NBA Draft 2012: Predicting Which Teams Will Trade Their First-Round Picks

The biggest villain of NBA mock drafts is trading. While it's tough enough to deduce who teams might select, predicting both selections and draft day trades is virtually impossible.

The 2012 draft seems even harder to predict then most drafts have been. With the NBA Finals in full swing and NBA storylines jumping all over the place, it's impossible to get a real handle on one of the deeper drafts in recent memory.

Let's take a look at the draft and make some educated predictions on what teams could trade their picks come draft day.

Sacramento Kings

The Kings hold the No. 5 pick, and three of the players who could be available at No. 5 make sense for Sacramento. If Thomas Robinson, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist or Harrison Barnes are available when the Kings select, I can't see them trading down. All three players would be very solid fits.

However, should Robinson, Kidd-Gilchrist and Barnes all be gone at No. 5 and Bradley Beal is the best talent available (as unlikely as that seems considering Washington's trade with New Orleans today), the Kings will likely trade down, or even out of the draft.

While the Kings could very easily get a solid selection at No. 5, they could also stand to add some veteran experience, such as Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala. Trading out could be a possibility for Sacramento.

Oklahoma City Thunder

According to Hoops World's Alex Kennedy, the Thunder aren't likely to hold onto their first-round selection.  

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"Sources close to the situation say that Oklahoma City is satisfied with their young core and they aren’t interested in paying a prospect guaranteed money when he likely won’t be part of the rotation."

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The 2012 Draft Class is a fairly deep one, so I expect the Thunder will happily find a buyer for the No. 28 pick. 

Golden State Warriors

Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote on Monday that the Warriors will not use all four of their picks (Nos. 7, 30, 35 and 52) on June 28th.

If the Warriors decide to trade No. 35 or No. 52, that won't produce much comment. Trading No. 7, however, would shake up the draft. Could the Warriors be looking to add more of a veteran presence when workouts with Perry Jones and Terrence Jones produced little enthusiasm from the Golden State staff? 

It's obvious the Warriors will trade one of their picks, it's just hard to predict which. I'd place my bets on them trading No. 30, though. A first round pick, even the last one, has more value than any second-rounder. I can't see the Warriors trading No. 7, not when guys like Damian Lillard or Andre Drummond could be there.

Boston Celtics

The Celtics hold both the No. 21 and No. 22 picks in the draft, but expect them to package them together and try and move up in the draft.

Alex Kennedy of Hoops World wrote about this idea last week, saying "The Celtics don’t want to bring in two rookies." Boston needs some youth, but if they can trade the two picks into one better prospect, it makes absolute sense. Quality over quantity, of course.

It would still be great to see the Celtics somehow trade up to get Coach Doc Rivers' son, Austin, but according to Yahoo Sports it appears Austin has a draft promise from a lottery level team. Nos. 21 and 22 would not be enough for a lottery pick.

New Orleans Hornets

No, I'm not talking about the No. 1 overall pick. The Hornets hold the No. 10 pick, and I predict they'll be swapping it out come draft day.

New Orleans gained cap space yesterday, when they traded Trevor Ariza and Emeka Okafor to the Wizards in exchange for Rashard Lewis and a second-round selection. It was a good trade for the Hornets as they cleared off two players who aren't part of the teams future, but it also leaves New Orleans with huge holes, even once they add Anthony Davis.

Assuming they also bring back free agent Eric Gordon, that leaves the Hornets with Gordon, Davis, a handful of decent bench talent and the No. 10 pick. I can't see the Hornets taking another young player at No. 10, so expect them to trade it for a more established veteran. A sign and trade with Orlando for Jameer Nelson seems a logical fit.