NBA Mock Draft

1. Los Angeles Clippers - Blake Griffin. No-brainer here. The Clippers have already made it clear that they're going to take Griffin, and he is certainly the best talent in this draft.
2. Memphis Grizzlies - Hasheem Thabeet. Like Los Angeles, Memphis has already made it known who it wants with their selection, and that player is the 7'3" Thabeet.
3. Oklahoma City Thunder - James Harden. The Thunder already have their point guard of the future in Russell Westbrook, so Ricky Rubio is not needed here. Harden would give Oklahoma City a backcourt of Harden, Westbrook, and Kevin Durant. Talk about a bright future.
4. Sacramento Kings - Ricky Rubio. The biggest need Sacramento has is at point guard, so it goes with Rubio here. There have been rumblings all month that the Kings are very interested in the Spanish floor general.
5. Minnesota Timberwolves - Tyreke Evans. Minnesota opened up a big hole in its backcourt by dealing Randy Foye and Mike Miller to Washington for this pick and other players, but it will begin to remedy that by selecting Evans here.
6. Minnesota Timberwolves - Stephen Curry. Whether or not the Timberwolves actually keep both of these picks remains to be seen, but if they do, I certainly see them going for two guards. With Foye now gone, Minnesota is lacking a talented point guard. Because of that, the Wolves go with the very popular son of Dell Curry.
7. Golden State Warriors - Jordan Hill. If Hill is still on the board by the time Golden State picks (and more than likely, he will be), there shouldn't be much of a thought process here. Hill would fit perfectly in the Warriors' system, and he would give them arguably the most talented group of young big men in the game: Hill, Andris Biedrins, Anthony Randolph, and Brandan Wright.
8. New York Knicks - DeMar DeRozan. Rumor has it that the Knicks are trying to trade up, but if they are unsuccessful in doing so, I see them going with one of the many wings that will be available at this pick. Derozan is the best of them, in my opinion.
9. Toronto Raptors - Jrue Holiday. Toronto is in desperate need of a shooting guard, and although Holiday is a bit of a tweener, he is probably the best two-guard remaining on the board at this point. Holiday's draft stock has fluctuated tremendously over the past month.
10. Milwaukee Bucks - Gerald Henderson. Why so many mock drafts have Milwaukee selecting Jonny Flynn with this pick, I'll never know. Ramon Sessions is clearly this team's point guard of the future. What the Bucks really need is another wing player with the recent Richard Jefferson trade. Henderson fits the bill here.
11. New Jersey Nets - James Johnson. Johnson is the perfect pick for the Nets here. He can play either forward position, and New Jersey needs both a power forward and a small forward. The multi-talented Demon Deacon is one of the more overlooked players in this draft.
12. Charlotte Bobcats - Earl Clark. Charlotte could really use another big man up front, and the versatile Clark would be a nice addition. Similar to Johnson in that he is a bit of a tweener, Clark has an extremely long wing-span that should allow him to be a very solid defender in this league.
13. Indiana Pacers - DeJuan Blair. The Pacers could definitely afford to have another big man, as their frontcourt depth is very questionable. Blair will never be a star, but he is a coach's dream. He hustles on every play and could turn into a solid rebounder in the NBA.
14. Phoenix Suns - Brandon Jennings. Obviously, point guard is not the Suns' biggest need, and the trade of Shaquille O'Neal opens up a gaping hole in the frontcourt, but Phoenix is not going to win this year anyway. The chances of them re-signing Steve Nash in the off-season are very slim, so they might as well take their point guard of the future in Jennings.
15. Detroit Pistons - B.J. Mullens. Mullens really is a huge reach at this pick, but Detroit must take a big man with Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess likely both departing via free agency. Mullens is a project, but he definitely has some skill.
16. Chicago Bulls - Austin Daye. This pick leans heavily on what the Bulls think they are going to do with Ben Gordon in the off-season, but assuming they plan on re-signing him, Chicago goes with a versatile low-post scorer in Daye. As far as raw talent goes, Daye is probably one of the best players in the draft. The key word there is "raw." He needs to add a lot of weight to his frame if he expects to be successful in the NBA.
17. Philadelphia 76ers - Terrence Williams. Williams could be the biggest sleeper in this entire draft. He is very NBA-ready and does nearly everything well. Philadelphia needs depth at the wings, so they take the tough guard out of Louisville.
18. Minnesota Timberwolves - Marcus Thornton. Another big-time sleeper. Thornton is actually a pretty similar player to Williams, and Minnesota could use a tough player like him. He reminds me a lot of Dwyane Wade. He obviously doesn't have his skill-set, but the fact that he is a big-bodied wing with a post-up game leads me to see some Wade in him.
19. Atlanta Hawks - Tyler Hansbrough. Assuming Atlanta lands Jamal Crawford like the rumors say, that pretty much eliminates its need for another backcourt scorer. In that case, I see the Hawks going with a big man. Hansbrough's draft stock has been rising, and with Zaza Pachulia likely on his way out, the North Carolina legend would be a solid pick here.
20. Utah Jazz - Chase Budinger. This is a difficult pick to gauge as it is not known whether or not the Jazz plan on re-signing Carlos Boozer (or if Boozer is even going to opt out of his contract), but assuming Boozer stays, the Jazz will probably go for a wing. Budinger is extremely talented and would fit in very well with Utah.
21. New Orleans Hornets - DaJuan Summers. The Hornets really need another big body that can score up front, and Summers will provide that. He is a versatile forward that can score on the low block and hit the three.
22. Portland Trail Blazers - Jonny Flynn. Some may feel that Flynn is far too low on this mock, but the fact is that not many teams are in need of a point guard right now. Portland really isn't either, as it drafted Jerryd Bayless last season, but the Blazers don't really have any other holes to fill. In case Bayless doesn't work out, they can go with Flynn.
23. Sacramento Kings - Taj Gibson. Gibson is another one of those overlooked players in this draft. The Kings could use a big man here, and Gibson is a very nice talent. He just needs to add some weight to his frame.
24. Dallas Mavericks - Sam Young. Dallas has some flexibility with this pick. They could go for a point guard like Jeff Teague to replace Jason Kidd for the future, or go for some much-needed wing depth. Personally, I see them going for a wing. Young will probably be able to play either wing position in the pros.
25. Oklahoma City Thunder - Dante Cunningham. Cunningham is a player who could very well sneak into the first round, and Oklahoma City could use the depth in the frontcourt. They really need a center more than anything, but there will not be any good ones on the board at this point in the draft.
26. Chicago Bulls - Wayne Ellington. In case Gordon departs, Ellington could certainly fit the void. The North Carolina product is a deadly outside shooter whose game will probably translate well into the pros.
27. Memphis Grizzlies - Eric Maynor. Mike Conley Jr. hasn't exactly worked out at point guard, so Memphis gets a potential steal here in Maynor. Maynor was an extremely clutch player in college and should be able to carry his game into the NBA without much of a problem.
28. Minnesota Timberwolves - Jeff Pendergraph. Pendergraph is projected as an early-to-middle second round pick in most mock drafts, but I really like his game. I have already had Minnesota take three guards, so I see them going with a big here.
29. Los Angeles Lakers - Omri Casspi. There really is no big need on this team, but if they do decide to part ways with Lamar Odom, they could use another forward up front.
30. Cleveland Cavaliers - Jeff Teague. With not much left on the board, Cleveland can just go with best player available here, and Teague is that player. He could be drafted as high as the teens or as low as this. He definitely has talent, though; there is no denying that. Still, one must wonder if he would have been better-served spending another year at Wake Forest.