15. Milwaukee Bucks – Shane Larkin, PG, Miami (5’11, 14.5 ppg, 4.6 apg, 3.8 rpg)
With news that Dario Saric withdrew from the draft, the Bucks are back to square one. There is no doubt Milwaukee needs help on the wing, especially with Monta Ellis opting for free agency.
With the future of Brandon Jennings unclear as well, the Bucks might opt to play it safe and take Larkin, who had a spectacular season for Miami. Larkin would instantly be able to play in Milwaukee’s backcourt.
Keep an eye on Jamaal Franklin as an alternative.
16. Boston Celtics – Kelly Olynyk, C, Gonzaga (7’0, 17.8 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.7 apg)
Never afraid of taking chances on players, the Celtics are high on Giannis Adetokunbo and also would be very intrigued if Dennis Schroeder fell to them.
With Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and many veterans from last season still on the roster, the Celtics could also choose to give it one more run. Regardless of what happens, the Celtics still need help inside, as evidenced by their pursuit of DeAndre Jordan in the dead/alive/dead/alive KG & Doc trade.
Olynyk would be able to help right away, providing valuable minutes to an aging frontcourt. He is not a freakish athlete but is a solid defender who has a nice touch around the basket.
17. Atlanta Hawks – Giannis Adetokunbo, SF, Filathlitikos (6’9, 9.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.4 apg)
Similar to the Mavericks, the Hawks are in a position where they are gearing up for a free-agent run that hopefully will result in landing a star such as Dwight Howard or Chris Paul.
GM Danny Ferry has positioned the Hawks well enough to where they could have only three guaranteed contracts on the books next season – Al Horford, Lou Wiliams and John Jenkins. While the 17th pick won’t weigh too much against the cap, every dollar counts when it comes to luring top-tier free agents.
Ferry has long been comfortable taking international players and has always done a good job of scouting Europe. According to sources, Adetokunbo is a player Atlanta likes a lot, so much so that it is very likely this could be as far as the “Greek Freak” falls as the Hawks look to be the team that gave him a promise.
18. Atlanta Hawks (From Houston) – Mason Plumlee, C, Duke (6’10, 17.1 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 1.4 bpg)
Even though the Hawks will be going after big time free agents this offseason, having two first-round picks gives them the option to take a player that could help right away. In this case, the Hawks have long needed frontcourt size. With Zaza Pachulia and Josh Smith set to hit the free agent market, getting Al Horford some help is a must.
Plumlee could be the forgotten big man in this draft class because of the depth at the center position. Plumlee improved every year at Duke, produced at a high level, will be able to defend from Day 1 and tested very well athletically. He won’t be a star in the NBA but likely will have a very good career.
19. Cleveland Cavaliers (From LA Lakers) – Sergey Karasev, SF, Triumph Moscow (6’8, 18.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.3 apg)
With a center at the top of their wish list, the Cavs will next look to address their hole at small forward. While trading up is a real possibility for Cleveland, which also has the 31st and 33rd picks, Karasev would be a steal if he fell this far.
Karasev’s name has been rising into the mid-first round for the past month. Even though Karasev has been seen as a player that will come over to the NBA this season, there have been recent rumors of him signing with another Euroleague team, which would keep him overseas for at least one more year.
Rumors of a promise for Karasev have begun to circulate, with Cleveland and Brooklyn reportedly the most interested teams. I would not be surprised to see him rise higher on draft night.
20. Chicago Bulls – Jamaal Franklin, SG, San Diego State (6’5, 17.0 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 3.3 apg)
With Derrick Rose coming back fully healthy next season, the Bulls would be best suited to give him something he has always lacked: a true running mate.
Franklin may not be a 20-point scorer, but he could do everything for his team. He is an improving shooter, as evidenced by his performance in New York last week.
Adding intrigue to Franklin in Chicago is his ability to defend and rebound — things that hard-nosed Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau demands from all his players. Franklin projects to be an immediate contributor.
21. Utah Jazz (From Golden State) – Rudy Gobert, C, Cholet (7’0, 8.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.3 bpg)
Having addressed their need for a point guard if they tab Schroeder, it appears the Jazz will look for another big to replenish the rotation as Jefferson and Millsap are both free agents and Favors and Kanter are ready for more minutes.
Gobert is intriguing here because of his unique length and athleticism. While still very raw, Gobert has the potential to come in and contribute defensively almost immediately. Down the road, if Gobert develops, he could replace either Favors or Kanter.
22. Brooklyn Nets – Tim Hardaway Jr., SG, Michigan (6’6, 14.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.4 apg)
Under owner Mikhail Prokhorov’s watch, the pressure is on GM Billy King nd new coach Jason Kidd to get results. And that means making moves geared toward getting help now.
The Nets got great production from reserve forwards Andray Blatche and Reggie Evans but failed to get much from their guards off the bench. With that in mind, adding a shooter such as Hardaway who can help right away is what the Nets likely will be thinking with this pick.
Hardaway, a player the Nets really like a lot, can help space the floor and gives Brooklyn protection behind Joe Johnson.
I can’t believe you’re not playing with me–that was so helpful.
Now that’s subtle! Great to hear from you.
Whoever edits and publishes these articles really knows what they’re doing.
AKAIK you’ve got the answer in one!
You’ve hit the ball out the park! Incredible!
That’s a genuinely impressive answer.
Shiver me timbers, them’s some great information.
Hey, that’s the greatest! So with ll this brain power AWHFY?
I’m really into it, thanks for this great stuff!
Nasagot niyo din po tanong niyo, mga fonregreis po kasi bida. Ang weird naman na fonregreis characters tapos nag tatagalog. Hindi na yun makatotohanan pag ganoon kahit pa sabihin nating fiction toh. Mas disturbing pag ganoon.
What I want to know is, what happened to the championship Dan Gilbert promised he would deliver before James won one?
He didn’t promise, what the dwarf said is PERSONALLY GUARANTEE. In capital letters.
“No chance New Orleans passes on Burke. Austin Rivers showed he is not a point guard, and if given the chance to take Burke – who had an outside shot at the top pick – the Pelicans will rush the stage on draft night.”
Joe Kotoch showed he is not a good analyst. The Pelicans have this guy named Greivis Vasquez who started 78 games at point guard for them last year, averaging 14 ppg and 9 apg. He has improved across the board every year of his career and can clearly be the Pelicans’ PG of the future.
Hey guys, i just posted an article at my site about finding the next Danny Green. Since I know people who read this site are die-hard basketball fans, I know you will enjoy it. Please read it and give me some feedback. Thanks!
http://redcupsports.blogspot.com/2013/06/will-next-danny-green-please-stand-up.html
Regarding Shawn Marion, simple question: Marion has a 9.3 M player option. Wouldn’t Cavs need assurance that Marion would accept his player option as a condition to make the trade?
If so, it sounds like another Chris Grant idiot special. One career of a slow, non-rebounding, crappy defending Ilgauskas was bad enough, now the rumor du jour is they’re going to draft his stress-fractured little brother and then pay him like Greg Oden. Ooh, shrewd. It would be as if Danny Ferry was never fired.
One thing KCP does well is create? Hah.
Alex Len #1 overall? You’re on crack. No offense.
Apparently you’re not familiar with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ braintrust, otherwise you wouldn’t have said something as dumb as Kotoch is on crack. They draft and make all of their trades by using nothing but gonzo analytics. Then after their computer explodes, they pick a name out of a hat. They also negotiate all of their player contracts by playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey. It’s sheer genius at work. It’s why James had to play one on five on both offense and defense for seven years, and it’s why Sheridan has won almost as many NBA games in the past three years as they have.
Thing is, Len’s advanced statistics/analytics are not stellar. He won’t be the pick. Kotoch has no clue what he’s talking about.
You must have skipped over the part where I said that after their computer explodes, they pick a name out of a hat. They always had a moronic love affair with the mediocre Zydrunas Ilgauskas, the guy and his contract that really killed James’ chance for a title in Cleveland. Len is the next best thing to more mediocrity, soft as Charmin, can’t rebound, no strength, and can’t play with his back to the basket. It doesn’t help that Ilgauskas now also fetches the coffee and doughnuts for Chris Grant. I tend to believe that if they don’t trade the pick, they’ll take Len before they take a human popsicle stick.
Len’s advanced stats aren’t that great because he had no PG play whatsoever and didn’t see nearly enough of the ball.