BallinEurope today presents round two of our 2010 NBA Draft mockup; there’s a pleasing European accent to the list, with the big Belarusian Artsiom Parakhouski figuring to go in this round (see to whom in this projection and quiver) and the tantalizing possibility of Kevin Seraphin potentially becoming the 12th French player in the NBA.
And then there’s Ryan Richards. Much to the chagrin of BiE’s man in the U.K., Sam Chadwick, Richards seems personally hellbent on proving wrong those who, ahem, assessed him as just another European designed to waste away on NBA benches.
In any event, we present the official BallinEurope 2010 NBA mock draft 2.0 round two below. Round one can be found here.
31. New Jersey Nets: Gani Lawal (6’9”, PF, Georgia Tech, Junior). Probably the best player available in round two, Gani Lawal has potential, athleticism, height, and skills: Something New Jersey could use, as he can back up Jianlian Yi or play small forward, depending on who the Nets pick in the first round.
32. Oklahoma City Thunder: Ryan Richards (6’11”, PF, England). Richards has taken the NBA Draft combine by shock, with people saying that he looks better than almost all the big men coming out of college and that he has better fundamentals.
Oklahoma have so many draft picks, they may look to trade some; however, if they still have a pick here, they may as well just pick another long, athletic, jumping, young player. Ryan is the youngest player available in the draft.
I still don’t think Richards should enter the NBA, but based on all the hype around him, I’m sure someone will take him based on what they’ve seen so far. He has surprised most people by stating that he doesn’t want to return to Europe and would rather play in the NBA Development league. If not, the Thunder are apparently pretty stuck on Daniel Orton.
33. Sacramento Kings: Jarvis Varnado (6’10”, PF, Mississippi State, Senior). We have Sacramento picking a small forward in the first round and today, I read that Slam Online has the Kings taking Greg Monroe instead. Slam makes some valid points, but I feel the Kings should still take Johnson and then grab a big man here just in case Jarvis looks good for them.
34. Washington Wizards: Jerome Jordan (7’1”, C, Tulsa, Senior). Okay, so Washington are pretty much set now that they have Gilbert Arenas and John Wall – which they’ll need to work out. Plus, the Wizards have Al Thornton at small forward if they want to re-sign him, Andray Blatche at PF, and in the first round they take a big man with the 30th pick from the Cavs. So here, the Wizards look to add an athletic backup for both Blatche as well as Miroslav Raduljica, so they take big man Jordan.
35. Golden State Warriors: Willie Warren (6’4”, SG, Oklahoma, Sophomore). Golden State don’t really have a very good track history with rookies – except of course Stephen Curry – so who do the Warriors take here, a shooting guard? A small forward? Power forward? Maybe a centre? Well, in the first round of the mock, they took a small forward so maybe a shooting guard, how does Warren sound? He’s got scoring ability, athleticism, strength and just the potential to act as a threat for the Warriors. If not Warren, maybe a centre? You never know.
36. Detroit Pistons: Dexter Pittman (6’11”, C, Texas, Senior). Detroit wants players with big wingspans, players who are bad boys like the old days, the Pistons want to get back to who they used to be: Champions. And Dexter Pittman is huge! He can set a screen, he can rebound, he has strength, and he has a 7’6” wingspan and a 9’3” reach! That’s bigger than Greg Monroe by, like, three inches! Seriously, he is huge! Detroit should definitely take Pittman here.
37. Milwaukee Bucks: Craig Brackins (6’10”, PF, Iowa State, Junior). Milwaukee is full of great hustle players; they like players who give it everything. Craig will provide them with another big body who can play both small forward and power forward and can hustle just like they need him to.
38. New York Knicks: Quincy Pondexter (6’7”, SF, Washington, Senior). If New York doesn’t get one of the big free agents this summer, there will be some firing and hiring in New York. They basically have no money if they want to go after two superstars, so they’ll need to pick up the best draft picks available. Pondexter could go first round, as he is long, can score and can also play the two guard.
39. New York Knicks: Daniel Orton (6’10”, PF, Kentucky, Freshman). There are a lot of bigs in this draft, so look for this projected first rounder to drop to the second round. The Knicks just want to please the fans so they take John Wall’s teammate Orton, despite his bad numbers in college.
40. Indiana Pacers: Sherron Collins (5’11”, PG, Kansas, Senior). Indiana has some weak guards and one of them, A.J. Price, is now injured for four to six months. Though Collins will be back in time for the season, you never want to go into the year knowing one of your guards has an injury and you have no replacement. Collins is a leader and, depending on what scouts see in him, could go first round instead of Eric Bledsoe.
41. Miami Heat: Armon Johnson (6’3”, PG, Nevada, Junior). Miami have been so stuck at trying to get the right point guard, they mainly have D-Wade running the floor. But if he leaves [Surely that’s “when he leaves” – Ed.], the Heat will need a good point guard or a backup point guard depending on who they select.
42. Miami Heat: Omar Samhan (6’11”, C, St. Mary’s, Senior). Miami may need a big man to replace Jermaine O’Neal, too. Omar is 6’11” and can work alongside Beasley and he’s athletic, which the Heat could use.
...and so is Keith Gallon.
43. Los Angeles Lakers: Keith “Tiny” Gallon (6’10”, PF, Oklahoma, Freshman). The Lakers bench is terrible, so they could use a big, long backup for some of their big men. Tiny isn’t so Tiny: He’s huge, with a 9’1” reach, 7’4” wingspan, and weighing 302 pounds, Tiny could really help the Lakers. [Dude! Shaq II! – Ed.]
44. Portland Trail Blazers: Manny Harris (6’5”, SG, Michigan, Junior). Manny Harris is a bona fide scorer who can tear it up. Portland are very solid; however, Rudy Fernandez may be heading back to Europe this summer and the Blazers could use a backup for Brandon Roy in case he gets injured again.
45. Minnesota Timberwolves: Stanley Robinson (6’8”, SF, UConn, Senior). Again Minnesota have so many picks they’re looking to trade up; if not, they select the best available. Robinson was projected as a first-round pick a few weeks/months ago and has dropped. The Wolves should definitely pick him up here: Robinson may be the steal of the draft.
46. Phoenix Suns: Matt Bouldin (6’5”, SG, Gonzaga, Senior). Phoenix are now serious contenders with solid players and like to develop their young players before they ever play in the NBA through D-League ball and such. Bouldin could play NBDL if the Suns want or might come in and contribute straight away.
47. Milwaukee Bucks: Lazar Hayward (6’6”, SF, Marquette, Senior). Milwaukee seem to have more picks than they need, so they may look to trade up to try and get Greg Monroe. Here we will go for the same area as their last pick: Hustle. The Bucks want their opponents to Fear The Deer and to continue to do that, they need to out-hustle their opponents. Lazar was a great collegiate player and should bring some experience and skill to this Bucks squad.
48. Miami Heat: DaSean Butler (6’7”, SF, West Virginia, Senior). Lance Stephenson is a solid first round pick, and Butler is a solid athletic, scoring small forward – a great fit for the Heat, especially alongside Beasley.
Artsiom Parakhouski: Start practicing the name, San Antonio.
49. San Antonio Spurs: Artsiom Parakhouski (6’11”, C, Radford, Senior). The Spurs are still lacking a bit of depth, but the player they draft here may spend a lot of time in the NBDL, as San Antonio doesn’t really need any more picks: They’re full up at almost all guard positions and could use a centre to back up DeJuan Blair who may get a lot of burn if Tim Duncan puts in the DNPs and DNDs.
50. Dallas Mavericks: Trevor Booker (6’7”, PF, Clemson, Senior). Dallas were supposed to be contenders this year, and ended up falling short. They lacked hustle, they lacked the desire needed to win a championship. Now Dirk may be leaving and the Mavericks will be trapped without a star. So here they need to pick a player who can play the same position as the man they are replacing, they need a power forward with skills: Booker can provide them with these things.
51. Oklahoma City Thunder: Jon Scheyer (6’6”, PG, Duke, Senior). Oklahoma could use another good mid-range outside shooter, and the Duke senior is definitely one of the players in this year’s draft that can provide this. An alternate pick here might be Andy Rautins.
52. Boston Celtics: Andy Rautins (6’5”, SG, Syracuse, Senior). In the first round, the Celtics pick a small forward to back up Paul Pierce, so this round they take a shooting guard to back up Ray Allen. Rautins is a shooter and can learn from Ray Allen how to hit game winners.
53. Atlanta Hawks: Arinze Onuaku (6’10”, C, Syracuse, Senior). Atlanta are a little bit small, though they have shown that an under-sized centre can work. Onuaku can provide rebounding, solid inside defence and solid inside offence – everything’s a bonus with this guy.
54. Los Angeles Clippers: Hamady Ndiaye (7’0”, C, Rutgers, Senior). The Clippers could use a backup for Chris Kaman, and a 7-foot centre on your bench can never be a bad thing; alternatively, the Clippers could always take someone like A.J. Ogilvy.
55. Utah Jazz: Kevin Seraphin (6’10”, PF, France). The Jazz took a nice big man in Cole Aldrich in the first round and are solid at most positions. Whoever they select could spend a year in Europe to improve and then come over next season if Boozer leaves and if Cole Aldrich doesn’t work out. Seraphin has been a great player in France and would work hard in the Jazz offence.
56. Minnesota Timberwolves: Luke Harangody (6’8”, PF, Notre Dame, Senior). Wow, another T-Wolves pick … How many do they need? Trades are coming! Here, we’ll say Minnesota picks the best available and send him to the D League. We know Minnesota doesn’t need any more point guards, so maybe a power forward … Harangody is one of my favourite collegiate players and can rebound the ball well. Look for Minnesota to be one of the league’s top rebounding teams.
57. Dallas Mavericks: A.J. Ogilvy (6’10”, C, Vanderbilt, Junior). Last year, the Mavs lost Brandon Bass to the Magic; this year, they may lose Dirk. Therefore, look for them to select as many bigs as possible. Ogilvy is a great inside presence with good skills, interior defence and some experience.
Is Oglivy a Nowitzki substitute?
58. Los Angeles Lakers: Charles Garcia (6’9”, PF, Seattle, Junior). Lakers can add another big backup in this draft. Although their substitute guards are not great, Charles will provide some of what the Lakers need off the bench. The Lakers could also select a guard like Alexey Shved, who could fit in really well in their offence.
59. Orlando Magic: Jerome Randle (5’10”, PG, California, Senior). Orlando loves shooters and Jerome has been one of the best shooters in college basketball this season. He will definitely help with added depth off the bench for this perpetual title contenders.
60. Phoenix Suns: Samardo Samuels (6’8”, PF, Louisville, Sophomore) . Samuels is another big in this draft, a work in progress that can be put in the D-League if the Suns executives feel he needs more time to develop.
Sam Chadwick is a assistant coach for the Solent Kestrels U13 team. He also writes a basketball-centered blog called Hype.
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