Wizards select John Wall with 1st pick of the Draft

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The NBA Draft offered no surprises - as expected, the Washington Wizards selected John Wall from the Universty of Kentucky with the number one pick. Evan Turner, Derrick Favors, Wesley Johnson, and DeMarcus Cousins rounded up the top five.

Here is the entire list of the first round picks:

1. Washington Wizards: John Wall, PG
2. Philadelphia 76ers: Evan Turner, SG
3. New Jersey Nets: Derrick Favors, PF
4. Minnesota Timberwolves: Wesley Johnson, SG
5. Sacramento Kings: DeMarcus Cousins, PF
6. Golden State Warriors: Ekpe Udoh, PF
7. Detroit Pistons: Greg Monroe, C
8. Los Angeles Clippers: Al-Farouq Aminu, SF
9. Utah Jazz: Gordon Hayward, SF
10. Indiana Pacers: Paul George, SF
11. New Orleans Hornets: Cole Aldrich, C
12. Memphis Grizzlies: Xavier Henry, SG
13. Toronto Raptors: Ed Davis, PF
14. Houston Rockets: Patrick Patterson, PF
15. Milwaukee Bucks: Larry Sanders, PF
16. Minnesota Timberwolves: Luke Babbitt, SF
17. Chicago Bulls: Kevin Seraphin, PF
18. Oklahoma City Thunder: Eric Bledsoe, PG
19. Boston Celtics: Avery Bradley, SG
20. San Antonio Spurs: James Anderson, SG
21. Oklahoma City Thunder: Craig Brackins, PF
22. Portland Portland: Elliot Williams, SG
23. Minnesota Timberwolves: Trevor Booker, PF
24. Atlanta Hawks: Damion James, SF
25. Memphis Grizzlies: Dominique Jones, SG
26. Oklahoma City Thunder: Quincy Pondexter, SF
27. New Jersey Nets: Jordan Crawford, SG
28. Memphis Grizzlies: Greivis Vasquez, PG
29. Orlando Magic: Daniel Orton, PF
30. Washington Wizards: Lazar Hayward, SF

Although the top two picks are guards, this has been a particularly good year for big men, and really, the league needs them more than ever before. The likes of Derrick Favors, DeMarcus Cousins, Ekpe Udoh, Greg Monroe, Cole Aldrich, Ed Davis, and Patrick Patterson were all chosen in the top 14.

The winners of the draft day were really the Bulls, who traded away their 17th pick and Kirk Hinrich to the Washington Wizards, and were thus able to clear enough cap enough for the available class of excellent free agents, including LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson, Carlos Boozer, Amar'''e Stoudemire, etc, etc, etc...

With John Wall and Kirk Hinrich in the back court, now it seems more and more likely that the Wizards will trade away Gilbert Arenas.

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To Mock a Draft

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In less than 48 hours, the NBA is going to be officially injected with a boost of fresh blood - the NBA draft will be held at the Theatre in Madison Square Garden, New York, where NBA teams will pick amateur players from US college basketball and other eligible players, including international players. The Washington Wizards won the lottery, and thus the rights to make the draft's first pick.

With the help of many different sources, including Draftexpress, SLAMOnline, Yahoo! Sports, ESPN, and other sources, I've been able to draw my own picture and predict how the players will be picked on the evening of June 24th / the morning of June 25th, if you happen to be watching from IST.

So, without further ado, here is Hoopistani's Mock Draft 2010 of the top 14 (lottery) picks:

1. Washington Wizards - John Wall: Wall was the favourite months before the lottery, during the lottery, after the lottery, today, and tomorrow. By far the most explosive player in this draft, Wall will immediately become one of the best young point guards in the league, adding competition to the likes of Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, Tyreke Evans, Brandon Jennings, etc. Move over Gilbert Arenas, it's gonna get Wall-E over in Washington!

2. Philadelphia 76ers - Evan Turner: There has been some talk of the 76ers potentially ignoring Turner and picking a big man like Derrick Favors, but they should play it safe and pick the former national player of the year. He's bound to become the best answer to their woes since The Answer himself.

3. New Jersey Nets - Derrick Favors: This is a draft class heavy on talented big men, and I feel Favors is the best one of them all. He will make a dangerous tandem in New Jersey with Brook Lopez.

4. Minnesota Timberwolves - Wesley Johnson: Johnson's stock has increased a lot recently, and some even expecting him to go third. I feel the Timberwolves will be calling the services of this talented wingman.

5. Sacramento Kings - DeMarcus Cousins: Cousins' attitude may have caused a drop in stock for him, but I feel any team will be dumb to let him fall outside the top 5.

6. Golden State Warriors - Greg Monroe

7. Detroit Pistons - Ed Davis

8. Los Angeles Clippers - Al-Farouq Aminu

9. Utah Jazz - Ekpe Udoh

10. Indiana Pacers - Xavier Henry

11. New Orleans Hornets - Luke Babbit

12. Memphis Grizzlies - Cole Aldrich

13. Toronto Raptors - Paul George

14. Houston Rockets - Gordon Hayward

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