16. (
P)
Houston Rockets –
SF Moe Harkless, St. John’s – Long, athletic, and even some bball IQ at the 3 spot. His shot needs to improve, but it’s not ‘bad’ either. Houston has plenty of wings, but no one has really made themselves stand out from the rest. And with Kevin Martin probably traded some point soon, and Budinger not getting much playing time, there’s room for Harkless. At his recent draft workout, he was compared to guys like Rudy Gay and Trevor Ariza. He’s supposedly a lot more mature than his peers and that seems to be the toughest thing to teach these days. Houston got some size/rebounding at #14, now they get tougher with this pick at #16. Houston usually plays it safe with their draft picks, and as a result, they don’t get a player with crazy upside. It’s time to change that.
17. (
B)
Dallas Mavericks –
PF/C Jared Sullinger, Ohio State – The loss of Tyson Chandler really hurt the Mavs this past season, as they were unable to defend their 2011 title. Although Sullinger is an offensive minded center as opposed to the now Defensive Player of the Year Chandler, the Mavs need to add more size to allow Dirk to primarily stay outside to allow him those famous fade-aways. His draft stock has been all over the place, as he recently bombed his workout at the Draft Combine, but he was also invited to an individual workout for the Warriors. Maybe it’s just a smoke screen by Golden State, but still he could easily be gone by the early teens. I personally think he would be a great fit next to Anthony Davis in New Orleans, where his post presence would allow Davis to get open for jumpers. With that stated, I think the Mavs will most likely trade this pick to allow more cap space so they can make a run at Deron Williams this summer and then go after Dwight next.
18. (P) Minnesota Timberwolves – SG/SF, Terrence Ross, Washington- This might have been the easiest pick I’ve made so far. They need some shooting on the outside to help little Ricky and Kevin Love… Ross does just that. 6’7, athletic, and has a sweet stroke. They’ll get rid of Beasley soon enough, and Wesley Johnson hasn’t worked out yet. Ross fits perfectly with the team’s 2 stars, and most importantly, gives them an extra scoring punch they’ve been lacking. Great off-ball player too, which helps in Adelman’s offense. As if you weren’t watching the T-Wolves this past season, Ross will add a dimension that will lead to even more top-10 plays of the night.
19. (
B)
Orlando Magic –
PF Arnett Moultrie, Mississippi State – Moultrie may be the best prospect available at this point, and would certainly provide versatility to Orlando as he’s an athletic big who has both inside and outside game. While Orlando could go after another guard to replace the pending departure of Jameer Nelson, the front office has to appease Dwight with every possibility they have, so by drafting the best player they’ll look to increase their win total in 2013. Whoever coaches Orlando next year should force Moultrie to stay on the post as he tends to drift out to the perimeter too much, that role is reserved for Ryan Anderson.
20. (
P)
Denver Nuggets –
PG Marquis Teague, Kentucky – Well, I was about to pick Moultrie until Bacardi took him for Orlando. Denver might be the deepest team in our league, and aren’t in desperate need of any position really. However, they could use a back-up PG, someone who might even compete for the starting spot at some point. Enter, Marquis Teague. Andre Miller is a free agent, so his future with the team is up in the air. Even if he comes back, Teague brings Lawson-like speed off the bench, and he’s more of a passer than scorer. That’s not to say Teague can’t score, and score often, but I think he’ll use his speed to get his teammates open looks, and he’s got a tough mentality that George Karl will like. If Miller does come back, use him selectively since he’s
old anyway.
21 & 22. (
B) Boston Celtics –
PF Andrew Nicholson, St. Bonaventure – While the Celtics just drafted JaJuan Johnson last year (technically they drafted MarShon Brooks and traded him for Johnson), they should continue to take similar size prospects as they need to hit on a replacement for Kevin Garnett. Nicholson may be one of the best shooters in this draft, thus making him one of the elite big man shooters. Hopefully KG will influence him in rebounding, the biggest area of concern for Nicholson. Although he’s not a bad rebounder, he needs to be more consistent in grabbing boards.
G Tony Wroten Jr, Washington – The C’s need to add as much depth to their bench as possible. Ray Allen will likely depart this summer, leaving Avery Bradley as our starting SG. While I like Bradley, there will be a giant hole left for back up guard. Wroten is probably the best guard prospect available, and I like his versatility. While he’s 6’6″, he primarily played PG for the Huskies. Either way, the C’s need to add youth and Wroten seems like a safe pick at this point.
23. (
P)
Atlanta Hawks –
C Fab Melo, Syracuse - The Hawks need a big man, and Melo is just that. He has limited offensive game, but does the job on defense in addition to his strength of rebounding. Honestly, anyone is better than Zaza, and Melo actually has some potential. They’ve had some issues with size in the past, Horford being an undersized C, and Atlanta has been horrendous with rebounding in the last few years in playoffs. The only issue for me here is that I don’t think the coaching staff in ATL will be able to develop Melo as well as some other personnel around the league. 7’0, 250 … traditional Center stuff, ATL needs that badly. Watch out of a PG as Jeff Teague is a bel0w-average starter.
24. (
B)
Cleveland Cavaliers –
SF Quincy Miller, Baylor – The Cavs are in full rebuilding mold, and if they can trot out a starting lineup consisting of Irving, Miller, Robinson & Thompson, they will grow up fast. The Cavs would make tons of mistakes early, but I think the hard nose coaching of Byron Scott will keep them on the right path for Dan Gilbert. Miller looked like a potential top 10 pick before the NCAA season began, but was outshadowed by teammates while his flaws were exposed. He needs to improve his strength and work on his shot, but he has the chance to really grow with the rest of the young Cavs. I’m not saying he’ll be the next Durant by no means, but maybe he can be a similar style player to KD. A oversize, skinny SF.
25. (
P)
Memphis Grizzlies –
PF Royce White, Iowa State – This dude is special .. 6’8 Point Forward type player who can do a whole lot of things for the Grizzlies off the bench. He can handle/distribute the ball, play down low, run the wing, a complete package. His presence just makes everyone better, and Memphis needs someone to take charge off the bench. They’ve got a bunch of role players, but no one to really get the ball to them once Conley goes off the court. I might have gone with Teague if he was still on the board.
26. (
B)
Indiana Pacers –
SF Jeff Taylor, Vanderbilt – The Pacers have no one behind Danny Granger (Dahntay Jones?), who was exposed in their 2nd round defeat to the Heat as not a crunch time player. I think the basketball community over-valued Granger based off his scoring averages on those bad Pacers teams, but now that he’s surrounded by talent he’s shown that he was a high volume shooter. Enter Taylor, known for being a hardworker and great teammate during his 4 seasons at Vandy. Taylor is a great defender with elite athleticism, but he wouldn’t be relied on to score… at least not right away. This would allow him to improve on his jump shot and his ball handling as he continues to grow with the rest of the young Pacers.
27. (
P)
Miami Heat –
C Festus Ezeli, Vanderbilt – Miami needs a big man, and Ezeli provides a a strong body and some length down low. He doesn’t have much offensive upside but Miami doesn’t need that with LeBron, Wade, and Bosh. Ezeli is an impressive shot blocker, and will defend the paint extremely well for a team who has, in my opinion, the best perimeter defensive players in the league. I’ve heard some people compare Ezeli to Kendrick Perkins, and I have no issue with that. Both are good one-on-one defenders in the post, and both have very, very little offensive game. He’ll be more consistent that guys like Joel Anthony or Turiaf .. Miami will get an instant upgrade down low with Ezeli.
28. (B) Oklahoma City Thunder – SG Evan Fournier, France – At this point, the Thunder probably wouldn’t be too impressed with any of the big men available. Why not draft an international player, let him play in Europe for a few more seasons, then bring him in when he’s at his peak instead of having him develop in the NBA and waste your cap space. Who knows, he might be the replacement for Harden in 2013-14 when Harden eventually leaves.
29. (P) Chicago Bulls – G Tyshawn Taylor, Kansas- The Bulls need to take someone for their backcourt at this pick with Rose being out for the season, and CJ Watson being average at best. Taylor can shoot, defend well (Thibs likey), and handles the rock well enough to get others open. He comes from a tough Kansas program, so he’ll mesh well with a guy like Thibs on the sideline. At 6’4, he can D up both 1s and 2s which will come in handy since there’s not too many options for Chicago in their backcourt. Taylor has a nice first step, nice floater, and a decent mid-range game. He’ll use his speed to find a gap, and has the ability to make the right pass at that point to get a teammate an easy bucket.
30. (
B) Golden State Warriors –
C Kyle O’Quinn, Northfolk State – The Warriors should look into adding size, as they have little depth behind starters David Lee & Andrew Bogut. Quinn would provide something Lee can’t,
defense. O’Quinn is known for being a great shotblocker with strong rebounding ability. However, his motor is a question so I would suggest he improves on his conditioning. With the injury concerns of Steph Curry, Golden State could look at a PG or potentially a combo guard as more depth for Mark Jackson to play with.
