Entries Tagged 'NBA' ↓

Below is a list of the top players from the 2004 NBA draft. I also added Monta Ellis and Andrew Bogut from the 2005 draft class since they both signed contracts this summer. It is unquestionable that Dwight Howard is by far the best player on the list. So my question to you is…

Who is the second best player?

• Dwight Howard - Superman’s deal is the high water-mark at 5-years, $80 million
  
• Emeka Okafor
• Ben Gordon
• Shaun Livingston
• Devin Harris
• Josh Childress
• Luol Deng
• Andre Iguodala
• Andris Biedrins
• Robert Swift
• Sebastian Telfair
• Al Jefferson
• Josh Smith
• JR Smith
• Dorell Wright
• Jameer Nelson
• Delonte West
• Tony Allen
• Kevin Martin
• Sasha Vujacic
• Beno Udrih
• Anderson Varejao
• Chris Duhon
• Trevor Ariza
• Monta Ellis*
• Andrew Bogut*

By now I am pretty sure you know what I am getting at here. On Comcast SportsNite Thursday night Dei Lynam reported that Andre Iguodala’s agent believe he is the second best player of the 2004 NBA draft class and among the free agents to be signed so far this summer (to be clear I think Iguodala thinks this as well). With that understanding he should get a contract representative of that stature. Translation: Andre Iguodala wants more than anyone else on the market. (additional source)

The contract Iguodala is reportedly looking for is a 6-year deal worth $75 million guaranteed.

Is Andre Iguodala worth $12.5 million per season to the Sixers? We have discussed all the guys that have been signed this summer. But let me give you some additional context (comparables) that haven’t been mentioned at all that I think should play a part in the thought process as well.

1. Al Jefferson received a 5-year contract extension from the Timerwolves at the last minute of the extension period on October 31st, 2007 worth $65 million ($13M per season average). Jefferson played in 69 games, averaging 33.6MPG, 16PPG, 11 boards, 1.5 blocks, 51.4% from the field and 68% from the line the season before his deal.
2. Kevin Martin got a 5-year, $55 million contract extension ($11M per season average) a month before Al Jefferson’s deal. Martin’s ‘06-’07 stats that lead to his hefty contract? 80 games, 35.2MPG, 20PPG, 4.3RPG, 2.2 dimes, 1.2 SPG, 47.3% from the field, 38.1% from three (4.2 attempts per game) and 84.4% from the line (7.1 attempts per night). Oh, and only 1.7 turnovers per game and 13.3 shots per game. Not bad at all if I must say so myself.

Right now, based solely on guaranteed money, Emeka Okafor has gotten the biggest contract in terms of total years and dollars. But Al Jefferson has the largest average salary at $13 million per year.

If Andre Iguodala and his agent Rob Pelinka are really asking for a 6-year, $75 million deal averaging $12.5M per season that would be right in line for a player considered to be the second best on that list.

But is he? It’s definitely a great debate. If you ask me I think Al Jefferson has turned himself into the best player behind Dwight Howard on this list. Especially considering quality big men of this caliber tend to be harder to come by. The season Jefferson had last year was phenomenal, very comparable to Elton Brand-type production before his injury.

But we aren’t the guys with the big bucks or the power to spend it. So I guess the better question is; Does Ed Stefanski believe Andre Iguodala is the second best player and therefore should be paid accordingly?

Ever wonder what goes on in NBA contract negotiations? What the teams say, what the players are thinking and how their agents go to battle for them? I’ve touched on it a bit in recent posts, and we’ve been discussing it quite a bit in the comments on this blog. But, unless you are an insider you rarely know what really goes on behind closed doors in pro sports. We are so often left with the common line “team official X can not comment on negotiations as per league rules.”

But today I read an article I found especially interesting considering the Sixers’ restricted free agents have yet to be signed. It features a sports agent who is not bound by NBA rules on discussing negotiations and his dealings with Cleveland Cavaliers this summer. I thought the comments from 22-year agent Aaron Goodwin (Delonte West’s representative) gave good insight into how NBA contract negotiations are handled from both sides of the table. And it’s not much different from what we go through in our own lives. Without the millions that is!

The team’s perspective

“They said, ‘Take the deal we’ve offered or we’ll go an alternate route,’ ” Goodwin said. “They won’t negotiate fairly.”

Sounds like the “there are plenty of fish in the sea” mentality. How is this much different from any other organization and Joe Schmo worker in corporate America? Basically telling the employee you are replaceable if you don’t except our terms. I could see this being fairly common for role players who are restricted free agents.

“They keep saying how much players want to play with LeBron (James). That doesn’t work with Delonte.”

That’s about the only selling point Cleveland has, right? They got lucky getting to the Finals on the broad shoulders of LeBron James but aren’t really considered a perennial championship contender. So management uses their one and only star as a “benefit of the job” to lure free agents - at management’s price. Apparently Delonte West isn’t as star struck as the Cavs would like him to be.

Goodwin said the Cavs told him they have five or six players who are all around the same level playing-wise. So, he said they want to keep all of those players at the same level contract-wise.

This makes sense to me and is probably one of the biggest reasons negotiations go cold. The two sides don’t agree on the caliber player under consideration for a new contract. The team will look in-house and see what players they have on the roster who are comparable and start the contract at that rate. I get that, companies do it all the time. It then becomes up to the player and agent to plead their case as to why their level is above other guys on the roster. You will clearly see the rebuttals Aaron Goodwin shoots on this point back below.

“To quote another team, ‘Why should we negotiate for the Cavs?’ ” Goodwin said. ” ‘If we make an offer, all they’ll do is match.’

The way Goodwin articulated this point was enlightening for me. It clearly shows why players and their agents HATE the concept of restricted free agency. Basically if an outside team makes an offer to a restricted free agent they are doing all the work for the home team with little chance to reap the reward. The players current team can just sit back and say “we match” after having done no real negotiating or work at all. You can see why there haven’t been many offers made to restricted players if all teams have this mentality.

The agent/player’s perspective

“They made an offer to Delonte for around what they got ‘Boobie’ to sign for,” Goodwin said.

I don’t know, but it just sounds like Goodwin believes Daniel Gibson got duped into his deal. Like it wasn’t the deal he really wanted or desired, and the Cavs organization forced/tricked him into signing at their terms.

“Chris Duhon got $5 million-plus, and he might not even start (for the New York Knicks). All the comparables that we showed them doesn’t matter to Cleveland….Delonte is their starting point guard. He has to play offense and defense. He has to play defense against guys like (Washington’s) Gilbert Arenas. I think he’s hard-nosed, gritty. He can help that team. It’s not apples for apples.”

This is a clear rebuttal to the third quote above. Goodwin is comparing a similar player’s recent contract to what Delonte should be getting now. If Cleveland doesn’t come close to approaching that number they are undervaluing him. I gotta believe this is what agents do all day at the negotiation table. Compare players they think are similar to their guy and push the intangibles outside of statistics that sets them apart. In this case I think Goodwin is exactly right in using Duhon’s contract as a fair example.

But, what if the Cavs didn’t agree with what the comparable player received? The rebuttal I would consider giving if I was management; “We aren’t the damn Knicks. There is no way we would have paid Chris Duhon over $5 million per season. That was a bloated contract and in our eyes doesn’t reflect his true value. We feel your value to our team is similar to Boobie’s, and that is why we offered you a bit more to reflect your role as the starting point guard.” Then I would point to the stats for further justification.

“Quit telling us these bluffs. Sit down and negotiate a fair deal. They are making offers not far off the qualifying offer.”

Anytime someone uses a poker term or analogy I snap to attention (long-time poker player). Poker is not a card game. It is a people game that uses cards. You have to know when your adversary is strong, when they are weak, and react accordingly. Read their tells, call their bluffs, bluff back and show the winning hand. These are all vital skills in negotiations, and Goodwin is clearly up for the game. (And I am willing to bet Ed Stefanski is as well in dealing with Iguodala in particular.)

To me these NBA negotiations look and feel like a 7 or 8 figure version of what we would go through in our everyday work-life. Don’t you agree?

So to bring things back to the Sixers, here’s what I did…

With the domino effect of signings this past week I put together a list of this summer’s comparables for Andre Iguodala and Louis Williams. Obviously, nothing can be an exact match, but I considered, in order: team role/importance + production, position, age and contract. The links next to the player names are side-by-side player comparison stats from Basketball Reference (2008 and cumulative). Listed players are in no particular order.

Andre Iguodala Comparables

• Corey Maggette (2008 / Cumulative): 5-years, $50 million
• Monta Ellis (2008 / Cumulative): 6-years, $67 million
• Luol Deng (2008 / Cumulative): 6-years, $71 million (with $9 million in potential bonuses)
• Andres Biedrins (2008 / Cumulative): 6-years, $63 million
• Emeka Okafor (2008 / Cumulative): 6-years, $72 million
• Andrew Bogut (2008 / Cumulative): 5-years, $60 million extension (with $12 million in potential bonuses)

With all these signings I think Iguodala’s will shortly follow suit. If he is offered a comparable deal to that of Luol Deng or Emeka Okafor, I can’t see how he turns it down. But if for some reason he does, I have to question his perception of his ability and worth in this league - not to mention his desire to win in a Philadelphia 76ers uniform.

Louis Williams Comparables

• Sasha Vujacic (2008 / Cumulative): 3-years, $15 million
• Chris Duhon (2008 / Cumulative): 2-years, nearly $12 million
• Daniel Gibson (2008 / Cumulative): 5-years, $20.8 million
• Micheal Pietrus (2008 / Cumulative): 4-years, $22 million

Apparently Louis Williams turned down an initial offer from the 76ers…

According to a league source, the Cavs have talked to Philadelphia 76ers guard Louis Williams, another restricted free agent. Williams, 21, is a 6-foot-2, 175-pounder who averaged 12 points for the Sixers last season. He has reportedly turned down a contract starting at $3.9 million from the Sixers. - The News-Herald.com

I think we all agreed Lou was somewhere in the $3.5-$5 million range so this initial offer is in the ballpark but on the low end. I am assuming he wants closer to full mid-level exception money and I think in the end he will get it - from the Sixers. Like you read in the above point I don’t see another team making Williams an offer for much more than what the Sixers did. Stefanski would simply match and that would be the end of it. Unless a team vastly overpays Williams ($6M+) they are just going to have to come to terms in-house.

Sixers-related Discussion

You know how I like to toss out some questions and things for us to discuss in the comments so here you go…

• Does the recent flurry of restricted free agent signings change your opinion regarding Iguodala’s and Williams’ potential contracts?
• How do you think Andre Iguodala’s and Louis Williams’ agents are fighting for their clients?
• What player comparables do you think they are they using to set the market price?
• What player roles/importance, value propositions and intangibles are they pushing to Ed Stefanski and the Sixers to get top dollar?

All quotes and comments in this post courtesy of The News-Herald.

Right before the NBA Draft I wrote a fun post called Put Your Draft ‘Eye’ to the Test. Basically giving you a limited description of two players and asking you to pick which one was the better prospect. Here are the results:

I cautioned everyone NOT to guess who the players because you would be wrong. That was a bit of reverse psychology trickery on my part knowing everyone would take that as a challenge and give their best shot. Well I think it’s time to unveil who the players are and show you exactly why I called it a “fun little test” and not to guess.

Player A is…

Player B is…

We have to say thanks for comparing us to the likes of D.J. Augustin, CDR, O.J. Mayo, Mario Chalmers, and Eric Gordon. Haha, I told you not to guess didn’t I!

By far my favorite part of this was, when Pete read the first commenter’s suggestion that he was Willie Green, his reaction was (jokingly) - “Now I have to kill myself!” Priceless.

I’m not one to start giving out draft grades, so I’m going use a basic formula for each team’s performance: How would I feel as a fan, today, if this was my favorite team (note: I have omitted the 2 teams without a pick, ATL and NO, and the 3 that only had a 2nd round pick, LAL, DEN and DAL). I’m going to put each team into 1 of 4 categories: Pumped, Ticked, Bored and Confused. I will also have the teams ordered from top to bottom ranging from how strong the emotion would be. Wow that last sentence sounds stupid. Oh well, I’m hungover, the Phillies are sucking, what do you want from me. Let’s do this:

Pumped

Portland Trail Blazers - All they needed was a PG, but at the 13th pick, it didn’t seem likely that one of the top prospects at that position would fall to them. Enter evil-genius Kevin Pritchard who managed to use the 13th pick to get the 4th best player on his draft board (Jerryd Bayless) without giving up anybody in particular. Now their opening night line-up will be Bayless, Webster, Roy, Aldridge and Oden with Frye, Outlaw, Przybilla, Blake and Rudy Fernandez (first year over from Spain) coming off the bench. What a collection of young talent. It may not be this year, but the sky is limit for that crew.

Miami Heat - You have Michael Beasley and he’s not going anywhere. Mayo and Bayless have both already been traded and won’t be traded again. I have my doubts about Beasley, but if he’s on my team right now, I’m thinking about the people who say he’s a HOF caliber talent, not those saying he’ll party too much in South Beach. The topper was getting Mario Chalmers, who could have gone as high as #12 without people being surprised, in the second round. They needed a PG, and Chalmers will be a perfect fit on a team like this with 2 big-time scorers carrying the load.

Minnesota Timberwolves - Looking at their roster, the Wolves really aren’t THAT far behind the Blazers in the up-and-coming team category. Next year they will send out a line-up of Foye, McCants, Miller, Love and Jefferson with a bench including Telfair, Brewer, Gomes and Craig Smith. Probably won’t make the playoffs next year, but could REALLY do some damage in a couple years. Impressive turnaround by the much-maligned Kevin McHale (Kevin Love could not be in better situation with constant access to McHale, by the way).

Toronto Raptors - If I’m a Raptors fan right now, I am absolutely drinking the kool-aid and and telling myself that Jermaine O’Neal is going to be motivated to return to all-star form (he’s only 29) and that Jose Calderon at the point the whole year will make us the 3rd best team in the East.

Chicago Bulls - Whenever you have the first pick in the NBA draft and you don’t totally screw it up, you can’t not be excited as a fan. It’s been said a kajillion times at this point, but his leadership and drive is exactly what this team needs. That, and to do some kind of 3 for 1 trade to upgrade their roster, they currently have 12 rotation guys on their team. That’s too many.

Los Angeles Clippers- They needed a 2-guard and they got a great one with a very high ceiling in Eric Gordon. Add him to a line-up with Maggette, Brand, Thornton and Kaman, and the Clips could re-create some of that ‘06 magic. They also stole DeAndre Jordan, who I wanted no part of, but is much better than a mid-second round talent.

Houston Rockets - Donte Green and Joey Dorsey are both guys that can come in and contribute next year to their already solid bench.

Boston Celtics - They just won the championship, all their fans could just sit back and enjoy watching the other teams try to catch up. That must be nice.

Orlando Magic - Courtney Lee HAS to be better than J.J. Redick. Right?

Utah Jazz - Kosta Koufos, Ante Tomic and Tadija Dragicevic. They are going to have to give out sunglasses every game due to the blinding white-ness radiating from the court at Jazz games.

Ticked

Seattle Supersonics - It was bad enough that they took Russell Westbrook when they DESPERATELY need another scorer to compliment Kevin Durant, NOT a PG version of the guy they drafted last year, Jeff Green. But then, after the news of the O.J. Mayo trade broke, every Sonics fan must have been thinking “you mean, if we had drafted Love, we could have traded him for Mayo?” Then, with several decent prospects on the board (Donte Green? Mario Chalmers?) they take their 4th project (read: crappy) big man in 5 years. So instead of a DREAM pairing of O.J. Mayo and Kevin Durant, they get Kevin Durant and 4 guys who can’t score so he’s going to get qua-triple-teamed every play. As a basketball fan, not a Sonics fan, this ticked me off. Mayo and Durant would have been phenomenal to watch together for years to come. I feel cheated. Also, extra points to Sonics fans for the fact that their pathetic-excuses-for-human-being owners are moving to team because they feel like it.

Charlotte Bobcats - Michael Jordan and Larry Brown had the 9th and 20th picks in this draft and managed to not improve their team one bit for next year. I didn’t think that was possible. They drafted Augustin, who at best, will be slightly better than Raymond Felton and they drafted Ajinca, who at best, will be a back-up center with energy. D.J. Augustin and Alexis Ajinca or Mario Chalmers and Brook Lopez. Hmmmmm….

Cleveland Cavaliers - Well, they picked up my man J.J. Hickson at 19, so I should love their draft if I am Cavs fan right? No - and there are 2 reasons why. One, the only thing on Cavs fans’ minds should be getting another big-time talent to play with LeBron - any move short of that will result in more of the same next year. Two, the moves the Nets made (more on this later) essentially started the countdown for the day LeBron leaves town before winning a title. That day will absolutely crush the spirits of every Cleveland fan. I mean CRUSH. I mean CRUSH. Every time he does something amazing for the next 2 years, all they will think about is that he will be gone soon, probably be remembered for the team he plays for next, and that you will never, EVER, get an opportunity to get a player like him again. I fully expect that Cleveland’s Alcoholics Anonymous meetings will have to be held at Jacob’s Field starting in 2012 to support the amount of people attending.

New York Knicks - If I’m a Knicks fan, I’m ticked for 2 reasons. One, because I would have preferred Eric Gordon or Jerryd Bayless instead of a high-risk, high-reward player (I don’t hate the Gallinari pick, but I don’t see him making any kind of immediate impact). And two, I’d be embarrassed to be a Knicks fan a be associated with those that booed their new draft pick, because they think it’s funny and they are expected to, not because they have any knowledge of the game. Frankly, I hope Gallinari tears it up and then signs with another team the second he can followed by “Gallinari getting booed” replacing “McNabb getting booed” as the most overplayed sports clip ever. (Note: I’m aware I’m from Philly - but I don’t boo draft picks. I wait till they suck to boo them).

Washington Wizards - I’d rather have an undersized PF with kidney problems than a skinny center who hasn’t learned how to play yet.

Bored

Detroit Pistons - I’m willing to bet that no Pistons fan has seen both Walter Sharpe and Trent Plaisted play. I’d also be willing to bet that they never will.

San Antonio Spurs - Tim Duncan was the last time the Spurs had an exciting draft. And he’s the greatest boring player ever. More than any other team, it will be extremely weird to see them in the lottery one day. Can you imagine them taking a player like O.J. Mayo?

Sacramento Kings - Jason Thompson’s name is even boring. They didn’t get their guy (Augustin) and should probably have traded out of the first round.

Philadelphia Sixers - My guy (J.J. Hickson) was there. My 2nd choice (Kosta Koufos) dropped further than we thought. Either of these guys and I’d be really excited and then……. Marreese Speights. Both Dannie and my reaction? “Meh.” Our reaction to us not giving up 2 second rounders to get Mario Chalmers, or trade back into the first to get Darrell Arthur? “Meh.” Dannie will have much more on the Sixers draft, but I’m not sure it could have been more dull for us. That’s 2 “r’s,” 2 “e’s” and 1 “s” in Marreese, by the way.

New Jersey Nets - Thought about giving these guys and the Cavs their own category called “scared to death.” Essentially, the ownership has said that they are mailing in the next two years under the pretense that LeBron will sign with them because he’s friends with Jay-Z. In the meantime, you’ll have to watch the exhilarating games of Brook Lopez, a half-trying Vince Carter and Bobby Simmons. Oh - and if LeBron doesn’t sign, you’ve just lost 2 years of your life.

Phoenix Suns - Excited that you drafted SOMEONE, I guess. But considering the coaching change, potential disaster Shaq trade, and the window clearly closing on this team, it’s hard to get excited about someone who’s ceiling is Anderson Varejao.

Confused

Memphis Grizzlies - If you are a Memphis fan right now, what on earth is going through your head? On the one hand, you’ve got to be delighted you ended the night with O.J. Mayo and Darrell Arthur. On the other hand, you’ve spent the last couple weeks watching Pau Gasol in the playoffs, hearing that you will sell this pick to the highest bidder to save cap space and that your owners want to cut salary even though they are under the cap. THEN - you go ahead and acquire a horrendous contract in Marko Jaric and include your second best player, Mike Miller, in the Love/Mayo deal. Do you want to win? Do you want to save money? You couldn’t trade one of your THREE young PG’s instead of Miller? Do you have ANY SORT OF PLAN HERE? (Sidenote: If you don’t have enough money to run a professional sports team, then DON’T BUY AN EFFING PROFESSIONAL SPORTS TEAM. Go buy a yacht or a house in Milan and pay peasants to let you spit on them. OK, I feel better now.)

Milwaukee Bucks - I’d want to be ticked, but the team improved, so I’ll settle for confused. How do you pick Joe Alexander when you just traded for Richard Jefferson and Jerryd Bayless and DJ Augustin are staring you in the face as a upgrade to Mo Williams at PG. Essentially what they said is that their #8 overall pick is not going to start for 3 years or so. Get excited Milwaukee.

Indiana Pacers - Indiana fans this morning: Uhhh… are we good now? I can’t tell. Including the O’Neal trade, the Pacers have SIX new players on their squad. They are now a deep team, with no #1 guy, who will be impossible to project next year. Added to this was trading the gift-wrapped Jerryd Bayless (great option when T.J. Ford gets hurt) for Brandon Rush and only picking up Jarrett Jack as a bonus. Here is their rotation next year: Ford, Jack, Dunleavy, B. Rush, Granger, Daniels, Murphy, Foster, Hibbert and Nesterovic. They could win 25 games or 45 games. I have no idea.

Golden State Warriors - Didn’t we just draft Anthony Randolph last year? Does this mean Brandan Wright isn’t any good? Is it bad that our two PF’s weigh a combined 250 pounds? Richard Hendrix would excite me as a great 2nd round pick-up though.

Looking to 2009: Ok, so Dannie and I clearly have an unhealthy interest in the NBA draft. No, I’m not about to throw down a mock draft for 2009. BUT, I am going to throw a name out for you if you haven’t heard it before to remember for 2009: Ricky Rubio.

Here are some Rubio facts:

- He is a 6′3” PG from Spain that looks like Pete Maravich
- He was the youngest player to ever play in Spain’s ACB (their NBA) at age 15
- At 16, he led the Euroleague in steals (3.45) despite playing only 18 minutes a game
- This season, at 17, his club team, Joventut Badalona, won the ULEB cup. His teammate and future TrailBlazer, Rudy Fernandez won the MVP. Rubio, the youngest player in the team’s rotation by 3 years, averaged 7.6 pts (on 53% shooting), 4.5 apg, 3.4 rpg and 2.4 spg in 20 minutes.
- Pepe Sanchez said of Rubio: “I think he’s a freak of nature — being so young and being so skilled and also so cool all the time. You can see that he knows what he’s doing. He’s not playing out there with pros based only on his talents. He knows the game and he can only improve.”
- And my favorite Rubio fact. In 2006, Rubio led the U-16 Spanish National Team to the FIBA Europe Championship. During the tournament, he had 3 triple-doubles and 1 quadruple-double. His line for the championship game against Russia? 51 points, 24 rebounds, 12 assists and 7 steals. He also hit a buzzer beater from half-court to send the game into over time. Needless to say, he won the tournament’s MVP after leading it in points, rebounds, assists and steals.

This is nothing more than a post for you guys to flood the comments with pre, during and post NBA Draft talk. Sixers or other. And keep it all in one central location.

I will lead off with my ideal scenario for the Sixers.

With all the recent shuffling and moves Chad Ford (and others) in his most recent NBA Mock Draft has Mario Chalmers dropping to 17. I say the Sixers “buy” a later 1st round draft pick and take Chalmers at 16 which would sure up our PG needs with a guy who can also shoot the three and lock up on defense. Then take J.J. Hickson with the later first round pick the Sixers would have acquired. The slightly different version of that would be to draft two PFs with the picks and let them battle it out which would increase the chance we land a guy who will actually become a real player in 2-3 years.

This recent development by the Spurs supports my idea as a real possibility for the Sixers.

The Spurs sent an e-mail to every team in the league at 3:30 p.m. saying that they were willing to move the 26th pick. The e-mail asked league executives to “E-mail us your interest and your offers to 26.”

That’s the first time I’ve heard of something like this in all of my years covering the draft. Make your Spurs pitch below in our comments section. - Chad Ford, ESPN

Open discussion…

Think you can spot talent and draft better than most NBA GMs and basketball player evaluators?

I know you do because you probably wouldn’t be on this blog and other sports forums critiquing and criticizing the decisions of your favorite team’s management. So with the 2008 NBA Draft today, I put together this fun little test for you.

The Challenge

It’s quite simple actually. Pick the the player that you think is the better overall prospect based on the information provided. To take the possibility of a dispute out of the equation, there is without question a better player. Don’t try to guess the players - trust me you won’t get it.

Player A - Point Guard

Measurements

Height (w/o shoes) - 5′ 9.88″ / Height (w/shoes) - 5′ 10.88″ / Weight - 175lbs / Wingspan - 5′ 11.5″ / Standing Reach - 7′ 7.5″ / No Step Vertical - 30.5 / Max Vertical - 36

Player Description

Strengths:

• Very quick especially with his first step
• Athletic and very good jumping ability
• Good mid-range and three-point shooter
• Aggressive on-ball defender and fundamentally overall sound defensively
• Solid, but still developing court vision
• Good decision-maker and looks to get teammates involved first and score second
• Proven leader

Weaknesses:

• Vastly undersized and skill may not be able to overcome his lack of height
• Short arms and small hands which can hurt him defensively
• Needs to improve strength to finish around the basket
• Can sometimes get pushed around by tough on-ball defenders and bigger point guards on offense

Player B - Shooting Guard

Measurements

Height (w/o shoes) - 6′ 2.75′‘ / Height (w/shoes) - 6′ 3.75” / Weight - 210lbs / Wingspan - 6′ 5” / Standing Reach - 8′ 1” / No Step Vertical - 24 / Max Vertical - 28

Player Description

Strengths:

• Crafty scorer who is able to use his body to create space to get his shots off
• Really likes to bang and get inside to rebound for a guy this height
• Streaky shooter but does have decent range on his shot
• Toughness
• Core strength
• Shows a desire to play good defense
• Unselfish and is a great teammate/intangibles

Weaknesses:

• Foot speed and athleticism leave something to be desired
• Quickness on defense
• Is an odd tweener in that his game and mentality are better suited to a small forward but his size puts him as an undersized shooting guard
• Extremely unorthodox style

Make your choice!

Here is my first and only NBA Mock Draft. I am going to change it up slightly though. Rather than attempting to predict where players will be drafted (Pete had done a great job of keeping up with all the news and rumors flying around about what teams will actually do in his NBA Mock Drafts), in Recliner GM fashion I will make the picks entirely as if I was the general manager for each of the teams. We all know who the fans think should be selected will vary significantly from who their team will actually pick. So here I go playing GM. (Warning: it’s long since this will be my only NBA Mock Draft)

Let me start by expressing a distinct difference of opinion with most of what has been written regarding the top prospects. I rank them in this order:

1. O.J. Mayo - I think he is easily the best guard prospect in the draft and based on everything I’ve seen and read the best overall prospect. Why? I have no concerns about him being a bust, having a bad or lazy attitude, and he has a ridiculous work ethic already. Every interview I’ve seen shows how mature this kid is, and he is extremely bright (29 on his ACT entering college placing him in the 95th percentile). Add the fact that of all the players in the draft Mayo’s game is probably the most polished already while not diminishing people’s view of his upside (i.e. Brook Lopez). He is my guy in this entire draft without question.
2. Michael Beasley - Very close second damn near a tie with Mayo. I give the edge to Mayo only because I buy into the Derrick Coleman fears a little, tiny bit with this guy. But not as much as most. He could be a perennial All-Star and future HOF player with the talent he has right now. If you add the possibility that he gets more serious as he ages watch out.
3. Derrick Rose - Don’t get me wrong I love the kid, but he isn’t as good as those other two guys. Work ethic - check. Great attitude - check. Leadership and intangibles - check. Athletic - check. Ball handling - check. What worries me is for a pure point guard he is more of a drive-to-score guy not drive-to-dish. His court vision isn’t great; it’s just OK. His shooting ability both from three and mid-range is again just OK. And his decision-making has been shaky at times especially when he tries to do too much and gets out of control which leads to excess turnovers. All that says to me is this guy is still a project PG and not a polished and fully developed player TODAY. I think the comparisons to Deron Williams and Chris Paul are unjust - this kid isn’t that good right now. Nor do I ever think he will be that good because developing court vision and those PG instincts are hard to teach. Those guys have it innately. But everyone is making it seem like he is that type of player now when I think more accurately he could potentially get to the level, making it a little uncertain. Do I think he will be a bust? Hell no - but do I think he could turn out to be just good, not great yeah, and I think people should consider that possibility as well.

On to my NBA Mock Draft thoughts…

- The first three picks are standard and here’s why. Chicago needs Michael Beasley because he fits a low post scoring threat they current don’t have. BUT, Derrick Rose is a hometown guy which if I am the GM factors into my decision heavily, he can protect Ben Gordon defensively and he is a penetrator surrounded by a bunch of shooters. Most importantly that team needs a leader and a player with a come-to-work-and-handle-business type attitude, and I think Beasley is too immature to mesh well on Chicago whereas Rose is exactly what they need from a leadership standpoint.

- Miami would be drunk not to pair Wade with Michael Beasley. They would be locked in at three positions and have a solid back-up PF as well. Also, I think Mayo and Wade are essential the same player so drafting a D-Wade clone doesn’t make all that much sense. With that said this is the most intriguing pick because Miami could end up with Beasley, Mayo, Lopez, Love or Bayless when it’s all said and done.

- Minnesota needs a SF and a center so they can move Jefferson to the PF but there aren’t good enough players at those positions to pass on O.J. Mayo so he goes there. With the addition of Mayo this Minnesota team has a lot of players I really like in Mayo, Foye, Jefferson and McCants.

- Seattle needs a center more than they need a point guard or scoring guard in my opinion. They also don’t need a developing player rather a guy who is NBA-ready now. Brook Lopez is that guy who can come in and give them some toughness inside and maturity.

- Kevin Love to Memphis just makes sense anyway you look at it. They need a polished scorer down low to go along with all the good perimeter players they have. Love is easily the best pure low-post player in the draft.

- The Knicks actually need a pure point guard not another combo guard, and they could need a legit SF as well (Q-Tip sucks!) But I don’t think there is a PG good enough to be drafted this high so I take Jerryd Bayless and hope he can develop into the Chauncey Billups mold. I think the Knicks might take Russell Westbrook because again they need a defender and non-shooting type point guard, but I am just not sold on a guy that can’t shoot all that well, and if he is really a top 10 player why the hell was he sitting behind Josh Ship and especially Darren Collison at UCLA?

- The Clippers are going to keep Brand. Kaman proved his worth at center and Al Thorton is the SF of the future. So this team needs a PG (if they don’t keep Livingston or he can’t play) and a shooting guard. Best available player is Eric Gordon and he fits a need - no brainer.

- Perfect example of my drafting philosophy I am all about taking the best available player in the position I need first, then overall best available player (always exceptions to the rule). Joe Alexander is a freak and would fit perfectly at small forward on this team who is paying Bobby Simmons over $9M to do pretty much nothing at the position.

- Here is where I mix it up a bit. The Bobcats have veterans at shooting guard and small forward. They have a decent distributing type point guard. They have pretty good depth at PF with Okafor anchoring that crew. They need a center to allow Okafor to play PF permanently. But they also need a center that is a good passer from the high post and a good 15-17 shooter to give Emeka room to work down low. Kosta Koufos is exactly that guy. Hibbert would also be a possibility as well since he is moving up draft boards. Again I think Westbrook if he falls could be picked here. WHY?!?! Felton is already consistently giving you 13-15 ppg and 7 assists while staying under 3 turnovers per game. Drafting in the top 10 you are drafting for a starter not a back up, and I think Westbrook could easily be a good back up PG or average starting PG. Felton has already proven he is an NBA caliber point guard. (gotta defend my UNC guys!)

- Indiana really needs a point guard of the future, and of the guys left I prefer D.J. Augustin. Yes, I am really worried about his size - I mean history speaks for itself. Sub 6-foot players don’t fair all that well. But Augustin is a better pure point guard than Westbrook so I take him here.

- Finally, Russell Westbrook goes to the Kings who have no point guard whatsoever having traded away Mike Bibby. Westbrook on a team with Artest makes for a very formidable defense on the perimeter which is vital in the Western conference.

- Portland doesn’t need any more damn players so I am taking best available here, and it’s Recliner GM favorite Brandon Rush.

- I honestly have no clue who Golden State should pick so I went with the guy that fits their system and has tremendous upside. Donte Green can thrive in their run-and-gun style since all he has shown he can do is run and gun. I don’t expect defense will be that high on the priority list with Nelson for this kid so he should be ok there. Considering Matt Barnes, Kelenna Azubuike and Mickael Pietrus will be free agents Green allows Golden State to let one or all of them walk.

- My boy Mario Chalmers goes to Phoenix who needs a defensive-minded PG to back up Steve Nash. Chalmers can shoot the three and can step in and play immediately on a team with a dwindling window of opportunity. Wouldn’t be surprised if he turned out to be the 2nd best point guard in this draft. He would be learning from one of the best in the business in Steve Nash. His size and defense puts him in a position to be better than Augustin, and his shooting makes him more polished than Westbrook as well. This has been one of my guys since day one.

#16 the Philadelphia 76ers are on the clock

- OK now to the team I actually care about. I don’t like any of the remaining big men in this draft and there aren’t any point guards left so I am picking pretty much by process of elimination. I don’t draft foreign players; that is my bias so Alexis Ajinca is out. Plus I don’t want a 7′ 1″ dude who is listed as a PF and shoots 3’s. Jason Thompson really intrigued me because of his production, and he is working out with Tim Grover amongst the best prospects in the draft in Chicago. But playing against weaker competition at Rider I wonder if his game will excel in the NBA game. It’s almost like taking two steps up rather than one coming from a top NCAA program. And when I saw this NBA comparison I was done with him. I am not the biggest Roy Hibbert fan so just deal with it! I am coming around a bit on him. I will say this about Hibbert, if we pick him I will certaintly give him a chance and not write him off immediately (Pete philosophy). He could be a good back-up center on our team and insurance policy if something happens to Dalembert. If Roy can get tougher he could turn out to be a real pro. With us already having Sammy I will pass on Hibbert for now. If Kosta Koufos was on the board I might take him, but I still prefer a back-to-basket bruiser over the Dirk Nowitzki wanna be. Darrell Arthur is too small for me and not as good as Antwan Jamison especially in the post so I pass. I am a Philly guy which means blue collar, hard worker, and I can’t pull myself to draft a guy with questionable work ethic and lazy attitude so Marresse Speights is out. D’Andre Jordan by all early accounts isn’t a basketball player at all right now. He is just a big dude. I watched him play a few times this season and didn’t even know he was in the game most of the team. I had a quickie with JaVale McGee for a minute, but I have since dumped him after he has gotten dominated by every other PF/C in the draft. What about Anthony Randolph since he is available on my draft board. NO THANKS! I want a basketball player not another raw kid who can run and jump. I am sure all the Tyrus Thomas fans are in love with this guy.

Whose left? J.J. Hickson. I guess I am with Pete on this one here’s why… Of all the PFs likely on the board he has the best PF body for the type of game we would want him to play. He also has the best back-to-the-basket post game right now of the power forwards. (Hibbert is probably the most polished of the bunch). He is only 19 and has just as much upside as the rest of those guys. Regarding his height I think he could easily end up at a legit 6′10″ in the next 2 years. Besides that he makes up for that inch in wingspan, reach and jumping ability. Most importantly this dude is strong, tough, loves to bang down low, is a good rebounder already and has a knack for getting to the foul line. These are all characteristics I am looking for in a NBA power forward. I prefer to develop a young power forward who already prefers to bang down low rather than take cupcakes and perimeter-oriented bigs. Meaning teaching a guy to move his game outside and shooting 15-footers is easier to develop than taking a guy that inherently may not like to get dirty inside and teaching him the intricacies of post play. Hickson it is.

Speed it up 17 through 30

The rest of my picks aren’t all that different from other NBA Mock Drafts so I don’t feel the need to go into depth with them.

- I almost had Cleveland take Courtney Lee because I believe LeBron needs to be surrounded by guys that make teams pay for double and triple teaming him and they have a need at shooting guard as well. But there are too many “great upside” bigs left that they have to prepare for the departure of their old front court that runs 33-years old, 33-years-old, and 32-years-old. Get a guy in there now who can work and develop with LeBron for the near future.

- My surprise first rounder is Devon Hardin. I am assuming Detroit and Joe Dumars won’t be going insane for a day and draft another scrub foreign player. They need a legit center, and Hardin might be worth taking a chance on rather than a softy like Ante Tomic.

- If Bill Walker falls because of his injury Boston is the perfect team for him. They don’t really need any type of impact player and they have a bunch of young PFs. Walker is absolutely my pick because he can come in and contribute behind Ray Allen immediately if he can stay healthy.

Note: Portland has acquired the 27 pick from the New Orleans Hornets for cash considerations. I think they want to take a foreign guy and let him develop overseas for a bit longer but they could also take Douglass-Roberts if he is still on the board.

Wheww that was long. This should get you guys through most of the day and I will have something shorter and more fun a little later. Please pick this apart in the comments, but do it as if you were picking now what you think the teams will actually do.

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OK - so this is clearly the most confusing draft of all time. Chad Ford said it best, so I’m not going to try to say it better:

Every team I speak with says the same thing: This is one of the most difficult drafts ever to predict. Different teams are coming to wildly different conclusions on the same players. Agents are insisting that their players are going higher than others project. Last-minute workouts and trade talks are still changing the landscape dramatically.

So below you will find my 6th, and probably final, mock draft. It is a combination of all the rumors floating around out there and what I personally think the teams should do. Considering how crazy this draft is, it’s as good a guess as anyone’s.

OK…let’s see if we can sort this all out…

- The first 3 picks remain unchanged. Though all signs are pointing towards the Heat making a trade with the Grizzlies (either Mike Miller, Kyle Lowry and #5 for #2 and a player OR Mike Conley Jr. and #5 for #2 and Daequan Cook).

- The first big change is Brook Lopez going #4 to the Sonics. Up until this week, everything I’ve read had them taking a guard here, but both draftexpress.com and Andy Katz of ESPN are saying that multiple sources have told them they will take Lopez. It makes sense because they need a center, but as I’ve said many times, you shouldn’t draft for need in the NBA. With Eric Gordon and Jerryd Bayless on the board here, you can’t take Lopez, who I think will be an average NBA center.

- This drops Bayless into the Knicks lap. I can tell you right now, if Bayless and Gordon are still on the board here, and the Knicks draft Danilo Gallinari, NYC is going to look a lot like those previews for The Happening with expressionless people wondering aimlessly down the street, sticking sewing needles into their necks and hurling themselves off of buildings.

- Eric Gordon to the Clips. It’s really a toss up between him and Russell Westbrook, but I used my personal judgment here and gave them Gordon because at a younger age he led the Big 10 in scoring while injured and Westbrook didn’t even start for his own college team.

- Westbrook to the Bobcats. I’m not saying he will be bad, but he has 2 red flags for me. He didn’t start on his college team and the knock on him is that he can’t shoot. When you tell me a player can’t shoot, you are telling me his ceiling is a role player.

- Gallinari replaces Anthony Randolph as the Nets pick because apparently Randolph’s skill can’t overcome the fact that he appears to not have eaten in a month or so. Also, everyone is reporting that Gallinari will go to one of the 2 NY area teams.

- Mario Chalmers rises up the board as he continues to impress in workouts. When we starting writing about the draft, Dannie wanted the Sixers to take Chalmers, and I wanted them to take Brandon Rush. At the time, they both looked like reaches. Now, it looks like they will both be off the board. God we’re smart.

- I’m sticking with J.J. Hickson as the Sixers pick. Essentially, if the draft plays out this way, I have a 1 in 7 chance of being right. I’m going with Hickson because he’s doesn’t have anything in particular I’m concerned about and he would be a good fit in our system. The other players all have red flags for me.

Speights - Motivation and Attitude. Arthur - Size. Ajinca, Jordan, McGee - Offensive game. Greene - Toughness and a tweener.

I will always give any player we draft the benefit of the doubt, but I’m rooting for Hickson on draft day. If Koufos is there, I’d be OK with him as well. He’s 7-feet, has a 38 inch vert and can drain the 3 - consider me intrigued. Actually, I might as well get on the record and rank the 9 players we put on our poll yesterday.

1. J.J. Hickson
2. Kosta Koufos
3. Marresse Speights
4. Darrell Arthur
5. Alexis Ajinca
6. D’Andre Jordan
7. Donte Greene
8. Jason Thompson
9. JaVale McGee

- Donte Greene in Cleveland would be very interesting. He’s extremely talented and can really shoot the ball.

- D’Andre Jordan falls all the way to #25 after starting the year seemingly as a sure fire top 5 pick.

- Immediately after I said some good things about JaVale McGee, he got showed up in nearly every workout he went to and is now the person I would least like to see the Sixers take at #16.

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With the draft fast approaching, many fans are wondering what caliber player they can pick up at their slot. Well, I’ve compiled a list of 1-30, of the best, and worst picks since 2000.

1. Best: LeBron James Worst: Kwame Brown

Kwame Brown is a case-study in dealing with players with fragile mental states. He looked dominant in every pre-draft event I saw, and I didn’t disagree with taking him #1. Then Michael Jordan and Doug Collins forced him into the fetal position for several years.

2. Best: Kevin Durant Worst: Darko Milicic

The #2 pick been surprising mediocre (Stromile Swift, Jay Williams, Marvin Williams), but none compare to the hilarious fiasco that is Darko. Darko isn’t horrible, and is better than Stromile, but taking him over ‘Melo, D-Wade and Bosh cost Detroit 1-2 championships.

3. Best: Carmelo Anthony Worst: Adam Morrison

So, we’re only 3 deep, and already Michael Jordan is responsible for the 2 of the 3 worst choices. Bravo!

4. Best: Chris Paul Worst: Marcus Fizer

Was talking to a Bulls fan last night and we discussed how in the NBA, you should never draft for need, you should only take the best player available. As I said, “that’s how you end up with Andrew Bogut instead of Chris Paul.”

5. Best: Dwyane Wade Worst: Nikoloz Tskitishvili

“After signing with Benetton, Tskitishvili played in six games leading up to the European Final Four. He played limited minutes on a talented Benetton team, averaging just six minutes and 1 point a game.” That was from his 2002 draft profile. If you are averaging 1 point a game for Benetton, that amounts to about 0.5 points per game in the NBA, which turned out to be pretty accurate. To his credit, that same draft profile mentions that he made 10 3’s in a row during one workout. 10!!! How do you pass that up!

6. Best: Brandon Roy Worst: Dajuan Wagner

The players drafted immediately after Wagner go as follows: Nene, Chris Wilcox, Amare Stoudemire, Caron Butler. Ouch.

7. Best: Luol Deng Worst: Eddie Griffin

I’m going to avoid the urge to say something funny about Eddie Griffin, and simply say that is no way I could be a Suns fan when they do stuff like trade Luol Deng to the Bulls for nothing in particular.

8. Best: Rudy Gay Worst: Rafael Arajuo

Arajuo was one of the worst picks in Toronto history and also one of the best in Sixers history as it landed a gift-wrapped Andre Iguodala in our laps.

9. Best: Amare Stoudemire Worst: Patrick O’Bryant

GS GM: Hey! That guy we just worked out was really tall!
GS Fan: True, but did you notice he had trouble catching the ball?
GS GM: Man, he could almost touch the rim just standing there! I wish I could do that!
GS Fan: He shuffled his feet everytime he did a post move though
GS GM: If I was him, I would just be like, dunking ALL the time
GS Fan: No, if you were him you’d be wondering why you were getting showed up by Adonal Foyle
GS GM: This is gonna be the best draft EVER!

10. Best: Caron Butler Worst: Saer Sene

See above conversation, only replace “tall” with “long” and “Adonal Foyle” with “Calvin Booth.” Also, Miami becomes the first team to have 2 “best” picks.

11. Best: Andris Biendrins Worst: Fran Vazquez

Vazquez is the 4th foreign player to make the worst list, while Biendrins is the 1st to make the best list. Vazquez has not so much as sat on the Magic bench, and it doesn’t appear that he ever will.

12. Best: Nick Collison Worst: Robert Swift

Seattle becomes the first team to have 2 of the worst picks (this is also their 2nd “best” pick). The Robert Swift pick was hilarious at the time and continues to be today as his ponytail grows longer and tattoos expand. We’re talking about a tall, goofy white guy, coming out of High School, who no one had seen work out. Can you imagine being in a draft war room where people were pumped about this kid? They should have had a reality show where after the draft, Swift would work out against Al Jefferson and Josh Smith while the camera’s roll on the Seattle brass. Side Note: Thad Young may well end up being the best #12 pick, but I can’t give it to him after 1 season.

13. Best: Richard Jefferson Worst: Sebastian Telfair

There is not a non-Sixers pick in any draft that made me more angry than the Sebastian Telfair over Jameer Nelson pick, so it gives me great satisfaction to put him there. Telfair was drafted based on the fact that he was from New York and knew Jay-Z. Turns out 5′8” PGs who can’t play D or shoot aren’t all that good, regardless of how many rappers they know. Telfair has played slightly better of late, but the fact that he was picked over Nelson, Al Jefferson, Josh Smith and JR Smith, and made me angry, puts him here.

14. Best: Al Thornton Worst: Mateen Cleaves

Thornton looks like he’s going to be a good player. You can’t really blame Detroit for picking Cleaves, he just didn’t pan out as an NBA player.

15. Best: Al Jefferson Worst: Reece Gaines

Jefferson was a very risky pick at the time. He averaged something absurd like 45ppg in some really weak High School division in Mississippi and had never really played against top talent. Turned out OK though.

16. Best: Hedu Turkoglu Worst: Troy Bell

This is where the Sixers pick, and is arguably the worst spot in terms of production of those drafted there. Bell (11 career points) barely edged out Kirk Haston (32 career points) and the incomparable Jiri Welsch.

17. Best: Josh Smith Worst: Zarko Cabarkapa

The most surprising thing about this one? Cabarkapa wasn’t the first “Zarko” in NBA history. That honor belongs to the great Zarko Paspalj, who scored 72 points for the Spurs in 1989-90.

18. Best: David West Worst: Curtis Borchardt

And with the 18th pick in the 2002 NBA Draft, the Utah Jazz select “A tall, injured, white center from Stanford!” Sorry Curtis, you never had a chance.

19. Best: Zach Randolph Worst: Ryan Humphrey

I was a student at Notre Dame at the time, and I remember being very surprised when Humphrey’s name was called at 19. His best attribute was at least once a game he would blatantly goaltend a shot to see how far he could get it into the crowd.

20. Best: Jameer Nelson Worst: Julius Hodge

Portland should have drafted him, Miami should have drafted him, Denver should have kept him. Jameer isn’t a superstar, but he’s an above-average PG and a big game player. It’s almost like he won national player of the year and led his team to an undefeated season. (I’m still bitter about this draft, can you tell?). On the other end, I really can’t believe Julius Hodge didn’t make it as a pro. He was so tough (that was a serious statement, I fear my sarcasm as seriousness may be hard to distinguish between).

21. Best: Rajon Rondo Worst: Pavel Podkolzin

The Mavericks could have drafted Andre the Giant and had the same success they did with Podkolzin. The 7′5” monster scored a total of 4 points in his career, to go along with his 4 turnovers and 4 fouls.

22. Best: Jarrett Jack Worst: Jeryl Sasser

#22 would give #16 a run for its money for worst pick to have (sorry, Orlando). Meanwhile, Sasser was the first player who I had never heard of.

23. Best: Tayshaun Prince Worst: Sergio Monia

Monia, along with Viktor Khryapa was selected by the Portland Trailblazers with back-to-back picks in 2004. Strangely enough, both of them already played together, at the same position, in Russia. One of my favorite quotes from the draft was something like this “either that is the greatest SF platoon in international basketball history, or the Blazers just made a huge mistake.” Given that the next 4 picks (Delonte West, Tony Allen, Kevin Martin and Sasha Vujacic) are all productive pros, I’d go with the latter.

24. Best: Delonte West Worst: Dalibor Bagaric

It’s NOT homerism that I have Nelson and West on here. I swear. Nelson’s closest competitor was Brenden Haywood, who finally had his first good season last year, and West’s closest was Nenad Kristic and Kyle Lowry, neither of whom have been healthy enough to play. As for Dalibor, he’s a real guy, I checked into it. Proof of his existence is here. He even played 50 games for the Bulls in 2001, shooting a whopping 40% from the field, which would be OK if he were Kyle Lowry’s size, and not 7′1”.

25. Best: Gerald Wallace Worst: Frank Williams

Remember how excited Knicks fans were about Frank Williams? About as excited as Jason Kidd was after this block.

26. Best: Kevin Martin Worst: Ndubi Ebi

Kevin Martin is the perfect example of great pick. Someone who no ones talks about before, during or after the draft, and then when he drops 30 on your squad, you are wondering where on earth he came from. As for Ebi, he was the T-Wolves first pick after a 2-year hiatus for illegally signing Joe Smith. Moving forward, the NBA will reward them with extra first rounds picks as a penalty instead.

27. Best: Linas Kleiza Worst: Chris Jefferies

How good is Linas Kleiza? So good that the Nuggets wouldn’t part with him for a player they desperately needed, Ron Artest, before the trade deadline. However, a few months later, he’s so good that they are trying to package him and their draft pick for Kyle Lowry. That makes sense.

28. Best: Tony Parker Worst: Erick Barkley

How did no one else pick Tony Parker? Radmonovic and Raul Lopez went ahead of him, so teams were scouting foreign players. Was it because he was French? Too skinny? Talks like a girl a little bit? If you watched film of him, you had to see he had rare quickness, right? This is one of the biggest draft mysteries to me. If anyone knows why he went here, let me know.

29. Best: Josh Howard Worst: Wayne Simien

With James, Anthony, Wade, Bosh, Kaman, Hinrich, Ford, Collison, Ridnour, West, Barbosa and Josh Howard, the 2003 draft was one of the best ever. Of course, the Sixers were not involved in the festivities after trading this first round pick in 2001, for Jerome Moiso, who never played a game for us. 25 years and counting folks.

30. Best: David Lee Worst: Joel Freeland

It’s tough to rag on a team for a bad 30th pick, but Freeland is a British guy who, when drafted, had only played 1 year of profesional basketball. Shockingly, he has not yet made it to the league.

- The biggest change I’ve made is that I now have Michael Beasley going to the Heat instead of O.J. Mayo. There have been rumblings that Pat Riley thinks that Mayo and Dwyane Wade are too similar, and unless they can trade down to get him and pick up some more assets, they won’t take him at 2. It’s also been written that the Wolves are going to work out Mayo, and my gut feeling is that he will impress them to the point that they don’t feel like they need Beasley.

- Russell Westbrook has replaced D.J. Augustin as the Clippers pick as everything I have read says that Westbrook is the better prospect.

- Rumors are that the Bucks are leaning heavily towards Joe Alexander. This proves once again, that I am smarter than Chad Ford.

- People continue to write that Danilo Gallinari won’t drop below the Nets at #10, but I don’t think the Nets are planning on Anthony Randolph to be there, so I’m sticking with Randolph as the pick.

- Brandon Rush, my initial hope for the Sixers, continues to move up the draft board, and may go even higher. One scout said if he had to pick between Eric Gordon and Rush, he’d have to take Rush. He’d be a great fit in Portland.

- Kosta Koufos is rising up draft boards as well. Can’t say I’d be pleased if the Sixers drafted him, the couple times I’ve seen him play he seemed timid and soft.

- OK, so now the big change in my draft. With D’Andre Jordan, Marreese Speights, Darrell Arthur and JaVale McGee still on the board, the Sixers select J.J. Hickson. Here are my reasons:

1. I am hearing nothing but bad things about Jordan and McGee in their workouts. They are getting killed by Roy Hibbert. It is a general rule of the draft that if you are 7-feet tall, and don’t go Top-10, you just aren’t any good. I thought both of these guys would be workout wonders - they aren’t - and when’s the last time 7-feet tall guys, who don’t work out well and fall out of lottery developed into anything good?

2. I’ve already had Darrell Arthur dropping when I found out he was 6′7” and skinny, but now he’s skipping workouts with out so much as a call to tell the teams he won’t be there. Add character issues to a questionable PF prospect, and he’s dropping more.

3. I stand by what I said about Marreese Speights in earlier write-ups: If he lacks drive and conditioning, I don’t want him on my team.

4. This brings us to Hickson. Hickson strikes me as a PF version of our Thaddeus Young pick last year. He was incredibly efficient and effective as a freshman in the ACC (14.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 59% shooting). He’s skinny for his position, but he is a great athlete who is very versatile. He plays within himself, and doesn’t force shots or foul a lot on D (1.5 blk/g, 1.9 fouls/g). He is not as savvy or basketball smart as Young, but like Young, he’s only 19. He has been working out very well and is one of only a few players the Sixers have worked out. I think he would be a great fit in our system, and like Thad, could be picked higher than many people think.

- Alexis Ajinca takes a huge jump. Apparently he is a freak of nature, like a Tyrus Thomas. Not sure I’d want him on my team given how raw he is, but apparently NBA teams are interested.

- Courtney Lee to the Magic is the hot rumor right now. Productive small-school players tend to be good picks, so I could see that working out for them.

- Roy Hibbert stays in the same place despite rumors of great workouts. I’m just not buying it. By the way, it would really tick me off as a college basketball fan if a player on my team showed up to these NBA workouts in much better shape than they were during the season. What the hell? Couldn’t lose that 15 pounds before the season, Roy? Same goes for Kevin Love.

- Serge Ibaka to the Sonics, so that Mohammed Saer Sene, Johan Petro and Robert Swift have someone else to hang out with.

- Mario Chalmers defense and shooting would fit in well in San Antonio

- Ante Tomic to the Celtics, just to make Dannie mad. “Why would you draft someone who you know will never play in the NBA?” Well - at least it’s better than the Clippers taking Yaroslav Korolev over Danny Granger a couple years back.

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