NBA Mock Draft 2.0

The typical wheeling-and-dealing that we expect from the NBA Draft kicked off last night. The Pacers agreed to trade oft-injured star center Jermaine O'Neal to Toronto for point guard TJ Ford, center Rasho Nesterovic and the 17th pick in the draft. The deal is pending physicals for both O'Neal (knee) and Ford (spinal cord) but unless that changes before this post is completed, I will include those changes in the mock draft. Another smaller deal was consumated last night as the Nuggets traded the 20th pick to Charlotte for the rights to a future first round pick. Charlotte joins Portland, who took the 27th pick off the hands of New Orleans on Tuesday, as teams with Lottery picks who also have a pick in the 20's. Finally, there is still speculation about what the Heat will do with the 2nd pick. If the Bulls pull a surprise move and take Michael Beasley with the first pick, the Heat will waste no time in taking Derrick Rose back to South Beach. If the Bulls do the expected and take Rose, there is talk of Beasley going to Miami, the Heat taking Beasley and trading him or the Heat skipping over Beasley completely and drafting guards OJ Mayo or Jerry Bayless. If I was Pat Riley, the only way I would trade Beasley is if there was a way to send him to Los Angeles in return for Clippers forward Elton Brand. To me, it doesn't make sense to pair Dwayne Wade with another young guard who has a similar skill set and if you don't want Beasley, go for a veteran you can pair Wade and Shawn Marion with to try and make a run at the championship like the Celtics did this past season. Anyways, here is Mock Draft 2.0. If you want to see my commentary for the picks that have not changed, click here. I will only add commentary in this mock draft for picks that I have changed from yesterday. 1. Chicago Bulls: Derrick Rose, PG, Memphis 2. Miami Heat: Michael Beasley, PF, Kansas State 3. Minnesota Timberwolves: Kevin Love, PF, UCLA 4. Seattle Sonics: Brook Lopez, C, Stanford Maybe it's because I believe so much in defense and rebounding but faced with a choice of adding a scoring guard (Mayo, Bayless, Russell Westbrook, Eric Gordon) or a 7-footer with skill when you already have a potential league scoring champion in Kevin Durant, you go with the big man. 5. Memphis Grizzlies: OJ Mayo, SG, USC Memphis will not hesitate to grab Mayo if he is on the board at No. 5. His all-around skill set should mesh nicely with the Grizzlies. Memphis could possibly package this pick with one of their young point guards to move up to No. 3 to make sure they get Mayo, if Miami does not draft the talented guard. 6. New York Knicks: Danilo Gallinari, SF, Italy There will be a lot said about Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni playing with Gallinari's father in Italy during the 1980s but faced with a trio of guards -- Eric Gordon, Russell Westbrook and Bayless -- that are not sure things (of course, NONE of the players in this draft are sure things), the Knicks could fall in love with Gallinari's overall game. 7. Los Angeles Clippers: Jerryd Bayless, PG, Arizona 8. Milwaukee Bucks: Joe Alexander, SF, West Virginia 9. Charlotte Bobcats: Russell Westbrook, PG, UCLA The Hornets need another option at point guard to go with Ray Felton. Westbrook is a terrific defender who is still developing as an offensive player. Playing as a rookie for Larry Brown will teach him the position. 10. New Jersey Nets: Robin Lopez, C, Stanford Lopez' stock is rising, maybe a little bit too fast, but there is value in an athletic, tough big man who defends and rebounds. Pairing Lopez with Sean Williams and Josh Boone would give the Nets a solid group of big men as they try and rebuild on the fly. 11. Indiana Pacers: Eric Gordon, SG, Indiana Gordon is one of my favorite players in this draft and after acquiring TJ Ford from Toronto, the Pacers will be very happy to add a homegrown talent like Gordon, especially with his offensive capabilities. Remember what I wrote yesterday, this kid could be a Dwayne Wade type of player. 12. Sacramento Kings: DJ Augustin, PG, Texas The Kings need a point guard in the worst way and Augustin would be a nice fit for the Kings. Playing with Kevin Durant as a freshman, he proved he could run an offense and last year he showed he is capable of taking the scoring burden onto his shoulders. 13. Portland Trailblazers: Anthony Randolph, PF, LSU The Blazers really do not need any more young players but with Greg Oden set to return healthy in 2008-09, they can afford to allow Randolph time to mature physically while he also develops his game. 14. Golden State Warriors: Kosta Koufos, C, Ohio State Koufos would be a better fit for the Warriors and Nellie-ball than the player I projected here yesterday, Jason Thompson, because he is better facing the basket than Thompson. 15. Phoenix Suns: Brandon Rush, SG, Kansas 16. Philadelphia 76ers: Marreese Speights, PF, Florida Philly needs a big body who can score in the post and the 6-10 Speights fits that need. 17. Indiana Pacers: Jason Thompson, C, Rider After trading away O'Neal, the Pacers need to try and replace some of his scoring and rebounding inside. 18. Washington Wizards: Darrell Arthur, PF, Kansas 19. Cleveland Cavaliers: Mario Chalmers, PG, Kansas The Cavs need a young point guard to team with restricted free agent Delonte West to give some balance to their offense. Chalmers played on a talented Kansas team and ran their offense all the way to the national championship. LeBron will like his play-making ability and his shooting. 20. Charlotte Bobcats: Roy Hibbert, C, Georgetown Hibbert may not be filled with "upside" or "potential" but he did improve over his four years as a Hoya and he could play immediately as a reserve for the Bobcats. 21. New Jersey Nets: Ryan Anderson, PF, California The Nets need a forward who can score and after a stellar sophomore season at Cal (21.1 ppg), Anderson is a solid choice. 22. Orlando Magic: Courtney Lee, SG, Western Kentucky 23. Utah Jazz: Kyle Weaver, PG, Washington State The Jazz are pretty solid but they do need a backup point guard to give Deron Williams a rest. Weaver played on some very good Cougar teams the last two seasons and was called the "ultimate team player" in one of his scouting reports. 24. Seattle Sonics: Chris Douglas-Roberts, SG, Memphis If the Sonics go big early in the draft, adding a wing scorer as talented as CDR with the 24th pick will make for a nice night. Many experts expect GM Sam Presti to steal a move from his days with the Spurs and take a foreign player who will develop overseas for at least a year or two but the Sonics have too many holes to fill to gamble away a first round pick. 25. Houston Rockets: Donte Green, PF, Syracuse Green needs to get stronger but he can shoot the ball and the Rockets need power forwards with that skill to clear space on the floor for Yao and McGrady. 26. San Antonio Spurs: DJ White, PF, Indiana The Spurs need to start developing some young alternatives up front to compliment Tim Duncan. White is a talented player who can score inside and rebound. 27. Portland Trailblazers: Nicolas Batum, SF, France The Blazers went after this pick to find a foreign player that they could keep overseas for at least a year. Batum is very skilled and falls this far due to a slight problem with his physical and a subpar season in France. 28. Memphis Grizzlies: DeAndre Jordan, C, Texas A&M With the Grizzlies learning that Marc Gasol will join them next year, the Grizz can use this pick to select a project like Jordan. Some people see a homeless man's Dwight Howard but if you look a little deeper, you will find Lorenzen Wright, a Memphis homie. 29. Detroit Pistons: JJ Hickson, PF, NC State 30. Boston Celtics: Ante Tomic, C, Croatia After hearing Danny Ainge talk yesterday, I am convinced the C's are trading this pick or using it on a European project. Tomic is a skilled big man who needs to add strength to his 7-2 frame. Hopefully not another Stojko Vrancovic.