Random Ravings: Predicting Winners and Losers in the 2009 NBA Draft

(Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

As is the case with pretty much every draft in every sport, there are differing opinions concerning this year's NBA Draft. While everyone is in agreement that the Los Angeles Clippers will take advantage of their ridiculous luck by drafting Blake Griffin, every other spot is in considerable doubt.

The teams immediately following the Clippers will make decisions that will determine whether they'll be able to compete for a championship in a few years, while teams in the lower third of the first round will either pick a project, a role player or shop their pick.

There are numerous mock drafts floating around, and I'm neither informed nor astute enough to try to make one. However, after looking at several mocks (John Lorge's is a great one, by the way), reading comments and reactions to them, and learning about teams' needs, I've developed several hunches about who (teams and players) will end up as winners and losers in this year's draft.

The Winners

Oklahoma City: You see that photo at the top of this article, the one where Kevin Durant is guarded by Kobe Bryant? That could very well be a scene from the Western Conference Finals several years from now.

Already stuffed with young players with great potential, the Thunder have the chance to add another one this year. Picking third, Oklahoma City will likely select Ricky Rubio or Hasheem Thabeet, two very different players that could fill two very different needs for them.

If they select Thabeet, the Thunder will get a huge (7'2") center with the wingspan of a golden eagle. From the time he first steps foot onto an NBA court, Thabeet will be a shot blocker of the first order, a game-changing defensive presence that the Thunder have lacked for years (dating back to their days as the Seattle SuperSonics).

If they select Rubio, Oklahoma City immediately improves their offensive game with a teenage prodigy that has skills with the ball few even in the NBA can rival.

While Rubio will have much to learn about the NBA game (namely, when and when not to push the action or force passes), there is no reason to believe that he won't eventually develop into a star point guard.

Either way, Oklahoma City will fill a pressing need in this draft--and fill it with a player they can develop with the other young stars they have.

Sacramento: While they did lose the Blake Griffin Sweepstakes, the Kings do have two picks in this year's first round, including the fourth pick. This class has a very intriguing player on the wing that has oodles of potential: Demar DeRozan.

He is athletic, skilled with the ball and can fill the net night in and night out. After trading away John Salmons and Brad Miller, Sacramento has holes to fill at both small forward and center. They would get a better player on the wing with the fourth pick, with Thabeet already gone, and with the draft being so thin on bigs.

It's not impossible to think that the Kings could take DeRozan, but a likelier scenario might be a point guard like Brandon Jennings; either player would be someone they could groom into an impact player to team with Kevin Martin.

This draft marks the beginning of Sacramento's effort to rebuild their shattered franchise, and here's hoping the fans there have the patience to let the front office try.

Tyreke Evans: This guy is a freak. At 6'5", he's hardly imposing for an off-guard, but his wingspan was measured at an astounding 6'11", and his standing reach of 8'8" makes some big men jealous. Coupled with his good lateral quickness, he has the attributes of a shutdown defender, something that every team in the league is scouring the globe to find.

Evans also is an explosive scorer that can handle the ball very well (thanks to Memphis' style of play), and his vertical game is nothing to sneeze at. His outside game could use a little work, but he can easily change a game just by being what he is--a quick, long athlete that is difficult to guard and even harder to get past on defense.

If his eventual team is committed to teaching him proper defensive and jump-shooting techniques, Tyreke Evans could end up being one of the top three or four players to come out of this draft class.

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