1. Blake Griffin
Power Forward. Oklahoma

Unlike the Oden/Durant showdown and last year's Rose/Beasley debate, Griffin has no peer at the top of this draft. He is the undisputed best player in the pool and his combination of athleticism and a very high skill level will almost immediately make him one of the NBA's best power forwards.

2. Ricky Rubio
Point Guard. DKV Joventut

Whether or not Rubio will even be in this draft has been a back and forth unknown, but it looks extremely likely that he will now stay in it. He is a transcendent point guard offensively, a very good defensive player and has a huge wealth of big game experience.

3. Jordan Hill
Power Forward. Arizona

For the 2008 draft, I really liked Hill as a selection early in the second half of the first round and he came back to Tucson for his junior season with a vastly improved skill set. He has improved his raw offensive game with more refinement and control, which matches his athleticism.

4. Hasheem Thabeet
Center. Connecticut

Thabeet has undoubtedly improved his game on the offensive end, but his only difference-making contributions in the NBA will be on defense. In terms of All-Star potential, you would like a lot more out of the fourth overall pick, but he gives the Thunder exactly what they need.

5. James Harden
Shooting Guard. Arizona State

In recent years, there haven't been too many pure shooting guards that are more sophisticated scorers as a sophomore than James Harden.

6. Jrue Holiday
Combo Guard. UCLA

Holiday is a tremendous athlete and has been playing the Russell Westbrook role this year. He has an excellent handle and when he gets into the paint, he will be able to bounce off defenders and finish much the same way as Chris Paul. If Darren Collison didn't stick around for his senior season, we would have a bigger sample size of his point guard abilities and his stock would be higher than it is presently. He will be a measurement/workout stud and dismiss many of those doubts as the next few weeks play out.

7. Tyreke Evans
Combo Guard. Memphis

Evans initially had some struggles when arriving at Memphis, but his play has been much better of late. He has shown the ability to play the point position, which is tremendously valuable given his size and build. He's also shooting the ball efficiently from the perimeter. He would be the perfect solution for Golden State because he would solve the Monta Ellis positional conundrum, due to his ability to play the point and defend big wings.

8. Jeff Teague
Point Guard. Wake Forest

Teague may not have the explosiveness of many of the other top guards in this draft, but he's everything you can ask for as a scoring point guard.

9. Terrence Williams
Shooting Guard. Louisville

Williams is someone that looks much better live than on paper. Even though his shooting percentages are far from ideal for a wing, he has good mechanics and a compact form. He has excellent athleticism, a good handle, a great feel for game and should have an Antonio Daniels type of career in the NBA as an incredibly productive combo guard. If the Raptors are serious about taking the Chris Bosh-era beyond the upcoming season, Williams has the best chance of making an immediate impact and at a position they need an upgrade at.

10. Brandon Jennings
Point Guard. Roma

Jennings is a really good jump shooter and will have one of the NBA's best crossover dribbles. He is quick enough to beat his man nearly at will, especially because he's so slippery and with his very good in-air body control, Jennings is a skilled finisher.

11. Earl Clark
Combo Forward. Louisville

With great ball skills considering his height, Clark is eerily reminiscent of a Ron Mercer. He does a whole bunch of things on the floor, especially with the dribble, that few players his height are capable of at any level. He has a quick release with his jumper and a capable shot, though his efficiency is disconcerting.

12. Demar DeRozan
Guard/Forward. USC

His athleticism and natural skill are off the charts, but he needs considerably more improvement in his consistency to become a reliable NBA player.

13. Patrick Patterson
Power Forward. Kentucky

Patterson is a classic power forward and most power forwards rely at least a little bit on their teammates to get them the ball and be good enough shooters to prevent the defense to collapse; he hasn't had that luxury at Kentucky. He has been a relative disappointment, but given the absence of other skilled bigs that are even out there, he has definite lottery potential.

14. Ty Lawson
Point Guard. North Carolina

Lawson's game is almost completely predicated on the extreme speed of his dribble and he will be an ideal point guard for an athletic young team that likes to run with him. He has matured in his decision-making this season and has also dramatically improved his perimeter shot. With that said, his injuries are concerning and there aren't too many 5'11" players that have had successful careers, so he has to be even more special than he's been for UNC.

15. Austin Daye
Combo Forward. Gonzaga

His lack of athleticism and slow physical maturity will hurt him in the NBA initially and is why he should stay at Gonzaga for his junior season, but he has all of the natural skills and instincts to become everything Jared Jeffries couldn't at the next level. He has an excellent inside/outside game, both in the post and shooting off the dribble.

16. Gerald Henderson
Shooting Guard. Duke

Henderson is incredibly smooth and sound in just about every facet of the game. He is a little small and underwhelming to be anything more than an average NBA shooting guard.

17. Jonny Flynn
Point Guard. Syracuse

A few sources told me a lot of teams were interested in Flynn in last year's draft before he decided to return to Syracuse for his sophomore season and he took a nice step forward this season. He has great intangibles and I expect him to actually be a better pro than he is a college player depending on the offensive system he ends up in.

18. Chase Budinger
Small Forward. Arizona

Budinger has shown tangible improvement, but his ceiling has been decidedly lowered since that McDonald's All-America game with Oden and Durant, largely due to his softness.

19. Darren Collison
Point Guard. UCLA

Since arriving as a freshman so many years ago, Collison is a much better shooter and has decreased his turnovers. I'm not sure he is talented enough to be a starting point guard on a good team, but he'll make a superb backup due to his defensive abilities and consistency.

20. Stephen Curry
Combo Guard. Davidson

It is not entirely surprising, in my opinion, that Stephen Curry is being overvalued at this point in the draft process. Every GM and beat writer has a fairly solid idea of his 2008 tourney exploits, but those glaring limitations haven't emerged as they have for other scouts. It is the syndrome we saw last year with someone like Darrell Arthur falling, while Marreese Speights went higher than some were expecting and would go even higher if there was a re-draft.

21. Nick Calathes
Point Guard. Florida

Calathes is an excellent facilitator, clearly a pure point guard and his shooting percentages improved as a sophomore.

22. James Johnson
Power Forward. Wake Forest

Johnson really enjoys attacking the rim and will need to prove that he is big enough to be a 4 since he doesn't have the skill set of a wing.

23. Omri Casspi
Small Forward. Maccabi Tel Aviv

Casspi is a great scorer and that is largely a result of how much work he does prior to catching the ball. He is always moving and intelligently moves into space and proves to be a tough cover for this very reason. He is always cutting to the ball and then he looks to finish buckets physically and dunk on people when possible.

24. B.J. Mullens
Center. Ohio State

Mullens has good elevation and strength to go with a sophisticated set of post moves. Mullens also has good vision as a passer, though the college game was a little too quick for his decision-making.

25. DeJuan Blair
Power Forward. Pittsburgh

Blair is ridiculously strong and without a lot of lift or much height, he'll need that to power through NBA defenders.

26. Patrick Mills
Point Guard. St. Mary\'s

Because he's so slight, Mills is more Tony Parker than Chris Paul, albeit with a better shot and less effective in the paint driving to the bucket.

27. Sam Young
Small Forward. Pittsburgh

Young was an unstoppable beast in the Big East, but will he have enough length and skill to work inside in the NBA?

28. Eric Maynor
Point Guard. VCU

The buzz on Maynor has undoubtedly been staring me in the face, so penciling him into the 28th spot gives me a chance to at least comment on him ahead of my forthcoming full draft report. With all of the other guards that are out there, I don't see him as anywhere close to the other guards. He is unquestionably a very pure scorer, but is more of a scoring point than a pure point; a four-year point guard that commands as much attention as a scorer as Maynor did at VCU should get more easy shots for teammates than he did. Also, how will he adjust to a system where he can't overdribble and isn't the focal point? Lastly, I'm not uniformly skeptical of small school seniors, but the upside of said players is almost always dubious.

29. Tyler Smith
Small Forward. Tennessee

The way Trevor Ariza has succeeded in the Lakers' system makes me think that Smith could have a similar type of impact. He isn't quite as athletic, but he is far more skilled at this point in his career than Ariza was during his Knicks' days.

30. DaJuan Summers
Small Forward. Georgetown

Summers' development this season was disappointing, but he is the kind of player very good teams love to have. He is a blue-collar player with some All-Star skills. He has good range on his shot, can play some point forward, has great strength and will be able to guard multiple positions.

i don't get why all these mock drafts still have Patrick Patterson still in them... didn't he already make it known he'd be coming back to Kentucky for another season?

& lol @ Jrue Holiday being picked that high... i just don't see it.

Just a friendly crappy reminder.... we won't be picking 38th this year. It belongs to the chitcago bulls.............. the final shoe drop as a result of the Eddy McFatty trade. Thanks Isiah!

i hope Derozan falls to us... but something tells me Walsh is already decided on Curry.

i dunno if they'd take Derozan only cuz he's still a little raw & his J is not consistent... i seriously HOPE i'm wrong... we all know how obsessed MDA is w/guys who can shoot the ball, & Curry's probably the best shooter prospect in the draft among the guys that are most talked about (Harden will probably go in the top 6 as most mock drafts have him projected)... plus the fact that Curry sorta suggested that he'd already spoken w/teams which pushed him to declare for this draft has me a little worried... i ain't getting too worked up over it right now, but i am thinking about it.

Green came straight outta HS & i think that severely hurt his development... looking back now he obviously wasn't ready maturity wise or developed skills wise for the pros... Derozan at least had the 1 year at USC to sorta prepare him for the next level & he showed some good things towards the latter part of his freshman year including in the Pac 10 championship game, which to me was key... u gotta like a kid who can produce in a big game for his team & not be intimidated by the scale of the moment.

i wouldn't kill Walsh if he took Thabeet either but not at #3... if we got lucky & won a top 3 pick & there was no way we could trade up to get Rubio or Griffin, to be honest i think i'd just trade down & target Derozan who i think has that superstar potential in him first, & try to maximize as much value out of that 3 pick as i can... i personally don't see Thabeet being all that much better than Dalembert or Tyson Chandler to tell u the truth & i don't see him becoming the next Mutombo based on what i've seen of him like a lot of other people do.

Kobe was selected at 13.

so a few months at USC is going to change the script for Derozan that much?

i believe so, yes... do u think Carmelo Anthony would have been the same player from the get go had he not had that 1 year at Syracuse under his belt before he hit the pros? i'm pretty sure it had to have helped him build his game & his confidence up a big notch to get him ready for the next level... he could have easily turned out to be another Gerald Green too if he came into the NBA straight outta HS.

of course DD could still be Green... anyone can be a bust, including 4 year college seniors... u ain't getting no absolute guarantees in this draft except for Griffin & possibly Rubio... but name me 1 prospect other than those guys who have a bigger upside than Derozan.

Posted by JohnWallace44:

Carmelo was more of a polished player...

that said - I'd draft Derozan if certain players were off the board already

gotta shoot high if you're the Knicks

Which ones? At least 7.

Posted by TMS:

Posted by JohnWallace44:

Carmelo was more of a polished player...

that said - I'd draft Derozan if certain players were off the board already

gotta shoot high if you're the Knicks

i agree, gotta shoot as high as possible... that's why i don't wanna go after the "safe picks" anymore.

btw, who are those certain players u'd draft before DD other than the top 2 likely picks?

Rubio, Evans, Holliday, Jennings, Thabeet

you know... it depends on weather or not we're able to obtain a later pick to get a PG

the tough thing about Derozan and the Knicks is that he's not going to come in ready to shoot from the perimeter, so you'd better have the 1, 3, and 4 positions ready to knock down shots... which is possible with the Mayor and the Rooster

watching the playoff teams, we just need to be oversized at every position

Tyreke, Ricky, and Jrue can give you that at the point. Derozan can give you that at the 2guard. Thabeet can give you that at center.

That's why those guys are my targets. I think they vastly change the Knicks from a size perspective.

Jennings may just be so skilled that he works too, but I don't know that for sure, and nobody can say definitively what he is or isn't ultimately. I'll trust MikeD on that one.

Posted by JohnWallace44:

Posted by TMS:

Posted by JohnWallace44:

Carmelo was more of a polished player...

that said - I'd draft Derozan if certain players were off the board already

gotta shoot high if you're the Knicks

i agree, gotta shoot as high as possible... that's why i don't wanna go after the "safe picks" anymore.

btw, who are those certain players u'd draft before DD other than the top 2 likely picks?

Rubio, Evans, Holliday, Jennings, Thabeet

you know... it depends on weather or not we're able to obtain a later pick to get a PG

the tough thing about Derozan and the Knicks is that he's not going to come in ready to shoot from the perimeter, so you'd better have the 1, 3, and 4 positions ready to knock down shots... which is possible with the Mayor and the Rooster

watching the playoff teams, we just need to be oversized at every position

Tyreke, Ricky, and Jrue can give you that at the point. Derozan can give you that at the 2guard. Thabeet can give you that at center.

That's why those guys are my targets. I think they vastly change the Knicks from a size perspective.

Jennings may just be so skilled that he works too, but I don't know that for sure, and nobody can say definitively what he is or isn't ultimately. I'll trust MikeD on that one.

i agree w/ur line of thinking that we should be looking to draft for size at whatever position we draft for, but i'd take DD over all those guys w/the exception of Rubio.