1. Washington Wizards – What a brilliant move by Agent Zero to sign a $111 million deal and then just 2 months later announcing you’ll be having yet another knee surgery and will miss at least the first month of the season. The Wizards are just praying this doesn’t turn into another Allan Houston or Grant Hill situation. Washington fans are already too familiar with overpaying for guys that don’t pan out (See: Juwan Howard). Once again it’s up to Caron and Antawn to keep this stock out of freefall.
2. Josh Howard – Howard’s now infamous comments: “The Star-Spangled Banner is going on. I don’t celebrate this [expletive]. I’m black.” Add that to his “NBA players do smoke marijuana” comment just before a playoff game last season and his brilliant idea of throwing a birthday party after losing a playoff game last season. Yeah, time to sell this stock. Here’s the Star-Spangled Banner video:
   
   
3. Rookies – Michael Beasley’s now the latest rookie to be fined. He got hit $50,000 for the marijuana-smoking incident at the Rookie Transition Program. Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur were disciplined a few days ago. Who’s teaching the Rookie Transition Program? Josh Howard?!? These guys are rookies so they’ve got plenty of time to bounce back, but their stocks are dropping right now.
   

#2. Miami – Michael Beasley. Well, Pat Riley didn’t seem particularly enthused by the pick, but surprisingly he kept his hands off and let the team choose Beasley.

#3. Minnesota – O.J. Mayo. No surprise that Mayo is drafted here, but we were looking for some kind of trade. C’mon, Kevin McHale, couldn’t you liven things up a bit?

#4. Seattle – Russell Westbrook. Whaaaat? I don’t think anybody saw this coming. Jerryd Bayless was #4 on just about everybody’s mock, including this one. So Seattle might end up looking like geniuses here or maybe we find out the owner was out to spite Sonics fans for making moving the team such a hassle.

#5. Memphis – Kevin Love. We thought Memphis would go big, but didn’t expect Love to go this soon with the questions surrounding his athleticism. We shall see.

#6. NY Knicks – Danilo Gallinari. Haha, you gotta love the Knicks taking a European player in the lottery. You can cue the boos when that happens since nobody knows who the guy is.

#7. LA Clippers – Eric Gordon. Good pick for the Clips. Jerryd Bayless is slipping.

#8. Milwaukee – Joe Alexander. Bucks fans should at least have some hope after acquiring RJ earlier today and now getting a guy who might be ready to contribute on Day 1.

#9. Charlotte – DJ Augustin. I guess Larry Brown thinks Augustin “plays the right way”.

#10. New Jersey – Brook Lopez. Along with Yi, the Nets now have acquired 2 7-footers on the same day.

#11. Indiana – Jerryd Bayless. Bayless has now been traded to Portland. So now Portland has a good point prospect, the Rookie of the Year, and Greg Oden in the middle next year. Blazer fans should be pumped.

#12. Sacramento – Jason Thompson. Kings fans should expect Thompson to be ready to rebound and play D on day one, but he might not be ready offensively.

#13. Portland – Brandon Rush. Traded to Indiana. I’ll be he would rather be with the young and promising Trailblazers, but the Pacers have some young pieces of their own so don’t fret too much, Brandon.

#14. Golden State – Anthony Randolph. I thought Randolph would be off the board by now. The Warriors are getting a bargain.

Other Notables

#19. Cleveland – J.J. Hickson. The freshman from NC State has seen his stock rise in the past few weeks, but he’s going to have to help out ASAP if the Cavs want to be an attractive option for Lebron when he becomes a free agent.

#27. New Orleans – Darrell Arthur. You gotta feel bad for Darrell Arthur having to wait all the way until the 27th pick to get drafted. That was worse than Brady Quinn. At least the NBA doesn’t take as long between picks or Arthur would still be waiting there.

1. Chicago Bulls – Derrick Rose. All indications are that the Bulls favor Rose over Michael Beasley.
2. Miami Heat – Michael Beasley. There are rumors abound that the Heat may trade down to #3 and draft OJ Mayo, but that all depends on whether or not Wolves GM Kevin McHale is in as generous of a mood as he was last summer when he traded KG.
3. Minnesota Timberwolves – OJ Mayo. We expect Mayo to be selected, but keep an eye on the Wolves to make a trade or perhaps draft Italy’s Danilo Gallinari here.
4. Seattle Supersonics – Jerryd Bayless. It looks very likely Seattle will add another scorer to their roster.
5. Memphis Grizzlies – Brook Lopez. The Grizzlies have a number of options here, but look for them to add the 7-footer, then try to address some of their other positions later in the offseason.
6. New York Knicks – Eric Gordon. Expect a pleasantly surprised crowd at MSG if the Knicks announce this one.
7. LA Clippers – Russell Westbrook. The Clippers would prefer Gordon fall to them, but look for them to take a guard regardless.
8. Milwaukee Bucks -Anthony Randolph. The Bucks will pounce on Randolph if he’s available.
9. Charlotte Bobcats – Joe Alexander. His size and shooting touch make Alexander a great pickup for Charlotte at #9.
10. New Jersey Nets – Danilo Gallinari. Gallinari could easily be off the board by the time the Nets pick, but if he isn’t, they’ll grab him.
11. Indiana Pacers – DJ Augustin. The Pacers are hoping a solid PG will be on the board when they’re up and we expect that guy to be Augustin.
12. Sacramento Kings – Darrell Arthur. The Kings would like to address the PG spot, but would take the PF Arthur as the best player available if neither Augustin or Westbrook fall to them.
13. Portland Trailblazers – DeAndre Jordan. Jordan would be the best player available at this spot, but the Trailblazers already have so many young pieces they very well could trade this pick.
14. Golden State Warriors – Kevin Love. Love’s stock has dropped a bit, but don’t expect him to fall past #14.

Your thoughts?