While the fans and the media remain glued to this years exciting NBA playoffs, the teams who have already ended their seasons have already began to prepare for next year. We take a look at the NBA mock draft.
Who? What? How?
The 2011 NBA Draft is scheduled to take place June 23 at the
Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. With the NFL draft fresh in the minds
of many sports fans and sports handicappers, it is important to understand that
the rules here are slightly different. While a teams record does play a factor
in it’s chances for a higher pick, a lottery system is used to help determine
the order.
The current format in use gives the team with the worst
season record the best chance of winning the first pick. 14 numbered ping-pong
balls are drawn at random to create four digit numbers that correspond to
predetermined teams. Only non-playoff teams are included in this process.
The drawing takes place behind closed doors but in front of
representatives from each team, and the results are reported usually before the
tip-off of an NBA playoff game. The drawing only determines the first three
picks of the draft, and the rest of the drafting order is determined by the
teams regular season records.
Here is a list of the teams that will participate in the NBA
Draft lottery followed by their season records.
Minnesota Timberwolves (17-65) 11/4
Cleveland Cavaliers (19-63)
Toronto Raptors (22-60)
Sacramento Kings (24-58)
Washington Wizards (23-59)
LA Clippers (32-50)
New Jersey Knicks (24-58)
Golden State Warriors (36-46)
Detroit Pistons (30-52)
Utah Jazz (39-43)
Charlotte Bobcats (34-48)
Phoenix Suns (40-42)
Milwaukee Bucks (35-47)
Houston Rockets (43-39)
Betting on the Lottery
We are down to the conference finals, the league MVP has
been crowned, and NBA betting opportunities have become limited. Bodog has
solved that problem by releasing betting odds for the lottery results.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are 11/4 favorites to win the
first pick, and it goes without saying that the Timberwolves would love the
chance to grab Duke's Kyrie Irving.
Though Irving was benched through most of his 2010-2011
season due to a toe injury, he remains the top prospect for this years NBA
Draft. The Timberwolves already rely on the young talent of Michael Beasley and
Kevin Love, and the addition of Kyrie would allow this team to become a new
threat in the upcoming years.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, 7/2 at Bodog for the first pick,
would jump on the chance to grab Irving, but would happily settle for Arizona's
Derrick Williams as well. The Cavs find themselves in an unusual predicament,
as their salary cap is preventing them from signing any desirable NBA stars, so
this draft could be the only thing that saves them from the fate they suffered
last year.
In 2003 the Cavaliers finished the season with the worst record
in the NBA, yet won the top pick and paired up with future Hall of Famer,
LeBron James. We saw how quickly this team was able to change their fortunes.
Not that we want to call Irving or Williams the next James, but the chance at
the first pick can change the course of an entire franchise in a matter of
seconds.
The “Chosen One”
Lebron James, Yao Ming, Dwight Howard, Derrick Rose, Blake
Griffin, and John Wall are just a few of the top picks in the past 10 years.
Each of these players have become household names and have changed the course
of their team.
Who will we add to this list of top picks? This will be
determined on June 23 as the NBA Draft begins. We have already compiled a list
of this years top prospects, and once available, NBA odds will be provided.
Kyrie Irving (Duke) PG
Derrick Williams (Arizona) SF
Enes Kanter (Turkey) C
Brandon Knight (Kentucky) PG
Kawhi Leonard (San Diego State) SF
Kemba Walker (Uconn) PG
Jan Vesely (Czech Republic) PF
Tristan Thompson (Texas) PF
Bismack Biyombo (Spain) PF
Jonas Valanciunas (Lithuania) PF