MOCK DRAFTS: consensus from the experts?

[Dime Dropper]

That would be a dream come true...but there is no way Bayless drops to #12. Everyone has him pegged as a player who is dropping but I think that is only because there isn't as much hype around him as everyone else.

He is the second best PG in this draft (yes, he will play PG) and I'm guessing he won't last past #6.

Agreed. I think he'll be just fine at PG. And I think his passing and vision is better than he's given credit for. Can't see him dropping.

Good thing about this draft is we're guaranteed one of the following:
B. Lopez
Russell Westbrook
E. Gordon
Bayless
Love
Gallinari
Alexander
Randolph
Augustin

That's a good list for pick number 12. One of those guys will be there for us, since Rose, Beasley and Mayo are least likely to drop.

Personally, I hope Alexander is gone. I wouldn't be upset with him, I'm just not high on him. Everyone else on the list I'd be happy with. I know there's a thread on Augustin pointing out his weaknesses, but this guy has more strengths than the majority of guys his size. He has a beautiful array of floaters and tear drops, is a good shooter and a very good passer and ball handler. If he reaches his ceiling he can be a very important player on a competing team.

 

[SacKings7]

Agreed. I think he'll be just fine at PG. And I think his passing and vision is better than he's given credit for. Can't see him dropping.

Good thing about this draft is we're guaranteed one of the following:
B. Lopez
Russell Westbrook
E. Gordon
Bayless
Love
Gallinari
Alexander
Randolph
Augustin

That's a good list for pick number 12. One of those guys will be there for us, since Rose, Beasley and Mayo are least likely to drop.

Personally, I hope Alexander is gone. I wouldn't be upset with him, I'm just not high on him. Everyone else on the list I'd be happy with. I know there's a thread on Augustin pointing out his weaknesses, but this guy has more strengths than the majority of guys his size. He has a beautiful array of floaters and tear drops, is a good shooter and a very good passer and ball handler. If he reaches his ceiling he can be a very important player on a competing team.

On DraftExpress it says Alexander is almost guaranteed to go #8 to Milwaukee

 

[imabored]

On DraftExpress it says Alexander is almost guaranteed to go #8 to Milwaukee

good. i don't want the kings to take him.

 

[CruzDude]

As of yesterday, june 18, Arthur and Randolph have both fallen in the draft rankings as may have DeAndre Jordan. But Speights and Hibbert seem to be rising again based on skills, size and rebounding vs. good competition. Then there is the new dark horse, Jason Thompson, suddenly coming into the lime light until an injury in late May cut down his workouts.

From my thread #74:

Jason Thompson: Who?? Well well, where would we be without a dark horse flying under the radar two weeks before the draft? and from a small school at that, Rider University, in New Jersey mid-way between Philly and New York. DX ranks him 3rd at C among all Seniors (yes, a 4-year guy!) and 12th overall among the Bigs. 6-11 and 250, in 34 min/gm he averaged 12 rebs, 20 pts, 2.7 asts AND 2.7 blocks but only 58% FT

SO NICE ONCE AND AWHILE TO BE RIGHT. Last time in NBA was probably 1974.......... A GP pick for sure. He WILL help immediately!!!

 

[mm16]

what are the chances darrell arthur falls to us? haha.

 

[king07]

what are the chances darrell arthur falls to us? haha.

pretty good at the moment

 

[Rockmeister]

Not anymore.

 

[PurpleHaze]

Mario Chalmers sliding on down to the Kings? I seriously doubt it.

 

[GeraldWallace#3]

what are the chances darrell arthur falls to us? haha.

Man, I felt sorry for the poor guy.

 

[CruzDude]

Closing Out Mock Draft With Final Draft

Well, we all prognosticated about Kings draft choices until the binge finally turned into a super hangover and it all became too much to handle. I guessed right for the first time as a Kings fan going back to 1988. Just to kinda close the whole mock draft fun here is the final Round 1 of the 2008 draft.

1 Derrick Rose (PG) Chicago Bulls Memphis Fr.
2 Michael Beasley (PF) Miami Heat Kansas State Fr.
3 O.J. Mayo (SG) Minnesota Timberwolves (traded to Memphis)[5] USC Fr.
4 Russell Westbrook (PG) Seattle SuperSonicsa[›] UCLA So.
5 Kevin Love (PF/C) Memphis Grizzlies (traded to Minnesota)[5] UCLA Fr.
6 Danilo Gallinari (SF) New York Knicks Olimpia Milano (Italy) 1988
7 Eric Gordon (SG) Los Angeles Clippers Indiana Fr.
8 Joe Alexander (SF) Milwaukee Bucks West Virginia Jr.
9 D.J. Augustin (PG) Charlotte Bobcats Texas So.
10 Brook Lopez (C) New Jersey Nets Stanford So.
11 Jerryd Bayless (PG) Indiana Pacers (traded to Portland) Arizona Fr.
12 Jason Thompson (PF) Sacramento Kings Rider Sr.
13 Brandon Rush (SG/SF) Portland Trail Blazers (traded to Indiana) Kansas Jr.
14 Anthony Randolph (PF) Golden State Warriors LSU Fr.
15 Robin Lopez (PF/C) Phoenix Suns (from Atlanta as part of the Joe Johnson trade) Stanford So.
16 Marreese Speights (PF) Philadelphia 76ers Florida So.
17 Roy Hibbert (C) Toronto Raptors (traded to Indiana as part of the Jermaine O'Neal trade) Georgetown Sr.
18 JaVale McGee (C) Washington Wizards Nevada So.
19 J.J. Hickson (PF) Cleveland Cavaliers North Carolina State Fr.
20 Alexis Ajinça (C) Charlotte Bobcats (from Denver Nuggets) Hyères-Toulon (France) 1988
21 Ryan Anderson (SF/PF) New Jersey Nets (from Dallas as part of the Jason Kidd trade) California So.
22 Courtney Lee (SG) Orlando Magic Western Kentucky Sr.
23 Kosta Koufos (C) Utah Jazz Ohio State Fr.
24 Serge Ibaka (PF) Seattle SuperSonics a[›] (from Phoenix as part of the Kurt Thomas trade) L'Hospitalet (Spain) 1989
25 Nicolas Batum (SG/SF) Houston Rockets (traded to Portland) Le Mans (France) 1988
26 George Hill (PG) San Antonio Spurs IUPUI Jr.
27 Darrell Arthur (PF) New Orleans Hornets (traded to Memphis via Portland) Kansas So.
28 Donte Greene (SF) Memphis Grizzlies (from LA Lakers as part of the Pau Gasol trade) Syracuse Fr.
29 D. J. White (PF) Detroit Pistons (traded to Seattle) a[›] Indiana Sr.
30 J.R. Giddens (SG) Boston Celtics New Mexico Sr.

 

[CruzDude]

and the Final Second Round selections

31 Nikola Peković (C) Minnesota Timberwolves (from Miami as part of the Antoine Walker trade via Boston as part of the Ricky Davis trade) Panathinaikos (Greece) 1986
32 Walter Sharpe (PF) Seattle SuperSonics a[›](traded to Detroit) UAB Jr.
33 Joey Dorsey (PF/C) Portland Trail Blazers (from Memphis as part of the Alexander Johnson trade, traded to Houston) Memphis Sr.
34 Mario Chalmers (PG) Minnesota Timberwolves (traded to Miami) Kansas Jr.
35 DeAndre Jordan (C) Los Angeles Clippers Texas A&M Fr.
36 Ömer Aşık (PF/C) Portland Trail Blazers (from New York as part of the Demetris Nichols trade, traded to Chicago) Fenerbahçe Ülker (Turkey) 1986
37 Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (SF/PF) Milwaukee Bucks UCLA Jr.
38 Kyle Weaver (PG/SG) Charlotte Bobcats Washington State Sr.
39 Sonny Weems (SG/SF) Chicago Bulls (traded to Denver) Arkansas Sr.
40 Chris Douglas-Roberts (SG) New Jersey Nets Memphis Jr.
41 Nathan Jawai (PF/C) Indiana Pacers (traded to Toronto as part of the Jermaine O'Neal trade) Cairns Taipans (Australia) 1986
42 Sean Singletary (PG) Sacramento Kings (from Atlanta as part of the Mike Bibby trade) Virginia Sr.
43 Patrick Ewing, Jr. (PF) Sacramento Kings Georgetown Sr.
44 Ante Tomic (PF/C) Utah Jazz (from Philadelphia) KK Zagreb (Croatia) 1987
45 Goran Dragić (PG) San Antonio Spurs (from Toronto as part of the Giorgos Printezis trade, traded to Phoenix) Union Olimpija (Slovenia) 1986
46 Trent Plaisted (PF) Seattle SuperSonics a[›](from Portland as part of the Sebastian Telfair trade via Boston as part of the Ray Allen trade, traded to Detroit) BYU Jr.
47 Bill Walker (SF) Washington Wizards (traded to Boston) Kansas State Fr.
48 Malik Hairston (SG) Phoenix Suns (from Cleveland as part of the Milt Palacio trade, traded to San Antonio) Oregon Sr.
49 Richard Hendrix (PF) Golden State Warriors Alabama Jr.50 DeVon Hardin (C) Seattle SuperSonics a[›](from Denver as part of the Earl Watson trade) California Sr.
51 Shan Foster (SG) Dallas Mavericks Vanderbilt Sr.
52 Darnell Jackson (PF) Miami Heat (from Orlando as part of the hiring of Stan Van Gundy as Orlando's head coach, traded to Cleveland) Kansas Sr.
53 Tadija Dragicević (PF) Utah Jazz Red Star Belgrade (Serbia) 1986
54 Maarty Leunen (PF) Houston Rockets Oregon Sr.
55 Mike Taylor (PG) Portland Trail Blazers (from Phoenix as part of the James Jones trade trade via Indiana as part of the James White, traded to LA Clippers) Idaho Stampede (D-League) 1986
56 Sasha Kaun (C) Seattle SuperSonics a[›](from New Orleans,[7] traded to Cleveland) Kansas Sr.
57 James Gist (PF) San Antonio Spurs Maryland Sr.
58 Joe Crawford (SG) Los Angeles Lakers Kentucky Sr.
59 Deron Washington (SG/SF) Detroit Pistons Virginia Tech Sr.
60 Semih Erden (C) Boston Celtics Fenerbahçe Ülker (Turkey) 1986

 

[bajaden]

31 Nikola Peković (C) Minnesota Timberwolves (from Miami as part of the Antoine Walker trade via Boston as part of the Ricky Davis trade) Panathinaikos (Greece) 1986
32 Walter Sharpe (PF) Seattle SuperSonics a[›](traded to Detroit) UAB Jr.
33 Joey Dorsey (PF/C) Portland Trail Blazers (from Memphis as part of the Alexander Johnson trade, traded to Houston) Memphis Sr.
34 Mario Chalmers (PG) Minnesota Timberwolves (traded to Miami) Kansas Jr.
35 DeAndre Jordan (C) Los Angeles Clippers Texas A&M Fr.
36 Ömer Aşık (PF/C) Portland Trail Blazers (from New York as part of the Demetris Nichols trade, traded to Chicago) Fenerbahçe Ülker (Turkey) 1986
37 Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (SF/PF) Milwaukee Bucks UCLA Jr.
38 Kyle Weaver (PG/SG) Charlotte Bobcats Washington State Sr.
39 Sonny Weems (SG/SF) Chicago Bulls (traded to Denver) Arkansas Sr.
40 Chris Douglas-Roberts (SG) New Jersey Nets Memphis Jr.
41 Nathan Jawai (PF/C) Indiana Pacers (traded to Toronto as part of the Jermaine O'Neal trade) Cairns Taipans (Australia) 1986
42 Sean Singletary (PG) Sacramento Kings (from Atlanta as part of the Mike Bibby trade) Virginia Sr.
43 Patrick Ewing, Jr. (PF) Sacramento Kings Georgetown Sr.
44 Ante Tomic (PF/C) Utah Jazz (from Philadelphia) KK Zagreb (Croatia) 1987
45 Goran Dragić (PG) San Antonio Spurs (from Toronto as part of the Giorgos Printezis trade, traded to Phoenix) Union Olimpija (Slovenia) 1986
46 Trent Plaisted (PF) Seattle SuperSonics a[›](from Portland as part of the Sebastian Telfair trade via Boston as part of the Ray Allen trade, traded to Detroit) BYU Jr.
47 Bill Walker (SF) Washington Wizards (traded to Boston) Kansas State Fr.
48 Malik Hairston (SG) Phoenix Suns (from Cleveland as part of the Milt Palacio trade, traded to San Antonio) Oregon Sr.
49 Richard Hendrix (PF) Golden State Warriors Alabama Jr.50 DeVon Hardin (C) Seattle SuperSonics a[›](from Denver as part of the Earl Watson trade) California Sr.
51 Shan Foster (SG) Dallas Mavericks Vanderbilt Sr.
52 Darnell Jackson (PF) Miami Heat (from Orlando as part of the hiring of Stan Van Gundy as Orlando's head coach, traded to Cleveland) Kansas Sr.
53 Tadija Dragicević (PF) Utah Jazz Red Star Belgrade (Serbia) 1986
54 Maarty Leunen (PF) Houston Rockets Oregon Sr.
55 Mike Taylor (PG) Portland Trail Blazers (from Phoenix as part of the James Jones trade trade via Indiana as part of the James White, traded to LA Clippers) Idaho Stampede (D-League) 1986
56 Sasha Kaun (C) Seattle SuperSonics a[›](from New Orleans,[7] traded to Cleveland) Kansas Sr.
57 James Gist (PF) San Antonio Spurs Maryland Sr.
58 Joe Crawford (SG) Los Angeles Lakers Kentucky Sr.
59 Deron Washington (SG/SF) Detroit Pistons Virginia Tech Sr.
60 Semih Erden (C) Boston Celtics Fenerbahçe Ülker (Turkey) 1986

Three guys went right before our picks that I was lusting after. CDR is the obvious one. I can't beleive he fell that far. Trust me, a lot of people are going to regret passing on him. He was the second best player on a team that only lost one game during the regular season and came in second in the tourney. The other two are Nathan Jawai and Kyle Weaver.

Three guys that went after our pick that I liked were Mike Taylor, Richard Hendrix, and Bill Walker. I think all three can and will play in the NBA. Another guy I liked was Trent Plaisted. I would have taken any of them over Ewing. Lets hope that I'm wrong.

 

[TheRaven]

Three guys went right before our picks that I was lusting after. CDR is the obvious one. I can't beleive he fell that far. Trust me, a lot of people are going to regret passing on him. He was the second best player on a team that only lost one game during the regular season and came in second in the tourney. The other two are Nathan Jawai and Kyle Weaver.

Three guys that went after our pick that I liked were Mike Taylor, Richard Hendrix, and Bill Walker. I think all three can and will play in the NBA. Another guy I liked was Trent Plaisted. I would have taken any of them over Ewing. Lets hope that I'm wrong.

Was quite a deep draft, but even so I was surprised how far some of the guys fell. Mario Chalmers in the 2nd is an incredible value, and he is going to make teams wish they had ponied up the picks and cash to acquire him via trade.

Besides the guys you mentioned and some of the Euro's that were stashed, another guy I am going to keep an eye on is DeVon Hardin from Cal. To me he looks like sort of a bigger and taller version of Justin Williams. He is a center who has very little in the way of an offensive game, but should be able to make an impact defensively.

I know we have a whole ton of bigs on the roster right now, but I was hoping for us to pick him and groom him to be a role-player as a defensive specialist behind Hawes to play when the matchups call for it. Especially since we will be losing Brad sooner or later, either via trade or when his contract expires.

 

[bajaden]

Was quite a deep draft, but even so I was surprised how far some of the guys fell. Mario Chalmers in the 2nd is an incredible value, and he is going to make teams wish they had ponied up the picks and cash to acquire him via trade.

Besides the guys you mentioned and some of the Euro's that were stashed, another guy I am going to keep an eye on is DeVon Hardin from Cal. To me he looks like sort of a bigger and taller version of Justin Williams. He is a center who has very little in the way of an offensive game, but should be able to make an impact defensively.

I know we have a whole ton of bigs on the roster right now, but I was hoping for us to pick him and groom him to be a role-player as a defensive specialist behind Hawes to play when the matchups call for it. Especially since we will be losing Brad sooner or later, either via trade or when his contract expires.

Gosh, why did you have to bring him up.. I followed his career the whole time he was at Cal. I orginally thought that no one had a bigger upside. Here's an example of a guy who, if he had been drafted after one year of college would have gone higher, just based on potential.

The problem is, he just didn't get any better. That means, he's either incapable of understanding the how's of getting better, or, he simply didn't work at it.. As Ken Venturi once said. I'm amazed how the more I practice, the luckier I get. My suspicion is that he didn't put in the time to get better, because I don't think he's stupid.

Too many times great athlete's think they can get by on their athletic ability alone. It works for them until they get to the Pro's, and all of a sudden its not enough anymore. He may get a reality check and finally put in the work. I hope so for his sake. If not, he's out of the league in a few years.

 

[CruzDude]

Can see everyone's point re. 2nd round. The Kings got the best PG available and one who can very likely be a decent backup this year due to 4-yr college background.

As to Ewing, that is a "?" from all angles. If he pans out, could be taller JonBarry type: tough on defense, able to score, able to defend all positions. Good at everything not great at anything but good pedigree and chance to make team due to his flexibility to guard 4 spots. Will be fun to watch at VSL.