First of all; how would the league decide who got the first overall pick?
This is probably the toughest thing to figure out, would the league create a lottery similar to the current format of the NBA draft, a format in which each team has a shot at number one and higher odds are given to the teams finishing with the worst records. This wouldn't work because the worst teams in the league shouldn't get a better shot at number one solely because they were bad. What would make more sense is giving every team an equal shot at the top pick, but that is too simple. A creative idea? The draft order would go in order of fan attendance percentage this season. This may sound far-fetched but why not reward the fans that get to the games, and cheer on their team. No organization would get a clear advantage and the best fans deserve the best players to cheer for, too bad Miami has Lebron and Wade. Surprisingly the biggest markets don't actually round out the top attendance and the best teams don't have the highest percentage of fan attendance, the Cavaliers are in the top 10 for Christ's sake! Based off this plan the top 5 picks would go as followed:
1. Dallas Mavericks
2. Chicago Bulls
3. Portland Trail Blazers
4. Orlando Magic
5. Miami Heat
Wow, the Heat made the top 5? Way to go Heat fans, you have 2 of the 3 best players in the league and you can't even crack the top 3.
My point is only Chicago is a top 5 market in the top 5 so the size of the city doesn't increase fan support, this system is fair for all.
How would salary structure work?
Another big issue but one that is easy to figure out. Based on pick that round, the player would get paid a set amount. The top 10 picks would get a 3 year max contract at about $14 million a year, and the salaries would scale from there. The next 10 picks would get a set amount and so on. You may think no players would ever agree to this and would probably strike but I don't care this is my column.
Could teams trade picks?
Yes! This is where strategy would be involved. A team could trade outside certain salary groups if they did not like any players and pick the players they thought would fall later for a cheaper amount. If a team picking at the 10 spot did not find a player worth a max contract, they could trade the pick and fall into a cheaper group, a lot like what some NFL teams do with the first overall pick, trade down so they don't have to over pay a guy they don't "love".
With all this figured out, we could now see how valuable each NBA player would be. Would Blake Griffin get picked before some older superstars just because of his age and room to grow? Where would old timers like Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen be picked? Who are the most valuable players in the NBA? Let's begin.
1. Dallas Mavericks, Lebron James: No shocker here, Lebron could be the most talented player of all time. His mixture of speed, power, and size has to make him the number one overall pick. He's decently young, he's healthy, and he would be easy to build around. The Cleveland Cavaliers went from the best regular season team last year to maybe the worst of all time this year after his departure, 'nuff said.
2. Chicago Bulls, Kevin Durant: Durant broke out year last year and became the youngest player to win the scoring title in NBA history. After starting this year a bit slow, tired, and injured Durant is back playing at the MVP level that we saw last year. He is an NBA baby at 22 years old and will be in contention for the scoring title for the next 10 years. This summer he lead the U.S to a gold medal in the World Basketball Championship and won tournament MVP. His heart and character are unmatched and he is one of the most humble super stars to ever play in the NBA. He and Lebron could both be legitimate number one overall picks and the Bulls would be happy to have him.
3. Portland Trail Blazers, Dwight Howard: With the third pick, the Blazers would take Dwight Howard, arguably the most dominate player in the league, especially on the defensive side of the court. Howard has won the past 2 defensive player of the year awards and with his combination of size and strength he protects the rim better than anyone in the league. In the past some have been critical of his offense and expected more out of someone with the freakish size. However he has but he has shown vast improvement since working with Hakeem Olajuwon in the summer. Howard is taking more shots, has more developed post moves and has upped his points per game average by 4 since last year, from 18 to 22. A proven center is almost always picked ahead of anyone else but in this case Howard falls to 3rd. Not bad for Portland.
4. Orlando Magic, Derrick Rose: Other then Kevin Durant, the best and brightest up and coming star is the 22 year old Derrick Rose. Rose is the current leader in the NBA MVP race and unless Kevin Durant or Lebron James explode in the second half of the season he will win it. Rose is not a conventional point guard and is more of a scorer than a passer, that being said he still has good passing ability and is improving on defense. This summer Rose took a part of his game he thought needed improvement, his 3 point shot, and worked at it. Rose's 3 point shot is so improved that not only can opposing point guards not sag off Rose at the 3 point line, but they must defend it, and get a hand in his face, otherwise, he can be deadly. Rose and Durant are the future of the league and both have huge room for improvement, we will be watching them shine for along time.
5. Miami Heat, Blake Griffin: Yep, a rookie is in my top 5, but Blake Griffin is not the average rookie. Blake's stats are similar to Tim Duncan's as a rookie, Blake is averaging 23 and 13 and has easily already broken the record for Sportscenter Top Ten Plays with his crowd pleasing dunks. Blake will someday be the best Power Forward in the league, and maybe the best player, as long as he doesn't break his neck after falling from a crazy dunk. Blake wants to win and has changed the culture on his current Clippers team. Anyone who can motivate Barren Davis to get in shape deserves to be picked this high and I see a long, epic career for Blake Superior.
6. Boston Celtics, Kobe Bryant: Talk about crazy, the Boston Celtics get Kobe Bryant at pick number 6. Taking Kobe this high may be a little questionable, Kobe has had an outstanding career but has aged. He came straight out of high school so he has a lot of NBA minutes logged on his body and the big question is how much longer does he have. He is still a top 5 player in the current NBA and I think would be worth the risk taking so high in the draft to try and chase a title.
7. Los Angeles Lakers, Dwyane Wade: Wade falls a little in this draft because while he is a top NBA player he has battled injuries his entire career and I would not be surprised if one day his game changed overnight because of wear and tear on his body. That being said, Wade is still an explosive scorer and a proven winner who can take over any game any time. He had one of the best NBA final's performances of all time and can be the number one option on any championship level team.
8. New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony: Carmelo has been wanting out of Denver for a while now and has always wanted to go to the Knicks. Melo gets his wish here and ends up in New York. Anthony hasn't been great this year but with distractions following him around he hasn't been able to focus on his game totally and if he does end up getting traded, I see him exploding and becoming his old self again. He is one of the best offensive players in the league and is deadly in the clutch, another great guy to get at the 8 spot.
9. Oklahoma City Thunder, Chris Paul: Paul falls a bit in this draft because of copious amount of good point guards in today's NBA. Paul's production has fallen since coming down with a knee injury last season and seems to be less explosive. Still he is playing at an all-star level and makes everyone around him better. He is currently has the Hornets as the 5th seed in the West with a 32-22 record. He is on a team that lacks a lot of talent and has carried them all year on a bad knee. Easily the best pure point guard in the league.
10. Cleveland Cavaliers, Russell Westbrook:
11. Utah Jazz, Rajon Rondo:
12. San Antonio Spurs, Deron Williams:
This is where we see the wealth of point guards start to take shape. You can't go wrong with any of these guys. I have Westbrook ahead of Williams and Rondo because he is younger and has more upside then the others. While he does play with Kevin Durant., we've see flashes of greatness from Westbrook all year and could easily be the number one option on a winning team. Westbrook is a young, tough, hard working athletic specimen and a guy who does everything well and has no real weaknesses. No knocking Williams but I'd take Rondo over him and build a team around Rondo's passing ability with some pure scorers. Rondo's downside is he will never be the number one scorer on a team and without offensive weapons around him, his talents would be wasted. Luckily the Jazz would be able to get those pure scorers later in the draft and be set for a good team.
13. Indiana Pacers, Amare Stoudemire: People questioned the Knick's when they gave Stoudemire a max contract and thought they over paid for a guy who plays questionable defense and has battled injuries his entire career, so far those critics have been wrong. Amare has put the Knicks on his back and become a great leader, something we never really saw in Phoenix. He has a near unstoppable post game and has even developed a very reliable 16 foot jump shot that makes him even more of a weapon in New York.
14. Golden State Warriors, Manu Ginobili: Manu is a proven clutch scorer and has helped the Spurs win rings with his takeover ability. Any Spur is going to be a team first guy and he is not excluded. He will sacrifice his body to score in the paint and is as tough as any European player can get. The real life Warrior's are missing guys like this so he is perfect for them at 14.
15. Phoenix Suns, Pau Gasol: I hate Pau Gasol. I hate that he is soft. I hate that he flops, I hate his blindingly white legs, and I hate his game. But I respect it. Gasol has the best footwork and post moves in the NBA and while he doesn't like to bang in the post like a Dwight Howard or Carlos Boozer he is a great player. He took over game 7 of the finals last year when Kobe, the so called assassin, went 6-24 shooing in an Laker win. The question must be raised of whether or not Pau could be the number one guy on a team, and I say no, but I think a team would take a risk of it. Pau is a good player but I don't see any team with him as the number one guy winning anything.
16. Los Angeles Clippers, Monta Ellis: Monta's game has taken great strides this year and had he not gotten hurt he would probably be in the all-star game. An explosive scorer who can create his own shot, Ellis has now developed his defense and has really improved this year. He does benefit a little from being in a run and gun offense but I think he would be fine in a half court game. He is sort of small for a 2 guard which is probably what drops him down to 15 but his athletic ability can help him through that. Ellis is a good pick up at 16.
17. Houston Rockets, Dirk Nowitzki: Dirk Nowitzki is also a non-banger, white legged, European 7 footer, and yet I love him! Dirk has been one of the most consistent players the past 10 years and seems to get 25 points 8 rebounds a night with ease. He can shoot as well as a guard from about any range and his fade-away jump shot from the post is deadly. If we were ranking NBA players based on skill he would easily be in the top 10 and he falls to 17 here because he is old. Houston basically rents Dirk while he is on his last legs to try and chase a title before he falls off for good.
18. Denver Nuggets, John Wall: Wall is the second rookie to be picked in the first round and quietly has had a great year. He has battled injuries and terrible teammates but still has great numbers for a rookie. Someday he will be in the "Who is the best point guard in the league?" argument and Denver will wait for that while building around the future franchise player.
19. New Orleans Hornets, Kevin Love: Sad that the league's leading rebounder has fallen this far but Love does in my draft. The Hornets get a guy who will be in contention for the leagues rebounding title for the next decade and has developing offensive skills and will be in the all-star game for the first time this year. He puts up Moses Malone like numbers and if he ends up even close to Moses in his career that would be great.
20. Charlotte Bobcats, Eric Gordon: One of the most underrated players in the NBA is being taken at 20. Eric Gordon, the young shooting guard on the Clippers, was on all-star pace before getting hurt earlier in the season. Gordon has taken his game to new heights this year and clearly benefited from the FIBA Championship this summer in Turkey. Gordon can get to the rim with ease and knock down shots from anywhere on the floor but the strength of his game might be his defense; Gordon shows no fear and will guard anyone in the league and do a good job of it.
21. Milwaukee Bucks, Chris Bosh: I’ve never been a big fan of Bosh since his days in Toronto so it’s no surprise he falls this far. His gaudy numbers are questionable because he played on a team that was never in real contention for the title or even the playoffs. With no one surrounding him he stacked up great averages and earned himself an almost max deal with Miami this offseason. Bosh plays decent to poor defense but plays a good face-up post game and can rebound just fine. I can’t see him as the number one guy on a good team but with some talent around him he would be okay.
22. Toronto Raptors, Paul Pierce: Even at his advanced age, Paul Pierce may be playing the best basketball in his career. “The Truth” has proven he is a closer and a winner with a Final’s MVP trophy and has helped turn the Celtics into the powerhouse that they are today. His age would be a definite concern but I see at least 3 good years left in Pierce, solid pick at 22.
23. Washington Wizards, Tyreke Evans:
24. Memphis Grizzlies, Joe Johnson:
25. Sacramento Kings, Al Jefferson:
26. Atlanta Hawks, Rudy Gay:
27. Minnesota Timberwolves, Danny Granger:
28. Detroit Pistons, Josh Smith:
Picks 23-28 are all guys who hurt the NBA. These players are paid like number one guys but they will never win anything as number one guys. GM’s seem to over pay for these players so they can keep their teams in playoff contention and keep their jobs. While some of these guys are good players, they aren’t good enough alone and need a lot more around them if their teams are going anywhere. These guys are worthy number 1 picks but will never be great players.
29. New Jersey Nets, Carlos Boozer: Boozer is one of the best low post players in the NBA in terms of post moves. He can dominate a game with his rebounding or scoring ability and if paired with a good point guard can become a part of an unstoppable pick and roll game. Boozer falls this far because he is under sized in terms of height (he's only about 6' 8'') and his defense comes into question at times. Still a good player to get so late in the draft.
30. Philadelphia 76ers, Demarcus Cousins: Cousins has had decent rookie numbers for a young big man playing on a bad team and he is first round material because of his upside. He has been suspended already for feuding with coaches but he has a high ceiling and can become a top power forward/center someday. He will become more mature and hopefully play up to his potential.
The first round ends here and the draft would then Snake, giving the 76ers the 31st pick, all the way back to the Mavericks picking at 60.
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Written by: Matt Coan
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