Kentucky Sports Radio

– For three easy payments of $9.99, you can get this…wait, wrong ‘mock’ –

Good morning, my friends. I’m coming from you via central time, and combining that with an all-too-late night has caused me to show up late to the party. My apologies, but let’s move on and just forget this happened. Along with last night. Let’s look to more pressing UK world events, like what experts say on the NBA Draft. Jonathan Givony (Draft Express guy) posted the latest Yahoo! Mock Draft, and there are a couple interesting shifts. We pay a lot of attention to Givony here at KSR because of his in-depth expertise on the aspects of what it takes to succeed in the NBA. There have been a few love/hate moments when it comes to what he says about UK, but it’s hard to top the breakdowns he gives.

Click above to check it out. Below are the latest UK player mock draft positions:

1.  New Orleans Hornets: Anthony Davis – While Davis continues to insist “nothing is set in stone” yet, the Hornets’ front office has done little to hide that their mind was made up immediately upon learning they will select No. 1. Davis is far from a finished product, particularly on the offensive end, but he will be a strong Rookie of the Year contender thanks to his length, athleticism, intensity and  instincts.

3.  Washington Wizards: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist – A very exciting piece in the Wizards’ rebuilding process is on the way in Kidd-Gilchrist, who appears to be ahead of Bradley Beal on Washington’s board according to reports we’ve received. With the Wizards sporting the worst small forward rotation in the NBA this season, Kidd-Gilchrist could fill an immediate hole, bringing intensity and toughness that will immediately improve Washington’s perimeter defense. He’s one of the most competitive players in this draft. Still very much a work in progress offensively, he would form a formidable transition duo with speedster John Wall, as well as the hyper-athletic Jan Vesely.

17.  Dallas Mavericks: Terrence Jones – While almost certainly a top-10 talent, Jones (or one of his power forward counterparts) could pay the price for how deep this draft is at his position. Six power forwards have already come off the board at this point in this mock draft. The Mavericks have other needs, but could have a difficult time passing on a player like Jones, who can do a little bit of everything on the floor and looks ready to play from Day 1.

25.  Memphis Grizzlies: Marquis Teague – With luxury-tax problems looming for the Grizzlies, the team’s backcourt has plenty of question marks entering next season. Memphis struggled to find a consistent backup for point guard Mike Conley, while former top-five pick O.J. Mayo is entering free agency and likely expecting a big raise. Teague isn’t ready to step into a playoff rotation right now, but has a great deal of talent which might be harnessed down the road.

The first thing you may notice is that Doron Lamb and Darius Miller not featured in this first round mock-up. While this isn’t a shocking surprise for some, it had seemed that at least one of the two was going to work his way into the first round. I still think there is a great chance that Doron gets picked up late, and with the insane measurements and testing on Darius, he is sure to climb on a few boards at the date nears. I’d like to see UK top the 2010 class and get six players drafted in the first round, making it another (not THE) great day in Kentucky sports history.

Another tidbit shows a super-talented big fella from UK falling out of the lottery. Terrence Jones slipping to No. 17 would be an absolute steal given the talent and workouts he has seemed to put on for teams. Givony doesn’t show the actual individual-player reasoning on why Jones is the one to fall, but he does point to the draft’s power forward depth as one of the main issues.

I also think Givony is a bit too reluctant to crown Davis as anything other than a player with high potential. He doesn’t seem sold and says he will be a ‘strong Rookie of the Year contender’. No sh*t, man. He is the number one pick. That tends to be the trend with those guys.