NBA Draft, for Your Pleasure

It's that time of year again, folks. The only thing an Indiana Pacers fan has to look forward to every year... THE NBA DRAFT!!

Of course, the Pacers still managed to fuck that up. If it's obvious that you're not going to make the playoffs, you start tanking games. Indiana fans are smart. It's not like the 8 or 9 of us that's left are going to get all pissed off that you're losing these games on purpose. We're hip to whats down. You lose as many as you can, and who knows? Maybe we could have got Hasheem Thabeet. Instead we're going to get the 13th pick. Awesome. Here comes Austin Croshere part 2.

1. Clippers. Blake Griifin will go number one, but here's the thing- the Clippers don't need him. In fact, he may hurt them. They already have Zach Randolph. He's not as good as Griffin, but NO ONE will take him in a trade. His contract is too big. So I really wouldn't be surprised to see the Clipper's trade him, painful as it might be to them. But they could get a great point guard for him. Or a decent guard/center combo maybe. I think doing that is better than having Rudolph and Griffin in a power struggle for the 4 position.

2. Grizzlies. If they don't pick Hasheem Thabeet, they're morons. Sure, Rubio could be great, and so could James Hardem or Jordan Hill, but these guys need size bad. Thabeet won't be putting up monster 40 point games or anything, but he'll protect the paint and knock people around a bit. They need toughness and any other pick from them is plain stupid.

3. Thunder. Ricky Rubio. These guys could become serious contenders in a few years. They're making really smart draft moves recently and Rubio could be just another piece of the puzzle. The only problem here is they have a solid up and coming point guard in Russell Westbrook. Although I'm sure he could move to the shooting guard position, if need be. If you don't go for Rubio (who is probably the most entertaining point guard in the draft. Maybe the most entertaining player in the draft, period), you go for a big man. Jordan Hill might do well for himself here. But I don't see Rubio falling out of the top three.

4. Kings. Ouch. They were supposed to get the top pick. So falling to number four, which to a Pacers fan would be a dream come true, has to hurt like hell for Kings fans. But it's not all bad. They can still draft Jordan Hill. He'll be a nice fit for the Kings. Maybe not a superstar, but certainly a nice building block.

5. Wizards. James Harden. He'll be a great compliment to Gilbert Arenas, if Gilbert is still alive next year. If not, hey, you still have James Harden. I think he's going to have a good career in front of him.

6. Timberwolves. Tyreke Evans. The T'Wolves need some help with small forward, and Evans is being "slept on", as the blacks say. He's a top five talent, getting him this late in the draft will be a bargain.

7. Warriors. Jrue Holiday. The Warriors need a point guard and Holiday is the best available at this point. He can lead this team into the future.

8. Kicks. Stephen Curry. It'll happen pretty much no matter what. I don't know how well Curry's game will translate into the NBA, but it won't matter. He'll almost certainly be a Knick next year.

9. Raptors. Dejuan Blair. It looks like Chris Bosh is on the way out. May as well get a bad motherfucker like Blair to replace him. If I were them I'd draft him and focus on sending Bosh somewhere in return for a nice scoring guard. Build for the future, Toronto.

10. Bucks. James Johnson. I don't know a lot about this team. Seems to me like they need help all across the board. I figure they'll go with Johnson cause he'll be the most talented big man left at this point, but really they could do anything and draft anyone and it wouldn't surprise me.

11. Nets. Jonny Flynn. Nice point guard. Could be a solid player for a long time to come. Could do well with the Nets.

12. Bobcats. DeMar DeRozan. They need a scorer after trading Jason Richardson, and DeRozan has a ton of potential. They'll be jumping for joy if this dude falls this far. A lot of people are saying he could go in the top five.

13. Pacers. Ugh. I have no idea. Jarret Jack turned out to be better than I expected, but he could be on his way out this year. T.J. Ford is great and all, but he's injured too often. If we go for a point guard, we should go for Eric Maynor. Not my dream choice, but I think he could be a solid player and a nice fit for this team. But there's also the fact that we badly need an athletic big man. Troy Murphy is good on the boards, but we need someone who can kick some ass in the paint as well. If they go for the power forward they need, I'd say maybe Gani Lawal. But drafting him this high seems extremely unrealistic. Fuck it. They should draft Ty Lawson. End of story.

14. Suns. I think Steve Nash's best days are behind him. Draft for the future and get a good point guard. If the Pacers draft Maynor, draft Lawson. If the Pacers draft Lawson, get Maynor.

Well, that's how I see it going down, sports fans. Let's hear your thoughts on the subject.

-M