7 days until the draft...

POR - C - Greg Oden - Ohio State
SEA - F - Kevin Durant - Texas
ATL - FC - Al Horford - Florida
MEM - PF - Brandan Wright - North Carolina
BOS - PF - Yi Jianlian - China
MIL - PG - Mike Conley - Ohio State
MIN - F - Jeff Green - Georgetown
CHA - GF - Corey Brewer - Florida
CHI - FC - Joakim Noah - Florida
SAC - C - Spencer Hawes - Washington
ATL - PG - Javaris Crittenton - Georgia Tech
PHI - F - Al Thornton - Florida State
NOH - GF - Nick Young - USC
LAC - SF - Julian Wright - Kansas
DET - PG - Acie Law - Texas A&M
WAS - G - Rodney Stuckey - Eastern Washington
NJN - PF - Jason Smith - Colorado State
GSW - SF - Thaddeus Young - Georgia Tech
LAL - PF - Josh McRoberts - Duke
MIA - G - Rudy Fernandez - Spain
PHI - PF - Tiago Splitter - Brazil
CHA - SG - Daequan Cook - Ohio State
NYK - SG - Marco Belinelli - Italy
PHX - PG - Gabe Pruitt - USC
UTA - GF - Derrick Byars - Vanderbilt
HOU - GF - Morris Almond - Rice
DET - FC - Sean Williams - Boston College
SAS - FC - Kyrylo Fesenko - Ukraine
PHX - GF - Marcus Williams - Arizona
PHI - PG - Petteri Koponen - Finland

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO to Noah

Sorry, buryman, but there is about a 75% chance we end up with either Noah or Hawes, and I'm not buying the reports claiming that Yi will fall to us. So brace yourself for one of those two.

Do you think there's any chance that they might trade up in the second round to get somebody like Big Baby? From everything I've ready, he's looked really good in his workouts.

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"Tubby? Oh yes, Tubby."

Big baby was a bum last year, even though his team sucked he did nothing to help his cause. That was like his free agent year and he did deliver which tells me he is no good.

Noah reminds me of a Chandler type. I know he's a bit more polished and fundamentaly sound but he seems like a whiny fist pumping, chest thumping, mouth guard wearing basketball bitch.

1) You think Conley will last that long?
Why wouldn't Atlanta or the Celts take him?
Other than the fact that their GM's are morons.

2) Why do you feel Green goes before Brewer?
Skills or need?

To me Brewer has Pippen like potential.
If the Bulls got Brewer, I wouldn't get too pissed if they then moved Deng.

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“Mmmm. Move over, eggs. Bacon just got a new best friend - fudge.”

I'd take Hawes over Noah. There was word in the Sun Times that the Bulls told a guard from Ok St that they would take him in the 2nd if he is there.

Conley seems like such a great fit for Milwaukee if they let Mo Williams leave. If they are committed to Williams as their point guard, then I don't think they would take Conley.

I originally thought Conley would go as high as #3 to ATL, but Horford looks like he'll be a double-double guy within a few years, and they can come back and get a PG at #11 (though they should take Law, I think).

If I'm Minnesota, I'm taking Brewer, but Green appears ready to make a contribution. Hell, if they trade Garnett (rumors have him going to Boston, and getting back Jefferson, G.Green, the #5 pick, and cap filler, they could take both of these guys or mix in Hawes).

That's Curry from Oklahoma St. I don't believe that - there's too many picks where he could go before the Bulls go at #49 and #51, and at 6-3, I don't see how he improves the size in the backcourt.

Hawes has a chance to be a good player, but it's going to take time. Noah can play right now, but I question his upside. I think he's Etan Thomas like.

I don't think so because they already have (or soon to be had) a player like that in Michael Sweetney, who couldn't keep his weight under control.

I do hope they take college players who had high productivity, and maybe just being overlooked because they don't have high potential marks.

BTW, Buckets - good mock draft! Keep sharing any/all of your draft thoughts!

I agree BD, I think they'd take Law over Critterton at #11. I originally thought they should take Conley at #3 but I like Horford too. I just hope they don't take Brandon Wright.

Absolutely. In fact, that’s exactly what I’d do if I were Pax. There will be good players on the board for the first 10 picks of the 2nd round. I’d package 49 & 51 with some cash and try to get into the late 30s. The only problem is that everybody and their brother is going to be interested in the early 2nd round jewels. The price might be pretty high. We’ll see.

Davis isn’t the guy I’d be targeting necessarily, but it’s not a bad idea. He’s worth a shot at that point, plus it would give Tyrus someone to chum around with now that PJ is (likely) gone. There should be 2-3 quality GF’s still on the board, along with a few solid PG’s, and we may need one if Duhon gets shipped.



Conley is one of the tougher guys to pinpoint. I don’t think Atlanta wants to take him as high as 3, and the Celtics seem very pleased by the development of Rondo. I’ve seen Conley lasting all the way to 11 (the Hawks’ 2nd pick) on some mocks, but I don’t think there’s a chance in hell that happens. He’d never get by Sacramento, and even the Bulls would probably draft him just for the opportunity to trade him later. Milwaukee makes the most sense to me, unless Atlanta finds a way to trade down a few spots.



A lot of people were projecting Brewer into the top 4. Then, they measured him. No pun intended, but he’s nowhere close to as long as he was advertised. Still a very good player, but perhaps not as much of a perimeter vulture as he was billed to be.

Green, to me, is this year’s Brandon Roy. Not in terms of style of play, but a guy shooting up the draft charts. He was originally projected as late lottery, now it appears he could go as high as 5 to Boston. He’s a combo forward that does a bit of everything. If we didn’t already have Luol & Tyrus, Green is the guy I’d be promoting (and heavily).

How long do you see Aaron Aflalo and Alando Tucker lasting in the second round?

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"Tubby? Oh yes, Tubby."

If Green is there at #9, I'd still take him, and figure it out later. I agree with everythig you said about him, and you can never have enough good players. This would be a good problem to have.

If Conley falls to #9, I pray to God that the Bulls pick him--to keep, not to trade. He will be a better PG than Hinrich very quickly, in my opinion.

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Not long at all, and both could end up as late first rounders. There are several teams (Bobcats, Knicks, Suns, Jazz, Rockets, etc) picking between 22-30 that will be looking at perimeter guys. Afflalo would fit in nicely w/ Utah or Houston, and Philly management has said on more than 1 occasion that they really like Tucker.

Agree with this point as well.....he may end up being better than Kirk, but I think he's also a more natural point guard. I see Hinrich as a good point, but more of a tweener, combo guard.

Looking at the top teams though, you can argue that Boston, Memphis, ATL, Milwaukee, and Minnesota could all use point guard, but with the talent in this draft, there's probably only a small chance that Conley will get through this undrafted.

Any thoughts on the Suns cap situation?
How likely are they to trade their picks, and would it make sense for the Bulls to move up to get one of them?

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“Mmmm. Move over, eggs. Bacon just got a new best friend - fudge.”

Draft Express also has the Bulls taking Noah, with Jianlian falling to Sacramento at #10. Unless Mike North is making this year's pick instead of Paxson, I don't see the Bulls passing on Jianlian....

NBAdraft.net, meanwhile, has the Bulls taking Hawes and Conley falling to #11. I don't think the Bulls would ever pass on Conley in favor of Hawes.

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Mao,
You useless piece of crap.
Where is the scouting report on the pride of China?
How about some game film breakdown.

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“Mmmm. Move over, eggs. Bacon just got a new best friend - fudge.”

They don't pick until late in the 1st round so I'd rather not trade for one of those unless the Suns would take our 2nd rounders, which I doubt.

Suns are facing the cap, but I've heard conflicting things about it. Shawn Marion is in several trade rumors, but they have to take back salaries for a deal to work so it will be interesting to see what happens here.

There have been a lot of rumors this year about the Bulls promising players they will take them - DraftExpress says that's what the Bulls told Noah, and there are rumors about Curry as well.

I don't believe either. They may take one of those guys, but I don't see them promising anything.

A daily blog would be great.

Something breaking down all the trade possibilites, scouting reports etc.

Phoenix made their own bed on this one. They gave way too much money to Boris Diaw, and they should have found a new home for Kurt Thomas 4 months ago. That would have solved all of their problems. Now, they’re either going to have to spend significantly more money than they’ve ever spent before, or they’re going to have to throw away draft picks in order to move bad contracts. I have no sympathy for them, and I also feel Steve Kerr is the wrong man for the job. Other than that, they should be fine.

As for the Bulls, if they land their big at 9, I don’t know that they’d try to get another 1st rounder, unless someone they really loved fell about 10 spots beyond projections. If they end up with a Jeff Green or a Mike Conley, then most definitely they might try to jump back in. Otherwise, I suspect Pax will grab Noah or Hawes, then look for value near the top of round 2. A trade involving Duhon within the next 7 days could change things, though.



I wish I led this Jeff Lebowski life that you all must envision for me, but unfortunately I occasionally have shit to do. Will post more as the draft approaches.

Also, the comments were not eliminated based on laziness. I actually cut them because they were getting too long.

Buckets abides!

Spinnin Buckets -

What kind of compensation do you see the Bulls getting for Duhon ? What kind of trade do you see coming down the road here ? It's obvious he's going to be traded, but I just can't see him anything beyond another backup for him alone, and I don't see a trade involving him alone before the draft changing our draft strategy, but would love to hear your thoughts on what he could bring or if you see him as part of a packaged trade.

Very little, he doesn't have a ton of value. He'll either be coupled with the pick for another player, or used as part of a larger deal. Also possible, though less likely, that his expiring is used to take on a bad contract, which would allow them to move up in the draft or perhaps acquire another pick.

Is there an echo in here?

Nas, are you hungover?