Preliminary Mock Draft Listings

George O'Brien · Feb 4, 2004

Scroll Down. This is a comparison of three mock drafts (Inside Hoops only give the first 15). The wide variations are typical of early season drafts because there is no clear idea as to whether the player will become eligible until May.
<Table border>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">NBA DRAFT</TD>
<TD ALIGN="center">Inside Hoops</TD>
<TD ALIGN="left">HoopsHype</TD>
<TD ALIGN="left">nbadraft.net</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="center" STYLE="vnd.ms-excel.numberformat:d-mmm-yy">24-Nov-03</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right" STYLE="vnd.ms-excel.numberformat:d-mmm-yy">29-Jan-04</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right" STYLE="vnd.ms-excel.numberformat:d-mmm-yy">28-Jan-04</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Dwight Howard 6-10 225 PF Atlanta GA HS Sr.</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">1</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">1</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">1</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Emeka Okafor 6-9 240 PF UConn Jr.</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">2</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">2</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">2</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Pavel Podkolzine 7-5 300 C (Russia) 1985</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">3</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">5</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">4</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Kosta Perovic 7-1 230 PF/C (Serbia-Montenegro) 1985</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">4</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">3</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">10</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Tiago Splitter 7-0 235 PF (Brazil) 1985</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">5</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">11</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">7</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Hakim Warrick 6-8 210 SF Syracuse Jr.</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">6</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">7</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">13</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Ben Gordon 6-2 185 PG UConn Jr.</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">7</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">9</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">6</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Andris Biedrins 7-0 240 PF/C (Latvia) 1986</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">8</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">9</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Josh Smith 6-9 210 SF Smyrna, GA HS Sr.</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">9</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">6</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">3</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Luol Deng 6-8 220 SF Duke Fr.</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">10</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">4</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Paul Davis 6-11 255 PF/C Michigan St. So. (bump to 13 maybe) </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">11</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">12</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Raymond Felton 6-0 194 PG North Carolina So.</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">12</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">14</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Roko-Leni Ukic 6-6 185 PG (Croatia) 1984</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">13</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Ha Seung-Jin 7-3 300 C (South Korea) 1985</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">14</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">19</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Rickey Paulding 6-5 200 SG Missouri Sr.</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">15</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">29</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">35</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Andre Iguodala 6-6 200 SG Arizona So</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">8</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">11</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Predrag Samardziski 6'11" 245 C Partizan Belgrade</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">10</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">David Harrison 7-0 250 C Colorado Jr</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">13</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Shaun Livingston 6-7 175 PG Peoria Central HS</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">15</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">5</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Chris Humphries 6-9 236 PF Minnesota Fr</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">16</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">14</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Wayne Simien 6-9 255 Kansas Jr</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">17</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Anderson Varejao 6-10 230 PF FC Barcelona (Spain)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">18</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">29</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Amir Omerhodzic 6-10 225 SF Cibona Zabreb (Croatia)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">19</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Jameer Nelson 6-0 190 PG St. Joseph's Sr</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">20</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">8</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Sebastian Telfair 6-0 160 Lincoln HS</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">21</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">16</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Srgey Monya 6-9 220 SF CSKA Moskow (Russia)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">22</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">15</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Ivan Kojevic 6-1 PG Buducnost (Serbia)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">23</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Torin Francis 6-10 240 PF Notre Dame So</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">24</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Al Jefferson 6-9 270 Prestice HS</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">25</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Chris Thomas 6-1 180 Notre Dame</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">26</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Viktor Khryapa 6-9 210 SF CSKA Moskow (Russia)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">27</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">31</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Charlie Villanueva 6-10 210 SF U Conn Fr</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">28</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Ivan Chiniaev 7-1 235 SF St. Thomas Aquanis HS</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">12</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">LaMarcus Aldridge 6-11 225 Seagoville,TX HS</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">17</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Josh Childress 6-8 200 SF Stanford Jr</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">18</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Antoine Wright 6-7 195 SG Texas A&M</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">20</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Uros Slokar 6-10 230 PF Benetton Treviso</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">21</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Jaime Lloreda 6-9 240 PF LSU Sr</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">23</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Christian Drejer 6-9 210 SG Florida So</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">24</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Sasha Vujacic 6-7 193 PG Snaidero Udine (Slovenia)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">25</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Robert Swift 7-0 245 C Bakersfield, CA HS</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">26</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Rafael Araujo 6-11 280 C BYU Sr</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">27</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="bottom">
<TD ALIGN="left">Marcelo Huertas 6-3 185 Paulistano (Brazil)</TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right"> </TD>
<TD ALIGN="right">28</TD>
</TR>
</Table>




 Last Updated on 2/4/2004
 By George O'Brien

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Ryanwb · Feb 4, 2004

...and why did I have to scroll 3 miles to read it?

PhxGametime · Feb 4, 2004

I've seen glimpses of most teams and IMO draft prospects aren't as bad as believed. Don't know about superstar level players but it's deeper than most might think - Christian Drejer, Channing Frye, Darius Rice etc (only listed a few, players of this caliber) aren't getting much love and might suprise ala Josh Howard...

newfan101 · Feb 4, 2004

Originally posted by Ryanwb
...and why did I have to scroll 3 miles to read it?

LOL

George O'Brien · Feb 4, 2004

I have no clue why it was so far down the page. I put in regular html code and I guess this board doesn't like that. I tried editing several times and could not figure it out.

George O'Brien · Feb 4, 2004

Originally posted by BbaLL_31
I've seen glimpses of most teams and IMO draft prospects aren't as bad as believed. Don't know about superstar level players but it's deeper than most might think - Christian Drejer, Channing Frye, Darius Rice etc (only listed a few, players of this caliber) aren't getting much love and might suprise ala Josh Howard...

One of the problems with the list so far is the vast number of HS and Euros listed. I can watch college players (at least in theory), but the other players are strictly based on some guys reports.

Even though the Suns hit gold with Stoudemire, I'm not all that excited about drafting HS players.

Other than LeBron, the HS and teenage players have not played much. This season the Celtics took Kendrick Perkins who has played a TOTAL of 15 minutes. Travis Outlaw of the Blazers has played a total of 11 minutes. Ndudi Ebi of the Wolves is the high man of this group with a total of 31 minutes. Darko Milicic of the Pistons has played 48 minutes. Maciej Lampe with 23 minutes should pass all these guys pretty soon to become the second highest minutes no-college teenager from this year's draft.
:thumbup:

Considering the makeup of the Suns, they need to focus on getting guys who will actually play.

Joe Mama · Feb 4, 2004

With so much young talent on this team already I figured the sons should concentrate on taking guys who will either contribute immediately, replace players they are unable to re-sign in the future, or will have a lot of trade value themselves. If they keep more than one draft pick I would like to see them draft an experienced college or foreign player and a project with a good upside.

Joe Mama

George O'Brien · Feb 5, 2004

Originally posted by Joe Mama
With so much young talent on this team already I figured the sons should concentrate on taking guys who will either contribute immediately, replace players they are unable to re-sign in the future, or will have a lot of trade value themselves. If they keep more than one draft pick I would like to see them draft an experienced college or foreign player and a project with a good upside.

Joe Mama

I agree. The Suns DO NOT NEED TWO PROJECTS. At least one guy has to be able to play, even if it is not a position of need for the Suns.

F-Dog · Feb 5, 2004

Originally posted by George O'Brien
I agree. The Suns DO NOT NEED TWO PROJECTS. At least one guy has to be able to play, even if it is not a position of need for the Suns.

Why is that?

I mean, next year Barbosa, Zarko and even Lampe will be looking for expanded roles, and Vujanic will be expecting minutes when he comes over. Who knows, the Suns might even get a free agent or something.

The only 'position of need' is center, and Okafor is the only player in the draft who might be ready to play there.

It's not that I see anything wrong with drafting a player who's ready to play right now (especially since there should be a couple of pass-first SGs available at #8 or #9) , but I also don't see anything wrong with drafting a couple of high-upside projects and letting them warm the bench for a year or two. Frankly, it would make a lot of sense for the Suns to draft a foreign player and leave him on his FIBA team for a year or two.

The Suns will go after the BPA like always, of course.

Chaplin · Feb 5, 2004

The problem is, this speculation is just that--speculation. We don't know if anything is going to happen within the next week before the deadline, and we don't know what will happen with our draft picks either.

I wonder if this is what it's been like for franchises like the Clippers and Nuggets--chomping at the bit for the season to be over just so we could see what happens...

slinslin · Feb 5, 2004

I think most of the top college picks are ready to play.

Warrick, Okafor, Felton, Nelson, Gordon, Iguodala I think they are all ready to contribute.

Okafor in the absolutely worst case will still be as good as Brian Skinner in his rookie season.
Warrick like Miles this season.

George O'Brien · Feb 5, 2004

Originally posted by F-Dog
Why is that?

I mean, next year Barbosa, Zarko and even Lampe will be looking for expanded roles, and Vujanic will be expecting minutes when he comes over. Who knows, the Suns might even get a free agent or something.

The only 'position of need' is center, and Okafor is the only player in the draft who might be ready to play there.

It's not that I see anything wrong with drafting a player who's ready to play right now (especially since there should be a couple of pass-first SGs available at #8 or #9) , but I also don't see anything wrong with drafting a couple of high-upside projects and letting them warm the bench for a year or two. Frankly, it would make a lot of sense for the Suns to draft a foreign player and leave him on his FIBA team for a year or two.

The Suns will go after the BPA like always, of course.

What exactly is "pass-first SG"?

I define a project as a guy who is not expected to contribute for two or three years. I'm not sure I see the point in having more than one true project because they tie up cap space and are untradeable. It is my understanding that the cap space is taken even if a first rounder stays in Europe. (That's why most project Euro's are taken in the second round).

Right now, Lampe is the team's designated "project". Everyone else projected to be on the roster next season should be able to play. Lampe does not really need more company at the end of the bench.

A BPA choice for the NY pick is very likely but I'm not sure I see any point in getting a PG unless Eisley gets moved or Vujanic stays in Europe.

F-Dog · Feb 5, 2004

Originally posted by George O'Brien
What exactly is "pass-first SG"?

Andre Iguodala. Shaun Livingston.

Casey Jacobsen.

Originally posted by George O'Brien
I define a project as a guy who is not expected to contribute for two or three years. I'm not sure I see the point in having more than one true project because they tie up cap space and are untradeable. It is my understanding that the cap space is taken even if a first rounder stays in Europe. (That's why most project Euro's are taken in the second round).

I don't think that Krstic counts against the Nets' salary cap. I believe that teams have to jump through some hoops every year before such a player is taken off of their cap; I don't know whether that would take enough time to affect the Suns' pursuit of free agents over the summer if they did something like this.

George O'Brien · Feb 5, 2004

Originally posted by F-Dog
Andre Iguodala. Shaun Livingston.

Iguodala is playing forward and Livingston is treated as PG.

I wouldn't mind Iguodala if he was available for the Knicks pick. He could be a Ruben Patterson style player, but hopefully with less personal trouble.

slinslin · Feb 5, 2004

That's a poor comparison.

Not only can Iguodala handle the ball much better, he is a lot smarter, better passer, better athlete and is jumper is coming along.

George O'Brien · Feb 5, 2004

Originally posted by slinslin
That's a poor comparison.

Not only can Iguodala handle the ball much better, he is a lot smarter, better passer, better athlete and is jumper is coming along.

Heh, but can he deliberately hurt guys like Patterson?

The basis on my comparison is that Patterson is more strong than tall, not a pure jump shooter, and has an impact inspite of his size.

F-Dog · Feb 5, 2004

Patterson might be a better comp for Hassan Adams.

When I look at draftable players, my question is, what position are they going to play in the pros? By that standard, Livingston and Iguodala are both SGs. (Livingston might be a G/F.)

Josh Childress is another pretty good pass-first SG, but I think it's unlikely he'll declare this year.

George O'Brien · Feb 5, 2004

Originally posted by F-Dog
When I look at draftable players, my question is, what position are they going to play in the pros? By that standard, Livingston and Iguodala are both SGs. (Livingston might be a G/F.)

The draft boards I've looked at have Livingston at 175 pounds. That is thin for SG let alone SF.

Chaplin · Feb 5, 2004

Originally posted by slinslin
That's a poor comparison.

Not only can Iguodala handle the ball much better, he is a lot smarter, better passer, better athlete and is jumper is coming along.

Miles Simon was all of those things as well, and look what happened to him.

Joe Mama · Feb 5, 2004

Originally posted by Chaplin
Miles Simon was all of those things as well, and look what happened to him.

Exactly. Sure Shawn Marion is overpaid, but there's no way the Phoenix Suns are going to trade him and count on an unproven rookie to replace his production. Of course if they brought in Kobe Bryant as well that would be taking care of.

Joe Mama

slinslin · Feb 5, 2004

They would trade him for more capspace that they could use on anyone and count also on other players to step up and cover the production that would include draftpicks, Zarko, Casey etc.

I am sure Amare would immediately average 2-3 more rebounds or so.

Chaplin · Feb 5, 2004

Originally posted by slinslin
They would trade him for more capspace that they could use on anyone and count also on other players to step up and cover the production that would include draftpicks, Zarko, Casey etc.

I am sure Amare would immediately average 2-3 more rebounds or so.

But he wouldn't average 19 more points per game though.

Funny how capspace is so valuable to you when there isn't really anyone substantial to use it on.

We're not going to sign Okur to an 11/mil a year contract and Brent Barry to an 8/mil a year contract either, so while cap space is good because it improves the bottom line for management, a lot of the times there just isn't quality in the free agent market.

George O'Brien · Feb 5, 2004

Originally posted by slinslin
They would trade him for more capspace that they could use on anyone and count also on other players to step up and cover the production that would include draftpicks, Zarko, Casey etc.

How do you trade Marion for cap space? The only team that could do a deal for cap space before the trading deadline is Utah, and they they already have an SF in Kirilenko who is going to the All Star game. No one else has the space even if you paid them.

This summer there will be a few more teams with space, but they are Denver who has Anthony and the Clippers with Maggette. They are not going to give up that much cap space for a player that does not fit an important need.

As I said on another thread, the only way the Suns can trade Marion is for another player with a bad contract. Compared to the real options, the Suns are much better off working with him on footwork and shot selection than worrying about trading him.

Preliminary Mock Draft Listings

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