Hammer

I didn't want to be left out in the cold, with Zito and Mofo having all the fun of mock drafting. I even decided to pull out proper grammar, punctuation and capital letters... fun all around! I'm only doing the lottery because... well, I'm lazy for one, and two, so much can change between now and then. I was simply bored at the moment.

1. Washington - John Wall, PG Kentucky
Pretty obvious, Gilbert Arenas' standing is irrelevant to this pick. Whether they keep Zero, trade him, whatever, Wall is the clear cut pick, hopefully into the Rose-Williams-Rondo-Paul echelon.

2. Philadelphia - Evan Turner, SG Ohio State
Another swingman on a team full of them, but even if you ignore the whole "Turner is the clear cut and has to be the number 2 pick" argument, I'm not sure Derrick Favors or Greg Monroe... although good fits... would provide better value. This team should be up tempo, and Turner can be the off guard, or play the Brandon Roy role and control the ball and the tempo.

3. New Jersey - Derrick Favors, PF Georgia Tech
I like Favors' fit better with the Nets, then Cousins and Monroe. Cousins will take touches away from Lopez on the interior, and Monroe plays a similar game to Lopez on the perimeter. Lopez has been a surprisingly solid defender in the NBA, which was his knock coming out of college, and Favors helping him protect the rim should make for a solid interior D.

4. Minnesota - Greg Monroe, PF Georgetown
I could see a trade here, simply because I think Hassan Whiteside is a better fit for their up tempo, getting away from the Al Jefferson black hole game. But Whiteside is a considerably stretch here, and I like Monroe more than Johnson or Cousins here. Monroe can stretch the floor, and is a very solid passer for a big. Should complement Love and Flynn well on the offensive end, though he doesn't help much on the defensive end. Perhaps a Jefferson trade could yield a Udoh or Whiteside later on.

5. Sacramento - DeMarcus Cousins, C Kentucky
All things considered, the ideal fit for Cousins, though he may clog the lane a bit for Evans. Should provide a nice 1-2 combo, and both should put up great numbers while completely eliminating any contribution anybody else on the team will provide. Thompson's been solid, but Hawes has been a disappointment, they've been looking for a banger in the post for a bit.

6. Golden State - Wesley Johnson, SF Syracuse
Completely dependent on what they do with their front office and Don Nelson in the offseason. I actually could see Motiejunas going here, but I don't think Don Nelson and his offense last. So they grab the best available and restart around Curry and possibly Ellis. Johnson would actually fit with the running aspect of Nellieball, but he actually plays some defense, and has a mediocre outside game, so thats about as far as the fit goes.

7. Detroit - Al-Farouq Aminu, SF Wake Forest
Best available. They need bigs, but this team is getting old, and the way it's been ran in the last couple years is fairly confusing anyway. I don't think Aldrich, Patterson or Davis are game changing bigs, so they go with Aminu, who plays a fairly similar game to Tayshaun Prince, but... yea, best available. None of the 3 bigs I named would be stretches persay, but Aminu has the higher upside and can come in and play now as well.

8. Clippers - Cole Aldrich, C Kansas
This team is hit and miss. They wanna deal Kaman, they wanna deal Baron, the only constant are Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon. Naturally, the two best players on the board, play their positions... Ed Davis and Xavier Henry. Aldrich is ready now, but he's not much of an upside guy. However, with the constant Kaman rumors, who knows what they'd be able to land back for him, and thusly they might as well grab their big while they can. If nothing more, hopefully Kaman can pass on the ways of the caveman to Aldrich. If they realize that Gordon and Griffin aren't gonna make them playoff contenders in one year, maybe they take Motiejunas to groom.

9. Utah - Ed Davis, PF North Carolina
On the assumption Boozer is gone, Davis could be groomed into a post player, while coming off the bench behind Millsap, and providing 20 minutes of energy and defense for now.

10. Indiana - Xavier Henry, SG Kansas
Perhaps the most underrated talent in the draft. His ball handling could use some work, but he can create his own shot, and he's got range from outside the arena. Very strong as well, can become a lock down defender.

11. New Orleans - Hassan Whiteside, C Marshall
Okafor wasn't quite what they'd hoped when they dealt Chandler, and Whiteside brings back memories of Chandler. He should fit well in an up tempo offense with either Paul or Collison.

12. Memphis - Paul George, SF Fresno State
Gay is likely on the way out, and they'll need a swingman who plays off other guys, and not catch the ball, and completely stop all movement trying to create only for himself... especially since Mayo and Z-Bo already do that exceptionally well.

13. Toronto - Donatas Motiejunas, PF Lithuania
Obviously this could be a potentially crushing offseason for Toronto, they might as well grab the guy with the biggest upside, as opposed to Patterson or Udoh, who can contribute now, but dont have the ceiling. Motiejunas could perhaps be a Bargnani-clone, but it's going to take him a couple years to get there, in any case.

14. Houston - Avery Bradley, SG Texas
They have some wiggle room, with a fairly deep roster, and the hope that Yao can return to form. Bradley is instant offense, though I must admit the ideal of Brooks and Bradley in the same backcourt has me absolutely giddy. Midgets abound! Houston loves undersized guys too, so it fits.

Hooray for quitters! I was going to go all the way, but I got bored, and didn't wanna just throw out all the writing (typing) I just did, since it's the most I've written (typed) in years. Plus, as I said, guys are going to get promises, and everything is going to move around.