Schottey's NBA Mock Draft V1.0

Normally, I'm an NFL guy. But I follow all things draft (including beers). Here's my first crack an an NBA mock draft. Expect a few more as DraftTek.com is taking on basketball on top of football this year.

1) Sacramento Kings - Blake Griffin (PF Oklahoma)
Sacramento is actually stocked better in the front court than the back and could use a PG or SF but you do not pass on the best player in the draft. Griffin locks down the PF spot for years to come while former first rounders Jason Thompson and Spencer Hawes fight for the C spot.

2) Washington Wizards - Hasheem Thabeet (C Connecticut)
There are a lot of ways Washington could go with this pick and there is a lot of talent at the top of this draft. With Arenas expected back and Nick Young showing lots of promise in his first few years I think they go big man here—a place they've been overachieving for years. Thabeet is already a talent athlete and has his best basketball ahead of him.

3) Los Angeles Clippers - Jordan Hill (PF Arizona)
Hill is an upside player with lots of polish required. Sitting behind Zach Randolph a few years will do him loads of good. Until then, Hill is great with flood spacing and getting up the court and is a ++ defender.

4) Oklahoma City - James Hardin (SG Arizona State)
Hardin puts the ball in the hoop. He is not a great mid-range shooter but as a slasher and + three-point shooting brings a lot of good things for a team that had trouble putting the ball in the hoop.

5) Minnesota Timberwolves - Ricky Rubio (PG Spain)
By all rights, Ricky Rubio could go much much higher depending on how the lottery shakes out. As the most skilled player in the class and a dearth of professional experience, the 18 year old brings great passing talent and pure point guard play that the NBA craves and the T-wolves are dying for.

6) Memphis Grizzlies - Tyreke Evans (G Memphis)
Tyreke wouldn't only be a hometown hero for the Memphis faithful but also would be a go-to scorer in the backcourt to spell OJ Mayo and pair with him on occasion. Evans is a great ball handler and effective from all over the court. He projects as a SG but has a lot of ability from the point as well.

7) Golden State Warriors - Brandon Jennings (PG - Italy)
Jennings caused a stir when he decided to skip college and play a year in Italy. Scouts wonder if he made the most of his time over there but the #1 PG in last years HS class wont fall far. He lacks size and defensive polish but is far from a complete product with unlimited upside.

8) New York Knicks - Stephen Curry (G Davidson)
Curry is an east coast superstar who will look great under the lights of Madison Square Garden. This pick wont be just a marketing ploy though. Curry's skills translate perfectly to the DAntoni system.

Curry is an A+ marksman with little care for shot selection and a great free throw shooter and decent distributor. He projects more as a small shooting guard but can spell either position.

9) Toronto Raptors - Ty Lawson (PG North Carolina)
Toronto needs to restock just about everywhere and may be losing Chris Bosh in the very near future. However, if the Raptors are looking to keep him around they will need a true PG to get him the ball. Lawson is one of the hardest workers in the draft and can be a fixture in the backcourt making everyone better.

10) Milwaukee Bucks - Gerald Henderson (SG Duke)
Milwaukee has a few go-to scorers but does not have a lock down perimeter defender. Henderson is the type of player who a coach can automatically place on the opponents best player. Henderson has the ability to get to the hoop and distribute. Henderson may never be an A-list star but he will make a lot of other players better.

11) New Jersey Nets - Demar DeRozan (SG/SF USC)
DeRozan is a physical freak who has all of his best basketball ahead of him. Offensively he is very raw. Defensively he lacks effort but has all necessary tools. His athleticism is a big enough draw and he could go higher but the pre draft camps will need to show both effort and polish.

12) Charlotte Bobcats - Earl Clark (SF/PF-Louisville)
Earl Clark is a mismatch for just about any defender. His length and athleticism remind a lot of scouts of Julian Wright but Clark is a much better defender and Clark has as much upside if no more. If Clark can corral his work ethic he could be one of the more special players of this draft class.

13) Indiana Pacers - Jrue Holliday (PG-UCLA)
Jarrett Jack isn't the answer and Holliday has the capability to be a special player. Immediately he is a help as a defensive specialist for both guard positions but potentially is a pure point guard who has all the skills but didnt grow in his year at UCLA.

14) Phoenix Suns - Chase Budinger (SG/SF-Arizona)
Some view Budinger as an athlete who never reached his true basketball potential in college. While that may be true, Budinger is still A+ offensively and a great athlete at any level of basketball. In the right system, Budinger can be very special and Phoenix is definitely the right system.

15) Detroit Pistons - Eric Maynor (PG-Virginia Commonwealth)
Detroit made a bad short term deal with Allen Iverson but that same deal should draw dividends later with names like Carlos Boozer and Chris Bosh being bandied about in league circles. Adding Maynor, a tough true playmaker behind Rodney Stuckey solidifies an already good backcourt.

16) Chicago Bulls - James Johnson (SF/PF Wake Forest)
Chicago gave a valiant effort against the Celtics, but fell short in seven games against the 2008 champs. The Bulls are still a shallow team and adding Johnson, who can play the four or the three, would be a great move. Johnson would be a good complement to Luol Deng; he is a similar player with better D and a better J.

17) Philadelphia 76ers - Johnny Flynn (PG Syracuse)
Flynn is a tremendous athlete with tremendous potential coming out of the 'Cuse as a soph. Able to score in bunches, he may be an immediate threat as the best shooter and penetrator in the 76er backcourt.

18) Minnesota Timberwolves(from Miami) - BJ Mullins (C Ohio State)
There's a lot of flotsam on the Minnesota roster. Names like Jason Collins, Mark Madsen and Shelden Williams add a sense of depth and only about 6ppg between them. BJ Mullens is a good prospect who is not NBA ready yet, leaving OSU as a freshman. Mullens, a 7-footer could back up the center position at a high level allowing the T-wolves to pair him with either Kevin Love or Al Jefferson for stretches.

19) Atlanta Hawks - Patrick Patterson (PF/SF Kentucky)
Patterson brings much to the table as an efficient low post scorer. That said, size is nt one of them. Projecting as a small PF in the next level is a red flag and can only be overcome with extreme athleticism and the right system.

Atlanta has room for a 6-8 PF and Patterson would bring many of the same great things to the table Josh Smith does - including highlight reel dunks. Patterson adds great work ethic and tremendous defense.

20) Utah Jazz - Tyler Hansbrough (PF North Carolina)
Carlos Boozer may not be back in Utah next season and the front court backups are able to carry the load. Some question Hansbrough's NBA ability for good reason. He is a slight player who could use another inch and 10-20 more lbs.

However, he is extremely smart and fundamentally sound. Personally, I wouldn't trust any prospect to run a high pick and roll more than Hansbrough.

21) New Orleans Hornets - Terrance Williams (SG/SF Louisville)
Williams doesn't play above the rim. He has squatters rights up there! There may not be a better athlete in the draft. Williams lacks an NBA caliber jumper but is a great ball handler and passer—playing PG at times for the Cardinals. He would fit in with the Hornets as a bench point forward or getting to the lane as a SG.

22) Dallas Mavericks - Patrick Mills (PG St. Marys)
Jason Kidd is not getting any younger and the Mavs could use a front court scorer to complement the bench. Enter Patrick Mills who was arguably one of the best PGs in Beijing (playing for the Australian national team).

Mills draws constant comparisons to Tony Parker as a player who gets into the paint with efficiency and plays tough pressure defense.

23) Sacramento Kings (from Houston) - Jeff Teague (PG/SG-Wake Forest)
Teague is a SG in a PG body and will scare some teams off with his 6-2 frame and turnover tendencies which may forever keep him from having a full-time position in the backcourt.

However, Teague is a tremendous scorer with great speed and ability to get to the line complementing an A+ jump shot. The Kings do not have a capable combo guard and could also go true PG here.

24) Portland Trail Blazers - Vladimir Dasic (F Serbia)
Portland likes to stash players in Europe and cashed in his year with good contributions from players like Nicolas Batum and Rudy Fernandez. Rip City expects to be a player in the 2010 FA market and may not want to add a rookie contract this year.

Fans in Portland understand the rebuilding project and will like the looks of Dasic, a quick athletic forward who plays defense better than most of his USA counterparts.

25) Oklahoma City Thunder (from San Antonio) - Jarvis Varnado (PF- Mississippi St)
In the grand scale of things, a 6-9, 210lbs PF prospect is not what OKC needs to get better - they have enough undersized forwards as it. However, Varnado brings something to the table no one else on the Thunder does: toughness, rebounding, elite defense and athleticism against the fours and bigger threes. Varnado replaces a lot of stop gap forwards like Malik Rose and could push Jeff Green into a bench scoring role.

26) Chicago Bulls (from Denver) - DeJuan Blair (PF-Pittsburgh)
DeJuan Blair is a football player who happens to prefer basketball. At 6-7, 250 and a 7-3 wingspan he is either the second coming of Charles Barkley or the 83rd coming of Robert Traylor.

Blair is big, wide bodied and a tenacious rebounder around the hoop with amazing hands. Chicago is a tough town and pairing Blair off the bench with Tyrus Thomas and Noah is a defensive wall.

27) Memphis Grizzlies (from Orlando) - Josh Heytvelt (PF-Gonzaga)
Heytvelt can leap out of the building and score almost at will. He has a lot in his game that might not translate to the NBA but he has room for growth. He needs to put more basketball into his repertoire which is mostly just face up jumpers and penetration.

If he can safely add weight without sacrificing athleticism he could become a special player but scouts question if that will happen.

28) Minnesota Timberwolves (from Boston) - Austin Daye (SF-Gonzaga)
Jarrett Jack isn't the answer and Holliday has the capability to be a special player. Immediately he is a help as a defensive specialist for both guard positions but potentially is a pure point guard who has all the skills but didn't grow in his year at UCLA.

29) Los Angeles Lakers - Michael Washington (PF-Arkansas)
Washington is an athletic big man who has floundered a bit in a lax system with the Razorbacks. He could be a perfect fit for Jackson's triangle if he is able to be coachable as well as talented.

He could back up both the three and the four and could supplant either Ariza or Odom should they move on. Washington is a better athlete but a lesser player than both.

30) Cleveland Cavaliers - Nick Calathes (G-Florida)
Calathes might be the most talented back court player in the draft...in 2010. He doesn't have an agent and may pull out of the draft if he doesn't get a first round promise. Calathes can play three positions and projects as a top SG who can handle the ball and play a little point (his college position).

He is a leader, a scorer and a distributor all things Cleveland already has in spades but needs when LeBron and Mo Williams are off the court (and wouldn't mind having with them as well).