| Round 1 | |||||
| 1 |  | New Orleans | Anthony Davis | PF | Kentucky |
| If the Hornets don't take this Wildcat standout, who could be one of the best players the NBA has seen in years, there will be a riot in the French Quarter. | |||||
| 2 |  | Charlotte | Harrison Barnes | SF | North Carolina |
| Sure, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist could go here, but I have a feeling the Bobcats will try and go local to lure die-hard Tar Heel fans to future NBA games. | |||||
| 3 |  | Washington | Michael Kidd-Gilchrist | SF | Kentucky |
| This will leave Kidd-Gilchrist to head to the nation's capital and give the Wizards a little more help where it is needed most. | |||||
| 4 |  | Cleveland | Bradley Beal | SG | Florida |
| The Cavaliers got some front-court help when they picked up Kyrie Irving last year, now the backcourt might get a little love. | |||||
| 5 |  | Sacramento | Thomas Robinson | PF | Kansas |
| Sacramento desperately needs a big gun down low, and Robinson should be around at the fifth pick for the Kings to make a statement. | |||||
| 6 |  | Portland (from BRK) | Damian Lillard | PG | Weber State |
| This guy has been shooting up draft boards thanks to strong workouts, and Trailblazer fans should be familiar with Lillard's work from Weber State's western presence. | |||||
| 7 |  | Golden State | John Henson | PF | North Carolina |
| Golden State's defense will get a workout if Henson comes to the Bay Area. The Warriors need help down low, and he should provide it. | |||||
| 8 |  | Toronto | Jeremy Lamb | SG | Connecticut |
| Lamb was a big reason why the Huskies did so well last year, and the Raptors need help badly at this position. Should be a good fit. | |||||
| 9 |  | Detroit | Tyler Zeller | C/F | North Carolina |
| This would make three Tar Heels in the top nine, and for good reason. Zeller can play either position with aplomb, and the Pistons need a big man among other things. | |||||
| 10 | | New Orleans (from MIN) | Andre Drummond | C | Connecticut |
| Conventional wisdom says the Hornets need a center to make sure Davis has protection. Yeah, this should do it. | |||||
| 11 | | Portland | Perry Jones | PF | Baylor |
| Should the Blazers pick a guard with the first selection, this pick would make more sense. Jones got plenty of recognition in the Big 12 with his strong game. | |||||
| 12 |  | Milwaukee | Meyers Leonard | C | Illinois |
| Seven feet tall? Yup, he has height. Shooting game? Well, he's still working on that. Leonard, if taken here, will be instantly familiar to Big Ten fans. | |||||
| 13 |  | Phoenix | Austin Rivers | SG | Duke |
| The Suns need help at the shooting positions. Assuming Phoenix goes for a guard, he'd be the best one remaining on the board. | |||||
| 14 |  | Houston | Jared Sullinger | PF/C | Ohio State |
| I have a sneaking feeling Sullinger's back problems will cause him to slide down the board. If he's around here, Houston needs a big man. Snatch him up. | |||||
| 15 |  | Philadelphia | Terrence Jones | PF | Kentucky |
| The Sixers came within one whisker of going to the Eastern Conference finals, and this selection might be the one that gives them a fighting chance. | |||||
| 16 | | Houston (from NY) | Dion Waiters | SG | Syracuse |
| Assuming the Rockets fill the first need with a big man, they should go to the well and pull out someone to help out in the backcourt. | |||||
| 17 |  | Dallas | Kendall Marshall | PG | North Carolina |
| The Mavericks' most pressing need comes at the point, and behold… here is another Tar Heel to fit the bill. Assuming Mavs take him it would be a great fit on paper. | |||||
| 18 |  | Minnesota (from UTAH) | Jeffrey Taylor | SF | Vanderbilt |
| Taylor ended up on a lot of teams' draft radars thanks to the Commodores' strong Southeastern Conference showing. He'll be an excellent fit with free-throw shooting and baskets. | |||||
| 19 |  | Orlando | Fab Melo | C | Syracuse |
| I'm assuming Dwight Howard gets his way and punches a one-way ticket out of Florida, putting an end to this nightmare. However, by drafting Melo, does the team have another bad dream? | |||||
| 20 |  | Denver | Andrew Nicholson | PF | St. Bonaventure |
| The Atlantic 10 made a big splash in the college basketball season, so there's no reason why this player shouldn't make a splash himself. | |||||
| 21 |  | Boston | Doron Lamb | SG | Kentucky |
| A reach? Not at all. You just didn't hear his name much during the NCAA tournament, but when you did it was always good. He'll have a strong cast of characters around him. | |||||
| 22 | | Boston (from LAC) | Moe Harkless | SF | St. John's |
| East Coast basketball aficionados will recognize the name right away, as the Big East got plenty of play in the New York/New Jersey area. Big board presence. | |||||
| 23 |  | Atlanta | Arnett Moultrie | PF/C | Mississippi State |
| The Hawks need a presence up front and they need it right now. This pick might be a reach, especially at No. 23, but aren't all first-round picks outside the lottery a reach in some way? | |||||
| 24 | | Cleveland (from LAL) | Quincy Miller | SF | Baylor |
| Assuming the Cavaliers filled the guard role up front, they will go back to the frontcourt with the next pick, and this Big 12 standout could be there waiting for him. | |||||
| 25 |  | Memphis | Evan Fournier | SG/SF | France |
| If Memphis goes for guard help, this might be the best presence left in the draft for the Grizzlies. As with all international players, this IS a risk. | |||||
| 26 |  | Indiana | Miles Plumlee | C | Duke |
| May draw some boos from die-hard Indiana basketball fans who can't stand Duke, but don't take it out on Plumlee. At 7-0, he's pretty strong and should give Pacers a big presence underneath. | |||||
| 27 |  | Miami | Marquis Teague | PG | Kentucky |
| The Heat don't need much in the way of help at any position except the 1 and 5 spots. That leaves guard and center. Welcome Teague to the Heat if that's the case. | |||||
| 28 |  | Oklahoma City | Tu Holloway | PG | Xavier |
| The Thunder need help in the assists department. The only problem with this pick is Tu's immaturity showed through in the Cincinnati rivalry. OKC will take care of that. | |||||
| 29 |  | Chicago | Tony Wroton Jr. | PG | Washington |
| Backcourt help sorely needed to give the Bulls some more all-around presence away from Derrick Rose, who may need time to recover entering 2012-13. | |||||
| 30 | | Golden State (from SA) | Festus Ezeli | C | Vanderbilt |
| Big presence down low filled with Henson and Ezeli, who could make Golden State instantly better if both are selected and both fire up offense at the same time. | |||||
| Round 2 | |||||
| 31 | | Charlotte | William Buford | SG | Ohio State |
| One of the top cogs in the Buckeyes' offense, many times Ohio State faltered if Buford wasn't on the floor. That should tell you how valuable he is. | |||||
| 32 | | Washington | Tyshawn Taylor | PG | Kansas |
| Kidd-Gilchrist's presence would fill a hole down low, so the Wizards would need backcourt help and should get it here if Taylor is available. | |||||
| 33 | | Cleveland | Draymond Green | PF | Michigan State |
| He'll fit in well as a Cavalier, considering the area should be very familiar with him already thanks to his Big Ten presence. | |||||
| 34 | | Cleveland (from NO) | Will Barton | SF | Memphis |
| If the Cavaliers follow this draft pattern, they might be saying "LeBron WHO?" three or four years down the road. | |||||
| 35 | | Golden State (from BRK) | Scott Machado | PG | Iona |
| New York's loss is the other coast's gain. The Warriors should have filled needs in the frontcourt already. | |||||
| 36 | | Sacramento | Ashton Gibbs | PG | Pittsburgh |
| With the Kings having filled some needs up front, Sacramento would do pretty well to select Gibbs at this pick. | |||||
| 37 | | Toronto | Kevin Jones | PF | West Virginia |
| Not a bad selection if he falls to this position; he's projected as a mid second-round pick already. | |||||
| 38 | | Denver (from GS) | Hollis Thompson | SF | Georgetown |
| Nuggets would have help at power and small forward if this draft pans out. | |||||
| 39 | | Detroit | Kim English | G/F | Missouri |
| One of the best teams throughout the regular season before early NCAA flameout. That may have cost English a bit. | |||||
| 40 | | Portland (from Minn) | Mike Scott | PF | Virginia |
| Scott often got lost in the shuffle last year because the ACC focused on non-Virginia teams. | |||||
| 41 | | Portland | J'Covan Brown | PG/SG | Texas |
| Blazers can complete the draft by filling a backcourt need, and Brown's Big 12 presence was pretty good. | |||||
| 42 | | Milwaukee | Bernard James | C | Florida State |
| Seminoles made a big splash in the ACC a year ago, and James will give an intimidating presence on court to whoever selects him. | |||||
| 43 | | Atlanta (from PHO) | Jae Crowder | SF/PF | Memphis |
| I have him falling far down the board, so he may not even be around here. If he is, Hawks need strong presence. | |||||
| 44 | | Detroit (from HOU) | Royce White | SF | Iowa State |
| Not exactly Big 10 territory, but Iowa State is still strong in the Big 12 and White was Cyclones' go-to guy. | |||||
| 45 | | Philadelphia | Kris Joseph | SF | Syracuse |
| One of the Orange's go-to guys will give the Sixers a broad boost here. | |||||
| 46 | | Washington (from DAL) | JaMychal Green | PF | Alabama |
| Crimson Tide's top player gave the team a huge boost last season. | |||||
| 47 |  | Utah | Trevor Mbakwe | PF | Minnesota |
| The Gophers did a decent job in the Big 10 last year thanks to Mbakwe, and the Jazz will benefit nicely. | |||||
| 48 |  | New York | John Shurna | PF | Northwestern |
| Shurna will provide a solid presence down low to bolster an improving Knicks squad. | |||||
| 49 | | Orlando | Drew Gordon | PF | New Mexico |
| Assuming Melo is selected by the Magic, they would not need another center, so look for the Magic to fill a frontcourt slot. | |||||
| 50 | | Denver | Robert Sacre | C | Gonzaga |
| Gonzaga's latest entry into the NBA will do fine here if selected. | |||||
| 51 | | Boston | Ricardo Ratliffe | PF | Missouri |
| Will help the Celtics get younger and stronger overnight if his shooting pans out. It did in Columbia. | |||||
| 52 | | Golden State (from ATL) | Darius Miller | SF | Kentucky |
| Warriors could be one of the most improved teams in the NBA next year if draft works to their expectation. | |||||
| 53 |  | L.A. Clippers | Jared Cunningham | SG | Oregon State |
| Cunningham will be familiar immediately to Pac-12 basketball fans. Not a strong conference, but solid individual players were there. | |||||
| 54 | | Philadelphia (from MEM) | Darius Johnson-Odom | SG | Marquette |
| From his play in the Big East, Johnson-Odom will be a familiar face to Philadelphia's crazed college basketball faithful. | |||||
| 55 | | Dallas (from LAL) | John Jenkins | SG | Vanderbilt |
| Needs guard help, and this selection should work fine. | |||||
| 56 | | Toronto (from IND) | Khris Middleton | SF | Texas A&M |
| Would have been fine if he'd fallen to Dallas, but Mavericks don't need forward help after the first couple picks. | |||||
| 57 |  | Brooklyn (from MIA) | Henry Sims | PF/C | Georgetown |
| Should be instantly recognizable to Big East fans; Sims will be a solid addition to the Nets. | |||||
| 58 | | Minnesota (from OKC) | Orlando Johnson | SG | UC Santa Barbara |
| Solid scoring presence and ability to stay on court. | |||||
| 59 |  | San Antonio | Kyle O'Quinn | PF/C | Norfolk State |
| Instant draft pick following Norfolk State's strong NCAA tourney. | |||||
| 60 |  | L.A. Lakers (from CHI) | Eric Griffin | PF | Campbell |
| Griffin made his presence known in the Big South, and he should be a good fit for the Lakers. | |||||
Steve Ungrey NBA Mock Draft - 26 June 2012
1. Anthony Davis 2. Harrison Barnes 3. Michael Gilchrist 4. Bradley Beal 5. Thomas Robinson
Tue, 06/26/2012
