WRG 2012 Mock Draft - #13 Phoenix Suns

This could be the end of an era for us. Steve Nash looks like he could leave in free agency after we selfishly refused to trade him. It's time to rebuild.

Luckily, we DO have another area of strength in our center position with Marcin Gortat and Robin Lopez. Last year's first round pick, Markieff Morris looks promising at forward, and we feel good about that. What we really need is a guard who can create his own shot and score. We've been missing a player like that since Jason Richardson was our SG.

We want...no, we need an explosive back court scorer. There are a couple guards here that get looks, but one in particular stands out. Do we take the guy with perhaps the most potential, but routinely disappeared at times last season? Do we take the guy who came off the bench for a collegiate powerhouse, but clashed with his coach at times? Do we take the guy with a basketball pedigree and a lot of hype, but didn't quite live up to his hype at times during his freshman season. All three of these choices have some sort of drawback, but they also have plenty of upside. We might as well pick one out of a hat, and that would be par for the course for our crappy owner. Luckily he doesn't make this pick and Kid Chocolate does.

With the 13th pick, the Phoenix Suns select Austin Rivers.

He's got balls.

What we liked about Austin Rivers a little more than the others is that he shows passion. Jeremy Lamb disappeared for half of last year at UConn, and Dion Waiters' attitude clashed with Jim Boeheim at times. Austin Rivers has the upbringing of learning from an NBA coach, and we think he has the most potential to also play a little PG eventually. Not to mention, he has the upside to be an elite scorer.

WRG 2012 Mock Draft - #12 Milwaukee Bucks

Last year we traded a big, white center for a dynamic, undersized, hyper-athletic shooting guard.

Yeah, we did that.  The Milwaukee Bucks!

So we have been without any 7-foot white guys for months now.  We could try and convince you we are taking a pass-first guard or a shooter in case our free agents decide to leave, but who would we be kidding? We need a young, defensive-minded, big center and a white guy (Paul Mokeski isn't walking through that door!) and here we have the total package.

The Bucks select Meyers Leonard, and America high fives each other for guessing at least one lottery pick correctly.

Leonard adopted an additional family of white people in preparation for his future life in Wisconsin.

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).

WRG 2012 Mock Draft - #10 New Orleans Hornets

Having two lottery picks is more than just fun.  Sometimes it allows you to take a player you might not have been able to get the most out of otherwise.

For example, winning the draft lottery has yielded us a supernatural freak who will be protecting the rim and messing up opposing offenses for as long as we can hang on to him.  We have a defensive cornerstone who will win us games right away.

Still, he is a project on the offensive end.  He hasn't grown into his frame and isn't strong enough yet.  He has offensive skills, but we think it will take a while for him to excel on that end.

So we have a chance here to take a guy who will compliment him, benefit from his incredible help defense and give us the offensive production we lack.  This guy can score in many ways and is a fully-grown bruiser, but he is short and not a guy you want guarding PFs.  He's better off pushing around skinny centers on defense.  However, on offense he is strong enough to take on anyone, freeing up our developing star to take on weaker defenders.

It's great synergy.  Too bad we won't have any lottery picks from now on.

The Hornets select Jared Sullinger, C, Ohio State

"Yaaaaaay Hornets! Baby Blue makes my eyes POP!"

WRG 2012 Mock Draft - #9 Detroit Pistons

Every once in a while, a prospect is a perfect fit for a team, and everyone realizes it.

Look through the mock drafts on all the major draft sites. They all pair this pick with John Henson. Who are we to disagree?

Greg Monroe is going to be our center for years to come. He's a skilled center who has legitimate size and skill. The only knock on him is that he doesn't protect the rim well and isn't an uber athletic freak. That's ok, though. He does so many things well, that we can live with his shortcomings in those areas.

So we obviously want to pair him with an athletic freak who can swat shots into the front row next to him. Sound like John Henson?

Henson is a spider of a specimen. He has a ridiculous reach, a gargantuan wingspan, and is a perfect complement for The Moose. Rarely do you see such a perfect fit realized, but we are just tickled pink.

With the 9th pick, the Pistons select John Henson.

Did we just pick an assistant coach?

WRG 2012 Mock Draft - #8 Toronto Raptors

When you have been bad for a long time, you eventually wind up with a collection of lottery picks.  If you did it right, your team looks like the OKC Thunder.  If you didn't, it looks like us.

So here we are, ready to add another of these pieces.  We've already got a logjam in our frontcourt.  Those guys need court time.  We feel like we are done mixing the batter, and now we just need our bigs to bake together into a nice panful of ooey-gooey goodness.

What we need most is a PG to replace the one we will not re-sign after this season, but this draft doesn't offer that - at least not this high.

So we were looking at some really nice guards we thought would be available at this pick.  We think there are a few who would give us what we need - more versatility, more explosiveness, better shooting and tougher defense.  We know a lot about these guys, and we would have been very comfortable picking one of them but we got Brad Beal instead so YEEHA!

The Raptors select Bradley Beal, SG, Florida

"Wait, TORONTO? Can I still play for the USA?"

WRG 2012 Mock Draft - #7 Golden State Warriors

Well, we certainly didn't expect Brad Beal to fall to us. Too bad we took our 2 guard of the future last year. Klay Thompson worked out more than we could have hoped for. He's our starter for life! (or until we decide to trade him on a whim, but don't tell him that!) 

This is the part of the draft where we're holding a big sign over the podium asking who wants to trade up for Beal. He's a great talent, but he just doesn't make any sense for us to take. Since we can't trade in this spot in this specific draft, we're going to have to pass on him and take a player who makes much more sense for OUR team. 

We do have a lot of guards. Steph Curry is an elite talent, albeit he has injury concerns. Charles Jenkins is a young talent off the bench, and we have capable backups at each guard spot. We love Klay Thompson. We cannot say this enough. WE LOVE KLAY THOMPSON! 

We'd like to add some much needed athleticism to our front court. Our target is a versatile front court player who can guard multiple positions, defend and add the aforementioned athleticism. This player is unlike any other big man on our roster. He's a winner. This man, our man, is Terrence Jones.

With the 7th pick, the Warriors select Terrence Jones.

The guy guarding him is a projected 9th rounder.