Anthony Davis: Best Draft Strategies for Teams Likely to Land Kentucky Star

Everyone is dreaming of Anthony Davis.

The consensus No. 1 prospect in the 2012 NBA draft class is the lottery jackpot. Whoever selects Davis will have taken a giant step toward a playoff return. He isn’t capable of single-handedly carrying a team back to prominence, though.

Here are the draft strategies that teams likely to land Davis should follow if he falls into their lap.

Charlotte Bobcats

After their early first-round selection, Charlotte will be left with one pick at the top of the second round. Last season, the Bobcats didn’t have a player on their team score more than 15.1 points per game or shoot better than 36.4 percent from downtown.

Adding a lights-out shooter like Vanderbilt’s John Jenkins would be an ideal follow-up pick.

Washington Wizards

Washington has two second-round picks, one at the top and middle of the round. The Wizards have absolutely no starting-caliber talent on the wings right now.

Kevin Murphy, a scoring machine out of Tennessee Tech, would be a solid grab. Following that up with a perimeter specialist like Georgetown’s Hollis Thomas would round out a promising draft class.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland possesses an additional first-round pick as well as two second-round selections at the top of the round.

Usually a center like Fab Melo gets mocked to the Cavs in the late-first, but since Davis would be their center, drafting a scoring threat like Kentucky’s Doron Lamb would help take some of the load of Kyrie Irving’s shoulders.

A nice combo in the second would be Kentucky’s Darius Miller to eventually start at small forward and Iona’s Scott Machado to back up Irving.

New Orleans Hornets

New Orleans has another lottery pick, but that’s its last selection of the draft. The Hornets must take the best available guard with Eric Gordon potentially leaving this summer and Jarrett Jack becoming a free agent next year.

Their options at the spot include Jeremy Lamb, Dion Waiters, Damian Lillard, Kendall Marshall and Austin Rivers.

Sacramento Kings

Sacramento’s only other pick in the draft falls early in the second round. The Kings already boast one of the league’s most potent offenses—what they need is defense.

While Oregon State’s Jared Cunningham is a scorer, he also has the potential be a lockdown defender.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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