th Phoenix – Zach LaVine PG/SG (UCLA)
See you next season when we start this all over again.
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