Monthly Archives: June 2014

1^st ROUND

1 Cleveland – JABARI PAKER – Small Forward – Duke – 6’9 – 241                                                                                                            

Joel Embiid was the pick in my first mock draft, then he needed foot surgery.  Andrew Wiggins was my choice in Mock Draft 2.0. Now, if the Cavs  decide to keep the pick and not trade it, as there is some intel out there that they could make a deal. But if they don’t, and  after going back and listening to G.M. David Griffin’s comments from May 13^th as well as with the hiring of David Blatt as head coach and LeBron James opting out early to be a free agent, I have changed my mind again and went with Parker as the Cavs pick. I personally have always wanted and still want Wiggins. However with LBJ as a free agent, Griff as an offensive G.M., the Cavs may feel the need to win right away and Parker gives you that best chance because his body is far more developed than Wiggins at this point and he’s more polished and potent offensively right now than Wiggins. He has an extremely high basketball IQ and Parker is also more of a catch and shoot guy than Wiggins, and with two ball-dominate guards in Kyrie and Dion, Parker looks to be the better fit. So by the slimmest of margins, and even though I think Wiggins has more upside in a few years, I’ll say the Cavs take Parker. The good thing here is, with either player, the Cavs are going to be a better team and fill a major need. Not bad for a team who before the lottery was scheduled to pick 9^th!

2  Milwaukee – ANDREW WIGGINS – Small Forward – Kansas – 6’8 – 200

3  Philadelphia – DANTE EXUM – Point Guard – Australia – 6’6 – 195

4  Orlando – NOAH VONLEH – Power Forward – Indiana – 6’10 – 245

5  Utah – AARON GORDON – Power Forward – Arizona – 6’9 – 225

6  Boston – JOEL EMBIID – Center – Kansas – 7’1 – 260

7  LA Lakers – JULIUS RANDLE – Power Forward – Kentucky – 6’9 -240

8  Sacramento – MARCUS SMART – Point Guard – Oklahoma St. – 6’4 – 220

9  Charlotte – DOUG McDERMOTT – Small Forward – Creighton – 6’8 – 220

10 Philadelphia – NIK STAUSKAS – Shooting Guard – Michigan – 6’6 – 205

11 Denver – JAMES YOUNG – Shooting Guard – Kentucky – 6’6 – 215

12 Orlando – ELFRID PAYTON – Point Guard – Louisiana Lafayette – 6’4 – 185

13 Minnesota – GARY HARRIS – Shooting Guard – Michigan St. – 6’4 – 210

14 Phoenix – RODNEY HOOD – Small Forward – Duke – 6’8 – 210

15 Atlanta – ZACH LaVINE – Shooting Guard – UCLA – 6’5 – 181

16 Chicago – SHABAZZ NAPIER – Point Guard – U-CONN – 6’1 – 175

17 Boston – P.J. HAIRSTON – Shooting Guard – UNC/ NBA D-League – 6’4 – 228

18 Phoenix – DARIO SARIC – Small Forward – Croatia – 6’10 -235

19 Chicago – CLEANTHONY EARLY – Power Forward – Wichita St. – 6’7 – 210

20 Toronto – ADREIAN PAYNE – Power Forward – Michigan St. – 6’10 – 240

21 Oklahoma City – KYLE ANDERSON – Small Forward – UCLA – 6’9 – 230

22 Memphis – T.J. WARREN – Small Forward – North Carolina St. – 6’8 – 220

23 Utah – TYLER ENNIS – Point Guard – Syracuse – 6’2 – 181

24 Charlotte – GLEN ROBINSON III – Small Forward – Michigan – 6’7 – 212

25 Houston –  CLINT CAPELA – Power Forward – Switzerland – 6’10 – 210

26 Miami –   JORDAN CLARKSON – Point Guard – Missouri – 6’5  – 186

27 Phoenix –  K.J. McDANIELS – Small Forward – Clemson – 6’6 – 200

28 LA Clippers – JERAMI GRANT – Small Forward – Syracuse – 6’8 – 215

29 Oklahoma City –  JARNELL STOKES – Power Forward – Tennessee – 6’8 – 260

30 San Antonio – JUSUF NURKIC – Center – Bosnia – 6’11 – 280

2^nd ROUND

33 Cleveland – WALTER TAVAREZ – Center  – Spain – 7’3 – 265

After taking Parker with the first pick to provide offense from day one, the Cavs need to add defense to David Blatt’s team. So they take a 22-year old true center who is all about defense at this point in his career from what I’ve read and seen on youtube. He’ll give the Cavaliers a low post defender who will protect the rim and rebound. He’s very raw offensively, but the Cavs won’t care and need some depth at center with Anderson Varejao in the final year of his contract. Also in play here could be Russian center Artem Klimenko.  A  7’1 – 228 center with a 7’4 wing span and a 9’4 standing reach. I’ve got to believe that David Blatt knows of him and may have some say in taking Klimenko.