2008 NBA Mock Draft (With Explanations)

1. Chicago - Derrick Rose (6’3’’, PG, Memphis, Fresh.)
Simply put, Derrick Rose is the best prospect in this draft. He has a chance to be a special point guard in the vein of a more athletic Jason Kidd. Chicago will toy with Beasley, but at the end of the day they make the right, smart pick and take a future star point guard.

2. Miami - Michael Beasley (6’8’’, PF, Kansas State, Fresh.)
Michael Beasley will go #2 in this draft, but who will be doing the picking? I suspect Seattle ends up moving up here to snag Beasley. Miami is more than willing to drop a few spots if they can dump Mark Blount and his atrocious contract in the process. If Miami stays put, they likely swallow hard and take Beasley even though they are not in love with him.

3. Minnesota - OJ Mayo (6’4’’, SG, USC, Fresh.)
Minnesota will toy with the idea of taking a big man here (Love or Lopez) or a trade to move down. If they stay put, they almost definitely take the USC combo guard here. The bigger need is for a center, and in my opinion, the smarter pick is Lopez. But, Mayo’s upside will likely be too hard to pass over.

4. Seattle - Brook Lopez (7’0’’, C, Stanford, Soph.)
Bayless has been penciled in here as long as I can remember, but he is falling slightly here lately. I still think Seattle moves up to #2, but if they do not, look for them to nab a much needed man in the middle. Brook Lopez may lack upside, but he is ready to play now. Partnering him with Jeff Green and Kevin Durant makes Seattle’s frontcourt solid for a long, long time.

5. Memphis - Eric Gordon (6’3’’, SG, Indiana, Fresh.)
They need a power forward in the worst way, but Love and Randolph are just too much of a reach here. Memphis will put their need for a big man on hold until the 28th pick and take Gordon. Eric Gordon will fit perfectly in Memphis’ soon-to-be up tempo style and his defense will be a welcome sight in Memphis.

6. New York - Jerryd Bayless (6’3’’, PG, Arizona, Fresh.)
Long thought to be a lock in the top 5 picks, Bayless will be a welcome sight for Knicks fans when he falls to #6. They will toy with the idea of taking Westbrook, Gallinari, or Alexander here. At the end of the day however, Bayless is too good of a fit in D’Antoni’s system and New York needs a point guard too bad to Bayless pass up.

7. LA Clippers - Russell Westbrook (6‘3‘’, SG, UCLA, Soph.)
4 combo guards in 5 picks, what is the draft coming to? The Clippers need a guard desperately, and while they have made no secret of their desire to move up and nab Mayo, if they stay at #7 they will have little choice but to grab the 2nd best combo guard in Los Angeles.

8. Milwaukee - Joe Alexander (6'8'', SF, West Virginia, Jr.)
Milwaukee needs a small forward and they need toughness. Joe Alexander will fill both those voids. Milwaukee is a tough team to gauge, as they could go a lot of different ways with this pick. Randolph and Gallinari will be in the mix, but they will ultimately settle on a player more ready to contribute from day one.

9. Charlotte - Kevin Love (6’9’’, PF, UCLA, Fresh.)
Kevin Love is a Larry Brown player if there has ever been one. He is smart, tough, fundamentally sound, and even went to UCLA. Considering the big man void in Charlotte, if Love can not find minutes here, then no rookie will ever find any with Brown.

10. New Jersey - Danilo Gallinari (6’9’’, SF, Italy)
Danilo has been long thought to have a promise here with the Nets. Maybe he does, maybe he doesn’t, but he is simply too good to fall past this pick. New Jersey has no huge need, so they are in a good position to take the best player available. Gallinari is certain that, and he is a steal at #10.

11. Indiana - Kosta Koufos (7'0'', C, Ohio State, Fresh.)
DJ Augustin was a slam dunk for this pick until word leaked that Jermaine O’Sprain was traded to Toronto for TJ Ford and assorted other spare parts. With TJ Ford, Indy now has little need for the undersized floor general. Indy will likely use this pick to help one of th worst frontcourts in the league. Koufos is an intriguing talent who would mesh well with the rest of the Pacers.

12. Sacramento - DJ Augustin (5’11’’, PG, Texas, Soph.)
The Kings have to be happier than anyone that the JO trade happened. Augustin, the guy they have targeted all along looks like he will fall right into their laps. Sacto could also use a power forward, but point guard is a more pressing need, and Augustin is the BPA.

13. Portland - Brandon Rush (6'7'', SG, Kansas, Jr.)
Portland is desperately trying to trade up from #13, but if they stay put Rush makes a ton of sense. Portland is a team that does not need a star, they have 3 future stars in Oden, Roy, and Aldridge. Portland needs role players and Rush has the skills and the attitude to be one of the best role guys in the league at some point.

14. Golden State - Donte Greene (6’9’’, SF, Syracuse, Fresh.)
Greene was born to play in this system. He will take a while to develop, but his upside is out of this world. Golden State needs a swing man for the future and Greene has the talent to be an all star in this league if he can make his game match his skills.

15. Phoenix - Mario Chalmers (6’2’’, PG, Kansas, Jr.)
How Chalmers’ stock has risen this far I do not know, but with Rush off the board he looks like the pick. Chalmers is the perfect defensive point guard to back up Steve Nash, and his 6’8’’ wingspan will allow him to play shooting guard at times. Along with Courtney Lee, no other player has helped their stock as much in workouts as Chalmers has.

16. Philadelphia - Anthony Randolph (6’10’’, PF, LSU, Fresh.)
Not a perfect fit in Philly, but too talented to fall any further. Philly is a young team and they can wait for Randolph to develop. It was not long ago that Randolph was a top 5 pick, but poor workouts and a complete lack of strength have many teams unsure how long it will be before he can contribute.

17. Indiana - Darrell Arthur (6‘9“, PF, Kansas, Soph.)
Indiana is having a good week. They got their point guard in TJ Ford and their future center in Kosta Koufos at pick #11. Now they fill that pesky power forward hole with Arthur. Arthur is a steal this late on talent alone, but his stock has taken a hit lately with average workouts and measurements.

18. Washington - Robin Lopez (7’0’’, PF, Stanford, Soph.)
It will likely come down to Lopez or McGee here. Robin Lopez is supposed to be off the board by now, but if he falls here the Wiz will have no choice but to grab him. He will be a clear upgrade over Haywood at center and an insurance policy at power forward in case Jamison skips town.

19. Cleveland - JaVale McGee (7‘0‘’, C, Nevada, Soph.)
On upside alone McGee is a top 10 pick. He has fallen because of workouts and the growing perception that his is at least a few years away from contributing. There is no arguing his skillset though, and Cleveland needs to get younger up front. As long as he is a player by the time Big Z retires, then this is a great pick.

20. Charlotte - Roy Hibbert (7’2’’, C, Georgetown, Sr.)
Toronto has long needed to add a big tough center to play next to Bosh. They do not get any bigger than Hibbert. Once thought to be a top 10 pick, his lack of upside has caused him to fall. He will play and play well from day one though, and his size and toughness will be a sight for sore eyes in Toronto.

21. New Jersey - DeAndre Jordan (6’11’’, C, Texas A&M, Fresh.)
Gallinari and Jordan make New Jersey the biggest winners of this draft, having gotten 2 top 5 talents at #10 and #21. Jordan’s questionable work ethic and average freshman year caused his stock to plummet, but make no mistake, this kid has the size and talent to be an elite NBA big man. Can he put it all together and put in the work to be great? Who knows, but at #21, it is a gamble worth taking.

22. Orlando - Courtney Lee (6'5'', SG, Western Kentucky, Sr.)
Otis Smith’s love of Courtney Lee has not been a well kept secret. Unless a guy like Koufos or Rush happens to fall in the Magic’s lap here, they will take Lee and call it a day. No player has helped himself more in the workout period than Lee, who has outplayed pretty much everyone. Lee has been so good in workouts that bigger guys like DJ White were having trouble scoring on him in the post.

23. Utah - Marreese Speights (6’10’’, PF, Florida, Soph.)
A simply case of best player available lands Speights in Salt Lake City. He has a ton of talent and Utah has been looking to add some size this off season. Jason Thompson and JaVale McGee are also options here.

24. Seattle - Alexis Ajinca (7’0’’, PF, France)
Sam Presti will be tempted to take a guard here, but Ajinca is simply too good to pass on. Presti perfected the late first round Euro pick while in San Antonio, and he will bring that school of thought to Seattle. Ajinca may very well be off the board by now, and if he is look for Seattle to grab Chris Douglas-Roberts or Nicolas Batum.

25. Houston - Chris Douglas-Roberts (6'7'', SG, Memphis, Jr.)
CDR becomes a backup TMac in training. For a team that has no huge holes, CDR would be a very solid backup at both the shooting guard and small forward positions.

26. San Antonio - Nicolas Batum (6’8’’, SG, France)
San Antonio will not be scared off by Batum’s health scare. Batum has top 15 talent and with 2 French players already on their roster (Park and Mahimini) and a bunch of old guard, this is a perfect fit.

27. Portland - Ante Tomic (7’1’’, C, Croatia)
Kevin Pritchard has been eying Tomic for a couple of years now, and the prevailing wisdom is that Portland bought this pick specifically to take Tomic before a team like Boston or Minnesota did. Portland has more picks than empty roster spots, so a Euro grab and stash makes perfect sense here.

28. Memphis - JJ Hickson (6‘9‘’, PF, North Carolina State, Fresh.)
Memphis grabs a lottery level talent this late in Hickson. Another year in college would have done him wonders, but he is a very skilled player that will fit well into Memphis’ long term plans…assuming they have any.

29. Detroit - Bill Walker (6’6’’, SG, Kansas State, Soph.)
It has been a foregone conclusion for a month now that Bill Walker had a promise here. It is easy to see why considering Detroit’s need for a backup small forward and Walker’s talent level if he can stay healthy. Mayo’s one time running mate was well on his way to being a lottery pick before the injury bug bit him.

30. Boston - Jason Thompson (6’10’’, PF, Rider, Sr.)
There is no real reason Thompson should fall this far. He is a very good player, but someone has to fall in every draft. Boston will grab him gladly and let him backup Kendrick Perkins.

31. Minnesota - Serge Ibaka (6'10'', PF, Congo)
32. Seattle - Kyle Weaver (6’5’’, SG, Washington State, Sr.)
33. Portland - George Hill (6’2’’, PG, IUPUI, Jr.)
34. Minnesota - Ryan Anderson (6’10’’, PF, California, Soph.)
35. LA Clippers - Gary Forbes (6’6’’, SG, UMass, Sr.)
36. Portland - Nathan Jawai (6’10’’, C, Australia)
37. Milwaukee - Jamont Gordon (6’4’’, PG, Mississippi State, Jr.)
38. Charlotte - JR Giddens (6’5’’, SG, New Mexico, Sr.)
39. Chicago - Nikola Pekovic (6'11'', PF, Serbia)
40. New Jersey - Semih Erden (7'0'', C, Turkey)
41. Indiana - Omer Asik (7’0’’, C, Turkey)
42. Sacramento - DeVon Hardin (6’11’’, C, California, Sr.)
43. Sacramento - Mike Taylor (6’2’’, SG, NBDL)
44. Utah - Goran Dragic (6’4’’, PG, Slovenia)
45. San Antonio - Damjan Rudez (6’10’’, SF, Croatia)
46. Seattle - Sonny Weems (6’6’’, SG, Arkansas, Sr.)
47. Washington - DJ White (6’8’’, PF, Indiana, Sr.)
48. Phoenix - Walter Sharpe (6’9’’, PF, UAB, Soph.)
49. Golden State - Will Daniels (6’8’’, SF, Rhode Island, Sr.)
50. Seattle - Anton Ponkrashov (6’7’’, PG, Russia)
51. Dallas - Shan Foster (6’6’’, SG, Vanderbilt, Sr.)
52. Miami - Trent Plaisted (6'11'', C, BYU, Jr.)
53. Utah - Richard Hendrix (6’8’’, PF, Alabama, Jr.)
54. Houston - Pat Calathes (6’10’’, SF, St. Josephs, Sr.)
55. Portland - Davon Jefferson (6’6’’, SF, USC, Fresh.)
56. Seattle - Marcus Dove (6’9’’, SF, Oklahoma State, Sr.)
57. San Antonio - Malik Hairston (6’6’’, SF, Oregon, Sr.)
58. LA Lakers - Joey Dorsey (6’7’’, PF, Memphis, Sr.)
59. Detroit - Darnell Jackson (6’8’’, PF, Kansas, Sr.)
60. Boston - Othello Hunter (6’8’’, PF, Ohio State, Sr.)