WRG 2012 Mock Draft - #17 Dallas Mavericks

Huge offseason for us.

We basically threw in the towel this season for a chance to land Deron Williams and/or Dwight Howard this offseason. If we get one or both...success. If not...we'll have about a million angry Dallasites that need some explaining.

Jason Kidd is a free agent. If he leaves and we don't get Deron we don't have a point guard. Kendall Marshall was a perfect pick for us, but our Lone Star neighbors just snatched him right in front of us. We can't say we're happy about this. 

We desperately need an infusion of some young talent. Dirk, JET (who we expect to resign), Vince Carter and Shawn Marion are all 34 or older.

We have no big man depth. We might have no point guard. Our players are old. Things can spiral out of control VERY quickly unless we land a top free agent and nail this pick.

Good thing there is a top 5 talent on the board for us.

With the 17th pick, the Mavericks select Perry Jones III.

 A blinding talent.

We're confident that our veteran laden team can bring the best out of Perry, who fell due to an unimpressive sophomore season at Baylor. Not only will he learn from true professionals, but he grew up in Dallas County, and we believe that this scenario is the best possibility for him to succeed and grow into a star.

WRG 2012 Mock Draft - #11 Portland Trail Blazers

Got our PG with the 6th pick. Now we have a tough decision to make.

There are a few prospects here that we really would love to have on our team.  This pick isn't easy, but it's a problem that we don't mind. It's a lot better than having a pick where we don't like any of the prospects available. 

We can take a shooting guard like Austin Rivers or Dion Waiters to pair with our new point guard, Damian Lillard. We can go big and look at a defensive center like Meyers Leonard or a more offensive center like Tyler Zeller.We can take a shot on a player with incredible potential that can play multiple positions like Perry Jones III or Jeremy Lamb.

Since we went guard with our first pick, ideally we want a big man here. Instead of taking a player who only thrives on offense or only thrives on defense (like Leonard), we are going to take a shot at a player who we think can thrive next to an established big man in LaMarcus Aldridge.

With the 11th pick, the Trail Blazers select Arnett Moultrie.

Howell Trophy Winner Arnett Moultrie!

In regards to the big men, we aren't overly thrilled with Meyers Leonard. His defensive potential is solid, but we aren't keen on taking a player who only had one productive season in college. Zeller is a solid prospect, but we find his ceiling to be low. We wanted to take a chance on a versatile big man who can play both the PF and Center positions, rebound (Arnett led the SEC in rebounding last year), and give us versatility on offense (he can finish at the rim and he has jump shot range out to 20 feet, and maybe even to the 3 point line eventually).