CELTICS GREEN BLOG by and for boston celtics fans: Around the Mock Drafts

Until the Draft, I am going to try to weekly catch everyone up on who the various mocks have us picking. In looking at the mocks, it seems that after the first 2 picks no one has any idea who will take whom as they are all over the place. Maybe after the draft camp, when players start working out for individual teams, things will settle out a bit.

CollegeHoops.net has us taking Jeff Green with B Wright and Horford going 3 and 4. CollegeHoops.net also ranks prospects with 6 stars being Super Star and 5 stars being All Stars. We know that Oden and Durant are ranked as superstars but it is interesting to see the only 2 ranked as future all stars: Spencer Hawes and Joakim Noah.

NBADraft.net has us taking Al Horford with B Wright and Yi going 3 and 4. NBADraft.net has an interesting ranking system that ranks each prospect from 1 to 10 in 12 different categories.

Hoopsworld's mock draft version 5.0 has 5 different mocks from various writers. Out of the 5, they have us taking 3 different players. 2 say Noah, 2 say Yi, and 1 says Horford.

Draft Express who is viewed as one of the premier draft sites on the web has us taking Noah at 5 with Atlanta taking B Wright and Grizzlies taking Horford. I guess they are going by best available and not need because Atlanta really needs a PG and I can see them taking Conley over Wright.

HoopsHype puts Noah at #5 with B Wright and Horford going 3 and 4.

MSNBC puts Horford with the Celtics at #5 with B Wright and Yi going 3 and 4. Here is the blurb that accompanies the pick: "Did you see the nice runner down the lane in the title game? He can also hit a fadeaway jumper and he gives the effort on defense. Character counts for something, too. The Celtics have a lot of good young players, but none of this caliber."

NBA Wire still has us picking Durant at #2 and Memphis taking Oden at #1. A sad reminder of things gone wrong. They have Charlotte taking Yi with the 5th pick.

Scout.com has us taking Corey Brewer with the fifth pick and B Wright and Yi going 3rd and 4th.

Sports Illustrated also has us taking Corey Brewer with the fifth pick with B Wright and Al Horford going 3 and 4. Here is the blurb that accompanies the pick: "Celtics director of basketball operations Danny Ainge understands offense, and he's unlikely to pass up a player with Brewer's expansive offensive repertoire and vast potential. Brewer is a quick, rangy player who should be able to contribute right away on both ends of the court. The potential is there for Brewer to become a major offensive force one day."

Fanball.com puts Al Horford at the #5 pick with Conley and B Wright going at 3 and 4. Here is their reasoning: "Although the Celtics front office staffers will likely still have tears in their eyes while making this pick, there is still talent to be had at No. 5. The Celtics are pretty much full to the brim from point guard to small forward, meaning help in the frontcourt must be on its way. Jianlian and Spencer Hawes are both 7-foot options the team could consider, and with Al Jefferson and Kendrick Perkins both undersized centers at 6-foot-10, neither Jianlian nor Hawes would be a surprise. But Horford's strength and athleticism would be the strongest complement to Al-Jeff and Perkins, so I expect the Celtcis to go that route."

Dime Mag is another mock that puts Brewer in Boston with Conley going to Atlanta and Horford to Memphis. Here is there reasoning: "Gerald Green can jump, but he’s not an NBA starting wing yet. Wally Szczerbiak makes starter money, but he’s probably better coming off the bench. Brewer is a do-it-all type who already might be better than any of the current C’s defensively, and doesn’t demand shots, so he won’t butt heads with Paul Pierce."

On ESPN, Chad Ford's mock has us taking Yi Jianlian at 5 with Conley and Horford going 3 and 4. Here is what Chad had to say "The skinny: This is the worst-case scenario for the Celtics. With no chance to get either Oden or Durant in the fold, the Celtics seem further away from a title than ever. Yi is a good fit in Boston, given his size and ability to score. But is he enough to save Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers?"

CBS Sportsline also has Yi going to Boston at 5 with Horford and B Wright going 3 and 4. Here is their reasoning: "Danny Ainge might not be as tight with Yi's folks as he is with Durant's mom, but he has been overseas to visit and came away impressed. Yi isn't the centerpiece Celtics fans were envisioning, but if he falls here, he'll have to do."

Inside Hoops has Boston taking Mike Conley, Jr with the 5th pick and Horford going to Atlanta and B Wright to Memphis. This is very surprising but maybe they are feeling that Danny just can't help himself when it comes to PGs. He has gotten one every draft so far.

Pro Basketball News puts Yi in Boston at 5, Conley in Atlanta, and B Wright in Memphis.

RealGM has us taking Yi with the 5th pick with Conley and B Wright going 3 and 4. Here is the blurb that accompanies the pick: "With Al Jefferson entrenched in the low block, the need for a big man with a more versatile offensive game is necessary for the Celtics."

Yahoo Sports has us taking B Wright with the 5th pick and Yi going to Atlanta while Brewer goes to Memphis. This one is certainly different. Here is what they had to say: "Doc Rivers will be gone by the All-Star break, but Wright, with those condor arms, is a long, fluid offensive talent who will block shots and score around the basket. He isn't Durant, but he'll be a major scorer in the pros."

From all this we can see that no one really knows who will go where. This is a very deep draft and even with the higher picks in the lottery, teams will get quality players. There are several players who could come in and help us right away. I like Noah, Brewer, and B Wright so far. I am a little leery of Yi because of his defensive weaknesses. We need a big who will be a banger and play defense, not a finesse player.

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