2007 NBA MOCK DRAFT

1) Greg Oden (Ohio State) 7-0, 245, C, Freshman
Big rebounding shot-blocker with ridiuculous quickness for a big guy. Doesn't have a refined offensive game yet, though, and passing skills are limited. He'd have gone first in last year's draft. This year either Oden or Kevin Durant will go first. As of March 25 we say there's a 65% chance Oden goes first, 35% Durant does. Months ago it was 90% Oden 10% Durant.

2) Kevin Durant (Texas) 6-9, 215, F, Freshman
A skinny, long, tall swingman who slashes, nails jumpers in the faces of defenders, has distance on his shot, and rebounds well considering his very skinny frame. We see him as a shooting guard who can become an NBA small forward if he gets stronger. He doesn't have the frame to ever become a power forward.

3) Al Horford (Florida) 6-9, 240, PF, Junior
Banger with basketball brains and terrific athletic ability. Physically he's ready for the NBA right now.

4) Brandon Wright (North Carolina) 6-9, 210, SF, Freshman
Versatile, long player with arms that seem to stretch. He's pretty good at almost everything, but not awesome at any one thing.

5) Joakim Noah (Florida) 6-11, 230, F/C, Sophomore
Big athletic smart player who hustles, passes extremely well and defends hard. His offense is still in development. Noah likely would have been taken first in last year's Draft had he declared.

6) Roy Hibbert (Georgetown) 7-2, 260, C, Junior
He's big and shoots an insane field goal percentage because of all his up-close shots, but mostly just seems like a solid size guy who can take up space. A solid big guy.

7) Jeff Green (Georgetown) 6-9, 235, F, Junior
Green is an all-around talent that isn't amazing at any one skill but seems like a player who can definitely help a pro team.

8) Corey Brewer (Florida) 6-8, 190, G, Junior
Long-limbed Brewer can run and defend. We're not sure how his outside shooting will work in the pros. But the kid is a "baller" who makes a difference.

9) Spencer Hawes (Washington) 6-11, 220, PF, Freshman
Considered the best big man of the incoming freshmen. Isn't spectacular at anything but has size and true low-post moves.

10) Chase Budinger (Arizona) 6-7, 190, SG, Freshman
Extremely versatile offensive player.

11) Al Thorton (Florida State) 6-7, 215, SF, Senior
Veteran-aged great athlete who scores, rebounds, defends with outside shooting range.

12) Acie Law (Texas A&M) 6-3, 183, PG, Senior
A solid all-around point guard who also pours in points and barely misses any shots. 13) Nick Young (USC) 6-6, 200, SG, Junior
A scorer who scores and nails shots from anywhere on the court, still developing his decision-making.

14) Yi Jianlian (China) 7-1, 235, C/PF
A power forward who thinks he's a small forward, even though he's the height of a center.

15) Thaddeus Young (Georgia Tech) 6-8, 210, SF, Freshman
Ridiculous athlete with big-time speed and quickness who like many other freshmen needs to add strength and fill out.

16) Ty Lawson (North Carolina) 6-0, 190, PG, Freshman
Extremely quick, penetrating point guard with limited shooting range.

17) Josh McRoberts (Duke) 6-10, 230, F, Sophomore
A fairly complete, pretty athletic player who can do everything except shoot outside. Passes better than most forwards on this list. We're not sure what his ideal position is in the NBA.

18) Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina) 6-9, 225, F, Sophomore
Strong, rugged, gritty, hard worker who scores and rebounds. A real basketball player who understands the game. He has a power forward game but a tweener's size.

19) Marcus Williams (Arizona) 6-7, 205, SF, Sophomore
Versatile, defensive player who scores and fills in some blanks but misses lots of free throws and seemed to forget how to make three-pointers from freshman to sophomore year.

20) Morris Almond (Rice) 6-6, 210, SG, Senior
A scoring madman who hits shots any way he wants. Rips the nets from three-point range. Rebounds pretty well. The rest of his game, and his defense, doesn't impress us, but every time we remember that he scores about two seconds later, which helps us forget.

21) Nick Fazekas (Nevada) 6-11, 230, PF, Senior
A constant 20-10 guy who as a senior did wonders for his outside shooting range. A real scorer, and always makes his free throws. Mediocre athlete but a winning type of player and we think someone's going to decide he's worthy of a first round pick.

22) Brandon Rush (Kansas) 6-6, 200, SG, Sophomore
Long-armed, versatile swingman type with outside shooting ability, though he didn't seem to improve much from freshman to sophomore year.

23) Arron Affalo (UCLA) 6-5, 210, SG, Junior
A scorer who defends and relies on his basketball smarts, doing lots of the little things that help a team win.

24) Tiago Splitter (Brazil) 7-0, 240, PF/C
This is the year he stays in the draft. A solid big guy who defends but is pretty average at everything.

25) D. J. Augustin (Texas) 5-11, 180, PG, Freshman
Size limits him. There simply aren't a lot of pro point guards who succeed being this small. Augustin can swish from everywhere and dish like a point guard should.

26) Aaron Gray (Pittsburgh) 7-0, 270, C, Senior
Huge, legit center who takes up space and gets some boards. Doesn't appear to have much upside, but there's always room in the league for a new huge backup.

FIRST ROUND BUBBLE (LATE FIRST OR EARLY SECOND ROUND): Darrell Arthur, Dominic James, Jared Jordan, Malik Hairston, Jared Dudley, Glen Davis, J.R. Reynolds, Alondo Tucker, Rodney Stuckey, Jason Smith, Derrick Byers, Chris Lofton
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Can the knicks get lucky and get Morris Almond out of rice ?

i doubt it... what about Sean Williams late in the 1st round?

At least he can free curry up knocking down shots, many say we need a sg that can shoot well.

If alando Tucker is still around I got a feeling isiah would go with him.

Posted by MS:

no more players that don't d up

Almond plays decent defense. He is not a stopper by no means but to marginalize his defensive game is not wise. He plays the zone well enough. I will expect him to get beat off the dribble many times though but I hope that he would not be in a position where he is guarding the best offensive player on the opposing team. The Knicks should think to use him much like they did with Houston. If the Knicks draft like him then at that point I would hope that Balkman is placed in the starting lineup because he would have to be used for his defense. I think Balkman is capable at playing the Spreewell role as a defender. The only problem with drafting Almond is that Jamal becomes expendable in the starting lineup. At this point if Marbury plays like he is currently playing, I would keep him at the pg position and have Collins backed him up.

Depending on what Morris brings, a young active shot blocker makes sense but I think the Knicks need a playmaker at the SF spot. I am very impressed with Balkman ability to handle the press and advance the ball and find the active man but I think his inconsistent jumper will continue to poise the biggest problem.

Guys that would fit on the KNicks well:
Green (no shot at getting him)
Thaddeous Young (a trade and pick swap could land you him)
Dominic McGuire (will be there and compete with Balkman and Jefferies for starting position).
Alando Tucker (will be available and could improve his game but is more of a tweener and his ball handle and passing is suspect. He performs well in big games with the exception of the tournament. He struggled against Butler but so did the entire team)

I would love to a way to move up to get Young who I think will blossom into a star. He has a natural talent that is rare. No shot at Green. If we keep Jamal it may make sense for Thomas to explore a trade with SA to swap picks and pick up their 2nd round pick. They have Batum in their hindsights. The KNicks could use their 1st round pick on McGuire and 2nd round pick on Sean Williams who makes better sense IMO then Splitter.

Chase budinger is coming out?

HOw is this a mock if you don't name the Teams taking these players??? It's more of a ranking.
Hansbrough is going back to UNC
Yi, Spittler and Thaddus are too low
Bewer, Gren, Horford too high
Where's the Euro's top 14

[Edited by - anji on 04-04-2007 6:18 PM]

I wouldn't mind Afflalo and Alondo if we can't move up. My main prize is Afflalo. Pure SG. Leader. Great defender. Good size.

Of course I would love to see Green in a Knicks uni, hen Brewer if we can move high enough to grab one.