NBA mock draft: top five settled?
The NBA Draft is coming up and the talent in this year’s pool runs deep making the top five picks interesting to say the least.
John Wall is the consensus No.1 pick and the 19-year-old is expected to be taken by the Washington Wizard despite having Gilbert Arenas on the team.
Derrick Favors and Evan Turner are expected to go two and three but there is some difference of opinion as to where they will taken.
1 – John Wall – Washington Wizards
Sources close to the Wizards have said Wall will be the No.1 pick. And why wouldn’t he? He might not have the best immediate upside but his skill set is the best in the class. He’s got the athleticism of an NBA player and has shown keenness to improve on his weak points. Given that Wall worked out for the Wizards in the last week and Evan Turner hasn’t the No.1 pick is wrapped up.
2- Evan Turner – Philadelphia 76ers
Turner is the most NBA-ready player in the draft and if the 76ers take him, which at the moment signals still point towards that being the case, they’re going to have a shooting guard who can score 20 points a game. But Turner going second isn’t exactly a lock at second. Reports suggest head coach Doug Collins prefers Derrick Favors and the 76ers might not be opposed to trading down. If they were to trade down Minnesota and Indiana would be waiting in the wings, with Minnesota having the better trading options the 76ers could drop down to pick four. But for that to happen the Timberwolves would probably have to take Elton Brand in a trade.
3- Derrick Favors –New Jersey Nets
While Favors might have the higher upside than Turner he’s not as NBA ready. That being said the Jets do like Favors as a compliment to young centre Brook Lopez. Favors is only 18 and that gives him loads of time to improve his skill set and having a super athletic physique will allow him to compete in the NBA right away. If the Nets decide to sign a power forward in free agency they might pass on Favors and go with Wesley Johnson, the small forward out of Syracuse.
4 - Wesley Johnson – Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves have made no secret they want Evan Turner as their pick, but will have to trade up to get him. Johnson is 22 and a great pick at four. He worked out for the Wolves last week and by all accounts the Timberwolves fell in love with the way he conducted himself and is the sort of player they are looking to build with. Add him to a team that has Kevin Love, Al Jefferson and Johnny Flynn and you have a pretty solid front court.
5- DeMarcus Cousins – Sacramento Kings
Cousins worked out for the Kings last week and really impressed with his shooting and his overall body of work. There are reservations about Cousins as a person but not about his talent. Throughout college Cousins was seen arguing with coach John Calipari during games but Cousins said that was nothing.
“I compete and if I don’t understand things I ask questions which is why you saw a lot of back and forth between me and Cal,” Cousins said.
There are issues about his weight, he turned up to the NBA draft workouts at 291lb, 11lb more than his listed 280lb. He also had a body fat percentage just over 16%, the second-highest out of those participating.
But at the end of the day, Cousins is one of the only players in the draft who can force defenders to adjust to him and he could be the next dominant big man in the NBA, fifth might not do justice to his talent.
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