Insider Special: NBA Execs? rank the draftees...

[Weez]

By Chad Ford

ESPN Insider

# Chad Ford's mock draft: Standard version | Slideshow version

TREVISO, Italy -- At 8 a.m. on Wednesday, a slow trickle of bleary-eyed NBA executives, coaches and scouts began crowding into a conference room at the Hotel Maggior Consiglio.

The Reebok Big Man camp was over, and another 60 or so international prospects would be arriving Thursday for the second part of Reebok's Eurocamp.

With the stellar play of Pavel Podkolzine and Martynas Andriuskevicius at the Big Man Camp, many of the previously held assumptions about this year's draft have been turned on their head. At dinner Tuesday night, a sizable group of NBA personnel was locked into deep discussions about the lottery that stretched until 3 a.m.

Hours later, a number of them gathered to rank the top 59 prospects in the draft, a number chosen because that's how many players will be drafted later this month. Insider was granted a seat at the back of the room in exchange for agreeing not to name the 16 participants. Most were NBA front-office personnel, who didn't want to tip their employer's hand by being identified, and a handful were international scouts for NBA teams. Suffice it to say many of the names would be recognizable to NBA fans.

In some respects the exercise could be considered a mock draft, as the best players were "selected" first. But the choices were made without concern for specifics like position or team need.

Everyone was given a list of the top available players, broken down by position, and everyone was required to vote on each "pick." The player with the most votes was "drafted" and taken off the board. In the event of a tie, a re-vote was taken. For the purpose of this exercise, the group assumed everyone on the list would remain in the draft.

The mood in the room was jovial, but there was little commentary. Instead of a debate, it was more like a high-stakes poker game. Here's what they came up with:

1. Emeka Okafor, C, UConn

Insider comment: There was no debate. Okafor received a unanimous vote as the No. 1 pick. That's a bit interesting considering some of the same people have expressed reservations over the past week about Okafor's back, his offensive skills and his height. Still, it's a pretty good indicator that whether the Magic keep this pick or not, Okafor is going to go No. 1.

2. Dwight Howard, PF, Southwest Christian Academy

Insider comment: Again, there was virtually no debate here. This has been referred to as a two-person draft for months. Apparently there was some truth to it.

3. Pavel Podkolzine, C, Siberia

Insider comment: Pavel won this slot by one vote over high school point guard Shaun Livingston. Remember that the group was not drafting for the Bulls (who currently own the No. 3 pick). Instead they were voting on the best prospect left on the board. It would be pretty surprising to see Pavel go this high, but the vote confirms what we wrote Wednesday -- Pavel helped himself immensely in Treviso.

4. Shaun Livingston, PG, Peoria (Ill.)

Insider comment: Livingston cleaned up here. There are several people in the group who believe Livingston may be, overall, the best prospect in the draft. Everyone I talked to believes the Bobcats should take him with the fourth pick. Are you listening Bernie?

5. Luol Deng, SF, Duke

Insider comment: Deng and international big man Andris Biedrins duked it out for this spot. The consensus on Deng is that he's a safe choice -- a player with a great chance to be good, but only a small chance to be great.

6. Ben Gordon, PG/SG, UConn

Insider comment: The vote was starting to splinter now, but Gordon just edged out Biedrins. There's a definite split in the room on this pick, with the international guys strongly supporting Biedrins. Gordon received the vote of most of the U.S. guys. Later, there was a pretty lengthy debate about this particular pick -- I think a bit of buyer's remorse. It's awfully tough to take a 6-foot-1 inch combo guard over a young, athletic 7-footer. Size usually rises to the top on draft night, and I think there's a general feeling that Biedrins eventually will catch Gordon.

7. Devin Harris, PG, Wisconsin

Insider comment: Biedrins lost yet another close vote. The consensus among the group was that Harris is the most NBA-ready point guard in the draft.

8. Andris Biedrins, PF, Latvia

Insider comment: The split on Biedrins clearly rests between international guys (who would've put him fifth) and the U.S. scouts, who clearly preferred several college players. This time Biedrins picked up a couple of votes and narrowly defeated Stanford's Josh Childress and Arizona's Andre Iguodala, who split the U.S. vote.

9. Josh Childress, SF, Stanford

Insider comment: There's a split between Childress and Iguodala. Having agreed not to name names, I can't be more specific, but I thought it was interesting who was choosing whom. Childress won by a nose.

10. Andre Iguodala, SG, Arizona

Insider comment: With Childress off the board, Iguodala was a unanimous pick. From what I hear around the league, however, the folks who have seen him in workouts the past few weeks are raising his stock. No one here has seen him work out yet, so take this placement with a grain of salt.

11. Martynas Andriuskevicius, F, Lithuania

Insider comment: There are a couple of people in the room who believe he should be much, much higher. I think the belief that he likely will drop out of the draft hurt him more than anything. Later in the process, other players who also are expected to pull out also take a big hit. If this projection is anywhere near accurate, Andriuskevicius definitely will pull out.

12. Josh Smith, SF, Oak Hill Academy

Insider comment: The most athletic player in the draft appears to be slipping in everyone's mind. He really wasn't seriously considered before here. May be time to downgrade the stock a bit.

13. Sergei Monya, SG/SF, Russia

Insider comment: Almost every international scout loves Monya. The U.S. guys aren't as sold. Monya squeaked out a win over J.R. Smith, whom most of the U.S. contingent backed at this spot.

14. Kosta Perovic, C, Serbia

Insider comment: Another guy who's stock probably slipped because he's expected to pull out of the draft. Interestingly, it's the U.S. guys, not the international ones, who voted him into this spot. I'm not sure that's a good thing.

15. J.R. Smith, SG, New Jersey

Insider comment: Apparently, the reports that he's been terrible in workouts don't really faze anyone. With his shot and his athleticism, scouts are willing to overlook a lot of things.

16. Johan Petro, PF/C, France

Insider comment: This was the biggest surprise of the event for me. Obviously Petro is impressing some of the NBA people here. He already has worked out privately for several teams here. Everyone has walked away raving about the kid. It may be time to buy some Petro stock.

17. Kirk Snyder, SG, Nevada

Insider comment: Obviously this group wouldn't have given him a guarantee in the lottery, which word has it some team has. Snyder narrowly beat out Jameer Nelson and Peja Samardziski.

18. Jameer Nelson, PG, Saint Joseph's

Insider comment: A great senior year helped his stock, but not as much as everyone had thought.

19. Rafael Araujo, C, BYU

Insider comment: When you are drafting by talent, not position, things like this happen. However, with so many teams in need of a center, it's pretty unlikely he'll slip this low.

20. Al Jefferson, PF, Prentiss (Miss.)

Insider comment: Jefferson just edged Samardzisiki and Kris Humphries.

21. Kris Humphries, PF, Minnesota

Insider comment: Humphries snuck past Samardziski. For the first time in this process, more than four picks have gone by without an international prospect coming off the board.

22. Peja Samardziski, C, Serbia

Insider comment: The U.S. streak is broken. If Samardziski slips this low, you can bet his agent will yank him from the draft.

23. Luke Jackson, SG/SF, Oregon

Insider comment: At one point earlier, Jackson's name was mentioned, and a number of people shouted back that he wasn't athletic enough to go that high. One guy calls him Luka Jackson three times, inadvertently hinting where some scouts' heads are at. If his name really was Luka Jackson from Slovenia, he would've been drafted in the lottery.

24. Robert Swift, C, Bakersfield (Calif.)

Insider comment: I was surprised at how many people in the room really like Swift. Almost all of them cite his performance in the McDonald's All-American game. Interesting ...

25. Peter John Ramos, C, Puerto Rico

Insider comment: Ramos barely beat out Anderson Varejao for this spot. It's the first time anyone mentioned his name all morning. I think Podkolzine's performance has pushed Ramos into the background.

26. Anderson Varejao, PF, Brazil

Insider comment: Varejao is an eye-of-the-beholder guy. Some love him. Some hate him. The group in this room knows him better and believes he may be a nice pro.

27. LaMarcus Aldridge, PF, Seagonville (Texas)

Insider comment: Aldridge slipped because the rumor in the room is that he's already pulled out of the draft. Apparently he canceled several workouts on Tuesday. Not sure how much higher he'd go if folks believed he'd stay in the draft. I can't see him rising too much.

28. Sasha Vujacic, PG/SG, Slovenia

Insider comment: Apparently everyone in the room has heard the same Lakers rumors.

29. Viktor Khryapa, SF, Russia

Insider comment: He's developing a buzz of late. Many scouts believe he just plays in the wrong system.

30. Tiago Splitter, PF, Brazil

Insider comment: If he actually fell this low, his agent would pull him out. Splitter is looking for a lottery commitment. From the looks of things, he isn't going to get one.

31. Sebastian Telfair, PG, Brooklyn

32. Dorrell Wright, SG, South Kent Prep (Conn.)

33. Luka Bogdanovic, SF, Serbia

34. David Harrison, C, Colorado

35. Delonte West, SG, Saint Joseph's

36. Lawrence Roberts, PF, Mississippi State

37. Arthur Johnson, PF/C, Missouri

38. Romain Sato, SG, Xavier

39. Ha Seung Jin, C, South Korea

40. Roko Leni Ukic, PG, Croatia

41. Tony Allen, SG, Oklahoma

42. Rickey Paulding, SG, Missouri

43. Donta Smith, SF, Southeastern Illinois CC

44. Damir Omerhodzic, SF, Croatia

45. Antonio Burks, PG, Memphis

46. Miguel Marriaga, PF, Venezuela

47. Uros Slokar, PF, Slovenia

48. Ryan Gomes, SF/PF, Providence

49. Chris Duhon, PG, Duke

50. Christjan Drejer, SF, F.C. Barcelona

51. Andre Emmett, SG, Texas Tech

52. Marko Tomas, SG, Croatia

53. Tim Pickett, SG, Florida State

54. Trevor Ariza, SF, UCLA

55. Sergei Lishouck, PF, Ukraine

56. Ricky Minard, SG, Morehead State

57. James Thomas, PF, Texas

58. Jackie Butler, C, Coastal Christian Academy (Va.)

59. Michel Morandis, SG, Colorado

[Blunt91]

If this mock draft is any where close to the real one I don't want to include the 17thpick for Howard. I don't know why some people think Jason Terry & 6thpick is too much too give for Howard. Like Diesel said we can easily go sign Troy Hudson or Carlos Arroyo to be our starting poinguard next season. I want to hold on to the 17thpick. There is still alot of potential at that pick with maybe Kirk Synder, Luke Jackson, Jameer Nelson, Sebastian Telfair and Al Jefferson. Pleas Billy Knight do not give away the 17thpick in the draft, trade Terry away instead. Heck we could draft Jameer Nelson at 17 and let him play behind Hudson for a year until he is ready. Our pointguard rotation of Troy Hudson & Jameer Nelson would be much better than Jason Terry & Jacque Vaughn.

[emorystar]

They don't like Marcus Vinicius?? His profile on DraftCity looks terrific

[jezmund]

Jameer Nelson seems to be put down a lot but I think he'd be a better PG than JT is. He has better vision, leadership and ball-handling skills. 3 main things I want in my PG.

[Weez]

here's the problem: leadership on your college team means little when coming in as a rookie to the NBA (even LeBron struggled here...until Rickie was shipped), though this matters more if he's coming into a team filled with very young players (ie us)I don't know if I'd say "better ball handling skills"....but definitely better court vision. However, he's a scoring point...and his game simply doesn't translate to the NBA very well. This isn't taking anything away from his college career or abilities...I just don't see it working here. He can't muscle guys in the NBA like he did in college.