2012 NBA Mock Draft 2.0, with Rising Royce White and Falling Perry Jones
By Jason McIntyre
1. Charlotte – Anthony Davis, F/C, Kentucky.
2. Washington – Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, G/F, Kentucky. How about an All-UK backcourt of Wall and MKG? Wonder if that’d be enough to lure Calipari to the NBA. Cal’s leaving after he gets a title, right?
3. New Orleans – Brad Beal, SG, Florida. Frugal franchise with no owner (yet) will be dumping Chris Kaman and isn’t sure about re-signing Eric Gordon. But how much money could they save by completely passing on Gordon for Beal? The media/fans would rip the CP3 trade, but perhaps the Hornets could “spend” wisely in free agency.
4. Portland (via New Jersey) – Andre Drummond, C, Connecticut. Raw, but athletic. Surely we’ll hear gripes about how Portland should pass on a big man and take a scorer (see Oden/Durant in 2007). There isn’t a PG to take here, and I like the Matthews/Batum combo. Drummond would be an ideal wingman inside for Aldridge.
5. Toronto – Thomas Robinson, F, Kansas. How’s this for a frontline next year: Bargnani and Robinson at forward, and 2011 No. 5 pick Jonas Valančiūnas – who is playing well overseas – starting at center.
6. Sacramento – Cody Zeller, F, Indiana. Unchanged. I put him this high and ya’ll scoffed. Now Chad Ford has him going 6th. Zeller’s got less than two weeks to make a decision.
7. Detroit – Royce White, F, Iowa State. Too high? The Pistons are weak on the wing, have some talent in backcourt, and a decent PF/C combo. Detroit could go small with a Knight-Gordon-Stuckey trio (Knight defending SFs would be funny, though) and a White/Monroe frontline. At least they’d be exciting.
22. Indiana – Mason Plumlee, F/C, Duke. Pacers take the local kid who adds some shot-blocking off the bench backing up Roy Hibbert.
23. Memphis – Terrence Ross, SF, Washington. With the Grizzlies paying Gay, Gasol & Randolph, they can’t afford to pay Allen and Mayo, so Ross is taken as their replacement. He might be better, too. In 2013.
24. Boston (via LA Clippers) – Meyers Leonard, C, Illinois. Not as enamored with him as everyone else. How do you know he won’t be Cole Aldrich? That being said, the Celtics need a center and I’ll take Leonard’s offense over Fab Melo’s, and Leonard’s “potential upside” over Ezeli’s.
25. Orlando – Trey Burke, PG, Michigan. Next year will probably be Jameer Nelson’s last with the Magic, so why not have him groom Burke for a season?
26. Cleveland (via LA Lakers) – Fab Melo, C, Syracuse. If Tristian Thompson is your power forward of the future, how about a shot-blocking center to hang next to him?
27. Golden State (via San Antonio) – Andrew Nicholson, F, St. Bonaventure. I say this every year, but I really like the Warriors’ roster. Nicholson can play both forward positions, make 3-pointers, and should help give David Lee (37 minutes a game) some rest.
28. Miami – Draymond Green, F, Michigan St. It just seems like a Miami Heat thing to do. Get one of the smartest players in the draft who does a little bit of everything. Maybe he’ll have a Shane Battier-type career in the NBA.
29. Oklahoma City – Festus Ezeli, C, Vanderbilt. With Nazr Muhammad coming off the books and Cole Aldrich not really a viable backup, the Thunder grab a vastly underrated post player who only goes below Leonard/Melo because he stayed in college four years and you won’t hear his name and “potential” in the same sentence.
30. Chicago – Jeffrey Taylor, SF, Vanderbilt. Could he play some shooting guard? Perhaps. It’s the only pressing need on the Bulls.