NBA Betting: NBA Draft Picks & Predictions

The New Orleans Hornets are on the clock after winning this year's NBA Draft lottery, and all signs show that Anthony Davis will don a Hornets jersey next season. Check out all of our NBA draft picks and predictions for the upcoming NBA draft.

Neither team has a pick in the first round but that doesn't mean there won't be any curiosity about this year's NBA draft from fans of the New York Knicks and the inaugural Brooklyn Nets.

Brooklyn Nets -

It was an all or nothing bounce of the ping pong balls for the newest franchise in the NBA, the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets swung a deal with the Portland Trailblazers for Gerald Wallace at the trade deadline in March, sending Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams and a 2012 conditional 1^st round draft pick. The condition is what made this interesting. 

The Nets had a 7.5% of being awarded the number one pick and a 25% chance of getting into the top three and winning their gamble. But alas, it was not to be as Brooklyn fell to the 6^th spot and surrendered their pick to Portland. So now the Nets, barring a trade, must scour the remnants of talent after the first round and try to land a player who can help this team win.

If going without a 1^st round pick isn't bad enough, the Nets dealt away their 2^nd round pick to the Golden State Warriors (5^th pick 2^nd round, 35^th overall) in the Troy Murphy trade from February of 2011. However, all is not lost because they will get to use the Miami Heat pick which they acquired in the Chris Quinn trade back in January of '10. 

So who will the Nets pick and can anyone get excited over a player taken 57^th overall? Well, stranger things have happened. Trying to gauge, with any degree of accuracy, who the Nets will take this far down is a crapshoot at best. Deron Williams and Gerald Wallace may not be back next season as both are free agents. Can you imagine the punishment GM Billy King will take if Wallace walks and the Nets have nothing to show for it? Two players and a first rounder for a two month employee. Oh, and who do they take? The best available player, that's who. 

New York Knicks -

Have you ever laughed at something, with a group of friends, so hard that you couldn't catch your breath? You and your buddies have tears streaming down your faces, slapping each other on the backs, falling down and doing all the crazy stuff that happens when you are doubled over and can't even speak. The laughter is infectious and the more you try to stop, the harder you laugh. But eventually, everyone wipes the tears from their faces and the laughter slowly but irrevocably dissipates. And finally someone exhales "Oh that was good..." as a punctuation mark to signal that the joke is over and it's time to move on. Kind of like the way we now feel about Lin-sanity. The euphoria has clearly left the building and now it's time to focus on bringing more sanity into the organization. Perhaps that starts on draft night.

The Knicks, like their new neighbors the Nets, do not have a first rounder in this year's draft due to the Tracy McGrady deal from a few years ago. Thus they too must try and find a diamond in the rough. Because this year's draft is unusually deep, the Knicks could find themselves in a position to take a player who, in thinner drafts, could be a first round candidate. Though accurately projecting the 48^th player chosen in the draft is a stretch to say the least, a possibility exists with JaMychal Green of Alabama. He is a 6'9" power forward who is known as a character guy and that cannot be underestimated in a day and age where trouble seems to find young athletes. Green also plays a strong brand of defensive basketball which is truly something the Knicks could use. JaMychal Green, you heard it here first.

 NBA Draft Lottery recap and mock draft

Even though we didn’t see it televised live, the ping-pong balls fell in favor of the New Orleans Hornets last night, and they will have the number one overall pick in the draft. The pick will likely be Anthony Davis from Kentucky, but even though Davis is most likely the only game changer in this draft, there is still a wealth of good talent in this year’s draft. Let’s take a look at some of the top picks in the draft, and I’ll give you my mock picks on who I think will be drafted by who.

1. New Orleans Hornets- Anthony Davis 

It is just a bit fishy that the NBA still technically owns the Hornets and they got the first pick, but they were one of the top three teams in order of odds to win it. While there are plenty of conspiracy theories, it isn’t that far out in the realm of possibility. Plus, they played hard the whole season and didn’t tank.

Anthony Davis will have an immediate impact on a team that is already very good defensively. Along with a healthy Eric Gordon and Trevor Ariza, Davis will be huge for a Hornets team that really needs some star power after the departure of Chris Paul.

2. Charlotte Bobcats- Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 

Another UK product will likely fall to the Bobcats, who could use all the help they can get. Even though they didn’t get Davis, Kidd-Gilchrist will fit nicely alongside the other very young players for the Bobcats. 

He is a good defender and great wing scorer. If he improves upon his shot a little, he will be a good building block for Charlotte. 

3. Washington Wizards- Bradley Beal 

Beal and Kidd-Gilchrist could swap between 2-3, depending on the needs of the Wizards and Bobcats come draft day, and I could see it going either way. For this article, I think Beal fits in nicely next to John Wall. Beal can light it up from anywhere, and he has an incredible deep shot. Either way, he has an NBA ready body, and will be lighting it up from NBA range wherever he goes. 

4. Cleveland Cavaliers- Thomas Robinson

Some people disagree with me on this pick, but I don’t think Tristan Thompson is the answer in Cleveland. However, Thomas Robinson alongside Anderson Varejao will be a nice frontcourt. Obviously, this pick depends on Antawn Jamison and if he decides to leave the club, which I think he will. The Cavs could also use some help in the backcourt, but that will only happen if MKG or Beal are not off the board. I think the Cavs trade Thompson and role with Robinson as the fourth pick.

5. Sacramento Kings- Harrison Barnes 

Barnes is one of my favorite players in the draft, and he would fit wonderfully with the Kings if he falls this far. Tyreke Evans is not a small forward, and even though it worked offensively for Sacramento, it did not work defensively. Barnes is a versatile player and has great length for a small forward. He has a great mid range game as well, which will be wonderful for the high pace Kings.

6. Portland Trailblazers-Andre Drummond

Drummond will be the first of many steps the Blazers take this offseason to “rearm,” as they stated. Drummond will fill the void Greg Oden has left in Portland, and alongside LaMarcus Aldridge, the Blazers frontcourt will be dangerously good right away. Drummond is going to be a monster in Portland if it falls that way. 

At this point, there are a lot of things that can happen in between now and draft day, and trades are very likely. Here is how I think the rest of the lottery picks will go down, especially if the draft was today.

7. Golden State Warriors- Terrence Jones
8. Toronto Raptors- Dion Walters
9. Detroit Pistons- Perry Jones III
10. New Orleans Hornets- Jared Sullinger
11. Portland Trailblazers- Damian Lillard
12. Milwaukee Bucks- John Henson
13. Phoenix Suns- Terrence Ross
14. Houston Rockets- Tyler Zeller