WRG 2010 Mock Draft - #30 Washington Wizards

We don't have much, but at least now we have a centerpiece that's on the court instead of in court.

And since we still have a few knuckleheads around, we need someone with the toughness and maturity to protect our man from both opponents and the destructive forces on our own roster.

We could also use a guy who can bring some excitement, play hard defense, run the break, block shots, get in the passing lanes, be a part of many different lineups and generally take care of the dirty work no one else we have is willing to do.

We would be lucky to find a player like with the last pick of the first round - the David Stern round - that can do some of these things, but to get a guy who can play a lot of minutes and do all of them is just blind fortune.

So the commissioner announces that we select Trevor Booker, and after he does he quietly disappears into the night, returning to the lair from whence he came. When will he emerge again? We don't know. But he won't be stopped until he has achieved world domination, and absolutely no one will be surprised.

Now, here's that pasty, no talent Adam Silver to ruin the second round once again. Booooooooooooooooo!!!!!!

Trevor Booker, and the only guns he needs.

WRG Mock Draft 2010 - #29 Orlando Magic

We know we aren't going to draft a starter at this pick since it's the end of the first round and we are a title contender. Since both of our backup point guards are free agents (Anthony Johnson & Jason Williams), we could use someone there. We could also use a play-making wing, which we missed big time by Hedo Turkoglu's departure. We could even use a big man who can score with his back to the basket (hopefully that lights a fire under Dwights ass!).

There are a couple guys we like that fit into these categories. Darington Hobson is a very nice playmaker on the wing. He's a do-it-all forward and can give us the same type of player that Hedo was, although not on his level...yet. But we aren't taking Mr. Hobson. We are going for a big point guard to backup up little Jameer Nelson.

It's not a deep point guard draft, but one player is still there that we like, and can help us immediately: Mikhail Torrance. He adds size to the backcourt (6-5), a solid backup point guard and can contribute immediately since he stayed in college all four years.

We hope the Celtics draft #21.

WRG Mock Draft 2010 - #28 Memphis Grizzlies

 
Let me tell you, when we saw polar bears on that "Lost" island - what a sense of relief came over our whole franchise.  If polar bears can be wandering around on some tropical island, who's to say you won't see a grizzly or two munching on tourists at Graceland or bopping down Beale street enjoying some tunes.

Then they came up with all that time-shifting nonsense, and maybe the place was purgatory and all that.  We don't know and we don't want to know.  It bums us out a little.  We liked it the old, confusing way where our name made some sense.

So, yeah, our frontcourt is fine and we've been hanging on to our underwhelming lottery PG for a while now - so we are going to take Armon Johnson here and hope he's the best of the crop of athletic combo guards still on the board.  We think he's the most well-rounded of them and probably the best mix of scoring ability, shooting, defense and potential at the point.

The "H" stands for, "Hi, Memphis, you don't know me, but my name is Armon Johnson and I was the second best player on Nevada, and even though I bet you are not that excited your team drafted me I am going to work really hard and - hey - I can't be any worse than Allen Iverson, right?"

WRG 2010 Mock Draft - #27 New Jersey Nets

A point guard that we like fell to us in the 20's? Everyone thought he'd be gone by now, but he's still there. Where have we heard this one before?

We are certain that Avery Bradley isn't the second coming of Marcus Williams. When we came into the draft, we wanted to target a shooter at this pick. Avery Bradley is a solid shooter, but he also has the potential to be a lock down defender, and can play point guard.

We didn't expect to ever see Avery Bradley at this pick, so we are thrilled. He's young and has loads of potential, but with his defensive skills he can come in and give us solid minutes right away. This is a pick not only for the future, but it will help us immediately.

If you think he's in your face now, wait till you see his defense.

WRG 2010 Mock Draft - #26 Oklahoma City Thunder

 
The Boston Celtics set the blueprint for winning an NBA Championship.  Gather some young assets and high picks, trade them for veteran stars and those hungry players will get everyone to buy into defense and team play.  Being an instant contender is where it's at.  Only suckers wait patiently for their own players to develop into a contending unit.  Teams like the Trailblazers that try this route never get there.  You need the established stars to win.

Well, the Thunder is here to flip that blueprint - and we want to start this year.

We think we have as good a player as anyone, and we chose very carefully who to bring in to play with him.  They fit together.  They have similar personalities.  They know each others' games.  They are a unit.

This is the first year we made the playoffs, and we took the eventual champions to seven games.  Eventually, they beat us, but we made them work as hard or harder than anyone.  We think what eventually did us in was our failure to match their size.  Our team is talented and cohesive, but a team with a blatant physical advantage over us is tough to beat in a long series, and we don't want to be at that disadvantage again.

So the Thunder select Solomon Alabi, who is a legitimately sized center who fits with our team's demeanor and gives us a developing player who is specifically targeted at teams who try to wear us down with sheer size.  He has a terrific defensive presence right away, and some surprising little skills on the other end we think he can build on.  This is notice.  We are serious and we are not just going to draft a Eurostash here.  We are ready now.  We are the new blueprint.

 "You want me to stop the Lakers?!"

WRG 2010 Mock Draft - #25 Memphis Grizzlies

Our second of three first round picks. We are disappointed that the Hawks snagged Eric Bledsoe in front of us. We might as well tell you right now that we aren't thrilled with Mike Conley.

There aren't many point guards in this draft, and we feel like we can still grab one of the next tier combo guards with our next pick, so we are gonna go with who we feel is the best player still available and a guy with a lot of potential in Larry Sanders.

Sanders gives us a big man who can run the floor, which is something we don't have. Thabeet, Gasol & Randolph are all plodding big men, and we think Sanders can develop into a terrific player and not just an athlete. Sanders and Thabeet in the same lineup? Try not to get swatted.

We didn't just draft Larry...we drafted his whole posse.

WRG 2010 Mock Draft - #24 Atlanta Hawks

 
Our primary ballhandler is likely to leave as a free agent, and our starting PG is now a role player whose career is clearly in the gloaming.

But if the draft hasn't treated us kindly in the past, here is a situation that we see as a step toward redemption.

The PG crop in this draft ranges from "a few" to "none", but a guy we think has a shot to be a special PG has actually fallen to pick #24. The only thing more incredible than that is if we ignored it and picked someone else, and that's just not the way the Hawks do things.

Atlanta selects Eric Bledsoe.  We like his excellent shooting ability and his potential as a pure PG and feel we have the system in place where he can contribute now as a scorer while he works on his game.  He's the second best PG on his team but also the second best on our draft board.  We think he's a steal.

We got Kentucky's PG! There he is!