Tag Archives: NBA Mock Draft

KENNY RODA 2014 NBA MOCK DRAFT 3.0 – (updated 6-26-14)

Posted: Jun 26, 2014 by Kenny Roda. Filed under Blog Posts, Feature Articles | 31 Comments

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.

MY 2014 NBA MOCK DRAFT 2.0

Posted: Jun 20, 2014 by Kenny Roda. Filed under Blog Posts, Feature Articles | 32 Comments

1^st ROUND

1 Cleveland – ANDREW WIGGINS – Small Forward – Kansas – 6’8 – 200

Joel Embiid was the pick in my fist mock draft, but that was before we knew about his right foot fracture. After missing badly last year on Anthony Bennett with the first overall pick the Cavs are in no position to gamble with Embiid’s foot and back issues so they take his teammate who is a freakish athlete with unbelievable potential. Wiggins is a two-way player from the get go, meaning he already knows how to play defense and his offense will only get better in the up tempo, open floor game of the NBA. He needs to be more consistent with his jumper, work on his handle and become more aggressive with the ball, but that should come with time, practice and maturity. He also fills a position of major need for the Cavaliers as they have been looking for a small forward since LeBron James took his talents to South Beach.

2 Milwaukee – JABARI PARKER – Small Forward – Duke – 6’8 – 241

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

13 Minnesota – RODNEY HOOD – Small Forward – Duke – 6’8 – 210

14 Phoenix – ADREIAN PAYNE – Power Forward – Michigan St. – 6’10 – 240

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

16 Chicago – ELFRID PAYTON – Point Guard – Louisiana Lafayette – 6’4 – 185

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

21 Oklahoma City – SHABAZZ NAPIER – Point Guard – U-CONN – 6’1 – 175

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

23 Utah – KYLE ANDERSON – Small Forward – UCLA – 6’9 – 230

24 Charlotte – JERAMI GRANT – Small Forward – Syracuse – 6’8 – 215

25 Houston – GLEN ROBINSON III – Small Forward – Michigan – 6’7 – 212

26 Miami – JUSUF NURKIC – Center – Bosnia – 6’11 – 280

27 Phoenix – TYLER ENNIS – Point Guard – Syracuse – 6’2 – 181

28 LA Clippers – K.J. McDANIELS – Small Forward – Clemson – 6’6 – 200

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

30 San Antonio – MITCH McGARY – Power Forward – Michigan – 6’10 – 240

2^nd ROUND

33 Cleveland – JORDAN ADAMS – Shooting Guard – UCLA – 6’5 – 200

Even with the Cavs taking Wiggins now with their first pick, they still need to improve their outside shooting as a team and if he’s still on the board they’ll grab Adams to help them from distance.

MY 2014 NBA MOCK DRAFT 1.0

Posted: Jun 10, 2014 by Kenny Roda. Filed under Blog Posts, Feature Articles | 34 Comments

My approach to a mock draft is to take into consideration what a team’s biggest need is, gather information from as many sources as possible as to what they’re hearing the team might do and then factor in my ratings of the individual players. So it’s a combination of what I think the team should do and what I’m hearing the team might do. It’s not the greatest formula in the world, but then again this is just a mock draft. So if eight of my picks end up matching what the actual draft ends up being, I’ll be thrilled. With that said, here is the first of what will be two mock drafts. One today and then one on draft day, June 26th.

1^st ROUND

1 Cleveland – JOEL EMBIID – Center – Kansas – 7’1 -255 Embiid is the pick for the Cavaliers only IF he passes all of the medical tests on his back. If he does, he is the perfect “FIT” for Kyrie Irving and the Cavs defense. He’ll be able to play “Pick n Roll” on offense and be the rim protector the Cavs so desperately need. Plus he may have the most upside of any player in this draft. If he does not pass all the medical tests or there are any red flags, I would then have the Cavs select Andrew Wiggins first overall.

2 Milwaukee – JABARI PARKER – Small Forward – Duke – 6’9 – 241

3 Philadelphia – ANDREW WIGGINS – Small Forward – Kansas – 6’8 – 200

4 Orlando – DANTE EXUM – Point Guard – Australia – 6’6 – 195

5 Utah – NOAH VONLEH – Power Forward – Indiana – 6’10 – 245

6 Boston – AARON GORDON – Power Forward – Arizona – 6’9 – 225