CBS Sports Latest Mock NBA Draft
Here is how Jeff Goodman breaks it down in the first round:
2012-13 NBA MOCK DRAFT
1 Nerlens Noel, 6-10, 228, C, Fr., Kentucky
2 Ben McLemore, 6-5, 195, SG, Fr., Kansas
3 Cody Zeller, 7-0, 240, C, Soph., Indiana
4 Anthony Bennett, 6-8, 240, PF, Fr., UNLV
5 Shabazz Muhammad, 6-6, 225, SG, Fr., UCLA
6 Alex Len, 7-1, 225, C, Soph., Maryland
7 Isaiah Austin, 7-1, 220, C, Fr., Baylor
8 Otto Porter, 6-8, 205, SF, Soph., Georgetown
9 Trey Burke, 6-0, 190, PG, Soph., Michigan
10 Rudy Gobert, 7-0, 230, PF/C, 20, France
11 Michael Carter-Williams, 6-6, 185, PG/SG, Soph., Syracuse
12 Alex Poythress, 6-7, 239, PF, Fr., Kentucky
13 Archie Goodwin, 6-4, 198, SG, Fr., Kentucky
14 Mason Plumlee, 6-10, 235, PF, Sr., Duke
15 Marcus Smart, 6-4, 225, SG/PG, Fr., Oklahoma State
16 Dario Saric, 6-10, 225, SF, 20, Croatia
17 Rasheed Sulaimon, 6-4, 190, SG, Fr., Duke
18 Kelly Olynyk, 7-0, 240, PF, Jr., Gonzaga
19 Willie Cauley-Stein, 7-0, 220, C, Fr., Kentucky
20 Steven Adams, 7-0, 250, C, Fr., Pittsburgh
21 James Michael McAdoo, 6-9, 230, PF, Soph., North Carolina
22 C.J. McCollum, 6-3, 185, SG, Sr., Lehigh
23 Victor Oladipo, 6-5, 215, SG, Jr., Indiana
24 Lorenzo Brown, 6-5, 185, PG, Jr., N.C. State
25 C.J. Leslie, 6-9, 200, PF, Jr., N.C. State
26 Glenn Robinson III, 6-7, 210, SF, Fr., Michigan
27 Jeff Withey, 7-0, 235, C, Sr., Kansas
28 Tony Mitchell, 6-8, 235, PF, Soph., North Texas
29 Deshaun Thomas, 6-7, 215, SF/PF, Jr., Ohio State
30 Isaiah Canaan, 6-1, 195, PG/SG, Sr., Murray State
Comments
About damn time.
NBAdraft.net has him just outside the first round, so they've moved him up around 4-6 spots.
Class of 2008
This looks about right, I think Deshaun could play himself as high as a mid first rounder or as late as a second rounder
Also, it blows my mind to see UK with 4 guys in the top 20 and know how much they're struggling this year
Call me crazy but if I was a contender I wouldn't be opposed to drafting Thomas because you know what your going to get. Fact is the vast majority of picks 20+ end up in the d-league or leaving to play outside the US. Thomas can play a role on an NBA team.
I have said this whole year that DT is better off going to a good team at the end of the first round. He can just go out there and score, as he doesn't need to be "the guy" on either end of the court and can play a nice role off the bench as a rookie, delivering a jolt of offense to a gifted squad like Miami, San Antonio, OKC, etc.
Probably not, but if he's slotted as a 2nd round pick, does he stay for one more year, knowing that the buckeyes will probably be a top 5 pre-season team?
DT could/should go higher, it's all a crapshoot and only one squad has to really like you..The kid produces just about every night even when teams know he's the Bucks only consistant scorer and maybe im a lil bias but id take him over 3 of the UK kids (not noel) who have really been avg. to me...
I'll be interested to see how Thomas measures up against all these other guys when it comes to strength, speed, quickness, jumping ability, etc. He is a late first round, early second round pick and yet he is probably one of the better pure scorers in the class that will eventually go pro, which would make you think that there is something that he is missing that these other guys have. You hear people say he's not athletic as the other guys but I think that is baloney -- that is until I see something that proves there is a significant separation between him and the other guys. I think the combine will dictate where Thomas ends up. If he performs well in the athleticism tests, he will jump up the board. If he doesn't, you'll see him stay in the late first or sometime in the early second. People think that it was only the dr's red flag that made Sullinger's stock drop last year when it was a combination of that and his terrible performance in the athleticism tests. One scout said you couldn't slide a sheet of paper between Sullinger's feet and the court when they tested his vertical.
Not saying he doesn't have first round talent, necessarily, but a lot of times NBA teams value high 2nd round picks a lot more than Low 1st round ones, simply due to the lack of guaranteed contracts they have to dole out in these situations.
From an NBA standpoint, Deshaun has too many question marks to take in the first round versus taking him in the 2nd, sticking him in summer league, and seeing if he performs. It's a risk/reward thing.