2012 NBA Mock Draft: Which Teams Can Change Their Fortunes in Stacked Year?

The 2012 NBA Draft is going to be like no other that we've seen in recent years. Instead of the worst team wrestling over two guys to pick at No. 1, it's going to be something closer to No. 4 or No. 5.

The likes of Andre Drummond, Anthony Davis, Jeremy Lamb, Harrison Barnes and Jared Sullinger are expected to come out for this year's draft. To put this all into perspective, Perry Jones, a guy who was once considered to be in consideration for the No. 1 pick last year, is now listed as low as sixth or seventh on many early mock drafts (injuries have hurt him a bit though).

To say this draft is going to be stacked is an understatement. It's going to be like the Dream Team compared to the Toon Squad when comparing the best guys in 2011's class to 2012's.

Owning two lottery picks in this draft could turn a team around in an instant, and in some team's cases, that is a legitimate possibility.

While nothing is certain, this draft class could end up being compared to the likes of the 2003 class or the 1984 class. 

But, who is going to be helped the most by the upcoming draft? Who will be in the best position with the right moves and the right teams winning or losing? Well, I'm here to tell you all about that right now.

Orlando Magic

If Orlando decides to bail on Dwight Howard early and attempt to start their rebuilding as soon as possible, it might not be a terrible thing for them.

Say they ship Dwight to the Lakers, who in return give them Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom and a few draft picks, including a first rounder this year. Orlando will obviously struggle, and if they shipped Dwight out early enough, they could possibly be a lottery team.

That will mean Orlando has a top 14 pick at the worst and an additional first-rounder from the Lakers, which admittedly will be a late pick, but a first-rounder nonetheless. However, this is all based on the thought that Orlando will bail on Dwight early, which doesn't seem too probable at this point.

People Who Like To Laugh at Minnesota

I'm sorry for taking cheap shots here, but the world of basketball-related comedy seems to be losing one of its most valuable targets, as David Kahn hasn't done anything wrong in months.

This year could be the final year that Kahn either a) makes repeated stupid moves for the Minnesota Timberwolves or b) is the general manager of those Timberwolves.

However, we'll get at least one final laugh at the Timberwolves as the trade made back in 2005, which sent Marco Jaric and Lionel Chalmers to Minnesota for Sam Cassell and a conditional first-rounder, has finally lost its lottery protection. That means the Clippers get Minnesota's pick straight up.

If the T-Wolves crash and burn, it could be a wonderful year for Kahn-bashers.

Houston Rockets

While the Houston Rockets aren't exactly hurting at this point, they could end up getting quite the windfall if they happen to struggle this year.

As of right now, the Nets own Houston's first-round pick this year, but only if the Rockets make the playoffs. If they're a lottery team, Houston keeps their pick.

On top of that, Houston owns New York's first-round pick unless the Knicks end up with a top five pick in this draft, an extremely unlikely scenario.

If Houston misses the playoffs like they did last season, it will mean they end up with a lottery pick and another pick somewhere in the 20s, which won't be bad for a draft this deep.

New Orleans Hornets

The Hornets are in the same boat as the Magic, but it seems a bit more likely that the Hornets will give up Chris Paul by the trade deadline, possibly sooner.

If New Orleans gives up Paul, they could rope in a third team to get them an additional high first-round pick this year on top of their pick that would likely be high if the team is without Paul early on.

Give this team two first-rounders this year plus whatever package of players Paul gets them and they could have a very short rebuilding session.

Detroit Pistons

This is the year for the Pistons. Nothing good is going to happen on the floor, no. This is the year they finally bottom out.

Rip Hamilton is likely going to be waived via amnesty, leaving guys like Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva to take over the leadership roles on the team. Anytime you have to rely on Barlie Gordanueva to get you wins, it's not going to end well.

I see Detroit coming out of this season with one of the three worst records in the league, giving them a shot at the No. 1 pick, and thus a shot at Andre Drummond, Anthony Davis, Harrison Barnes or Jared Sullinger.

Charlotte Bobcats

The Charlotte Bobcats are going to have all kinds of growing pains with the team that they plan on shuffling out onto the court this season, but that may end up being a good thing in the end.

Kemba Walker will likely compete for the Rookie of the Year Award, but Bismack Biyombo will struggle to find his role and the rest of their team just isn't that good.

This should mean that Charlotte tussles for the worst record in the league with Cleveland, Detroit, Toronto and Minnesota, giving them a great chance at the No. 1 pick.

Adding a man-child like Andre Drummond to their team and trotting out twin towers like Drummond and Biyombo would be intimidating, and it would probably end up as a major positive for Charlotte.

Toronto Raptors

Toronto will be one of the teams to compete for the worst record in the league, which means they will end up with one of the good players that figure to be near the top of the draft come July.

This means that Toronto is going to add a high-caliber player like one of the many big men or someone like Harrison Barnes or Jeremy Lamb. This will be on a team that will eventually boast DeMar DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas, along with Andrea Bargnani at the power forward, which he would be more suited for.

Utah Jazz

Utah should struggle this season putting all their parts together on the fly, and should be a low-level lottery team, garnering them a pick somewhere between No. 9 and No. 14 (although they could get lucky and win it).

This pick could land them any of Kentucky's players not named Anthony Davis or someone like Quincy Miller or Thomas Robinson, all of whom would be great additions to this young Jazz team.

On top of that, they own the rights to the Warriors' first-rounder should Golden State's pick be outside the top seven, a very good possibility. They'll be rooting for Golden State to be bad, but not too bad so they can add two of the players I mentioned above.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland hit the jackpot with two of the top four picks in last year's draft, landing them Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson. Those are two good pickups, but they don't seem to be franchise changers as of right now.

However, their pick this year figures to be in the top five with the possibility of being No. 1 overall yet again.

Adding a big man like Andre Drummond, Anthony Davis or Jared Sullinger would be terrific, as would adding someone like Harrison Barnes or Jeremy Lamb. Basically what I'm getting at is that they would be happy with anybody in the top five.

On top of that, they will get the rights to Sacramento's first-rounder in the off chance that the Kings make the playoffs this season, which seems unlikely to say the least.

Los Angeles Clippers

Suddenly, everyone is forgetting about the fact that the Clippers stupidly traded their first-round pick without protection to the Cavaliers last season, which led to them missing out on a No. 1 overall pick.

Most of that nationwide amnesia is due to the realization that they own possibly one of the most valuable picks in the league without protection, that of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

If Minny struggles, it's not improbable that that pick turns into a No. 1 overall itself, which would give the Clippers the top pick, plus their own, which figures to be a mid-round pick.

With that No. 1 pick, the Clippers could go after Jeremy Lamb (the shooting guard from UConn), Andre Drummond (UConn's center) or Harrison Barnes (UNC's small forward). That would make them one of the best young teams in the league, without a doubt.

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