Final Sonics Rising 2014 NBA Mock Draft

By Taylor Made@TheTaylorBartle Jun 25, 2014, 1:50pm PDT

The 2014 NBA Draft is tomorrow night. There are still questions surrounding who the Cleveland Cavaliers will take the first overall pick. Will it be Parker? Will it be Wiggins? Well, we're here to tell you who we'd pick. We know how much you guys look forward to each and every mock draft, but unfortunately this will be the last one before the big event goes down tomorrow. Enjoy.

Pick	Team	Representative	Player	Position	School	Reason
1		Taylor Bartle	Andrew Wiggins	SG/SF	Kansas	Dan Gilbert is a sorcerer. For the third time in four years, the Cleveland Cavaliers jumped to the #1 pick, despite having only a 1.7% chance to do so. It couldn't have happened at a better time for the club, either, as they need a SF who can score and Andrew Wiggins fits that description.
2		Chris Meirose	Jabari Parker	F	Duke	With Embiid dropping due to injuries, this pick become a question of priorities for the Bucks. Do they go with the most upside, or the player who'll fill seats sooner? I'm inclined to the latter for the Bucks, and cosidering how attrocious their SF's are Parker can step in immediately and make an impact and improvement over the well worn Caron Butler. He'll need some work adjusting to being a 3/4 in the NBA, but with his offensive game clicking a lot of mistakes will be forgiven. Paired with Giannis Antetokounmpo they have the makings for a very athletic team with flexible parts for defensive purposes. And I'll predict it now - Parker will be Rookie of the Year if Milwaukee takes him.
3		Taylor Bartle	Dante Exum	G	Australian Institute of Sport	Yes, Dante Exum is somewhat of a Michael Carter-Williams clone. Does that mean they can't work together? Not to me. I think they could be an extremely dynamic backcourt that could both bring the ball up or work off the ball. There are rumors that the Sixers could also try and move MCW.
4		Kevin Nesgoda	Julius Randle	PF	Kentucky	Orlando is missing a front court mate that is desperately needed next to Vucevic. Randle has the size, speed and athletism that will compliment Vucevic very well.
5		Dontae Delgado	Joel Embiid	C	Kansas	Given the circumstances surrounding his foot injury (stress fracture in the navicular bone in his right foot), Embiid may be a potential steal with the former projected first overall pick falling to number six, just as last years project number one overall pick (Nerlens Noel) did. Like Noel, Embiid may be out most if not all of next season (according to SI.com players generally resume basketball activities in 4-6 months and are ready to play in nine months). In all seriousness, I may be reaching for him here. The history of big men with foot injuries is not pretty (Yao Ming, Zygrundas Ilgauskas, Bill Walton). The good news is that Utah affords him the opportunity to rehab in peace outside of bright lights of other franchise. With Kanter and Favors in tow, Utah has both the luxury of bringing Embiid along slowly and insurance in case of Kanter's impending restricted FA.
6		Dontae Delgado	Noah Vonleh	PF	Indiana	Vonleh gives the Celtics a potential star in the frontcourt who can play inside and out. He has more upside than either Sullinger or Olynyk. He has all the tools to be the best (along with a healthy Embiid) big man in the entire draft. The Celtics should be looking to stockpile talent and Vonleh has it in spades. He's a good rebounder, shot blocker, shooter, scorer, he can handle the ball well, though he's not as polished as Randle is now.
7		Taylor Bartle	Marcus Smart	PG	Oklahoma State	The Lakers need a point guard. They need a lot of things but PG is a glaring need. They had Xavier Henry playing it last year, for God's sake. And then HE got injured. They certainly can't trot out the reanimated corpse of Steve Nash again, can they?
8		Taylor Bartle	Doug McDermott	F	Creighton	Okay, so this pick makes a little less sense with Rudy Gay opting in, but McDermott is certainly a better option than Josh Smith.
9	(from DET)	Mitch Northam	Nik Stauskas	SG	Michigan	The Hornets (RIP Bobcats) made the playoffs last year only to get swept by the Miami Heat. They have a good point guard in Kemba Walker and a good perimeter defender in Michael Kidd Ghilchrist. The problem for them last year was the giant void that existed in place of a perimeter scorer and shooter. Gerald Henderson was good sometimes, and occasionaly Gary Neal was able to get a few buckets off the bench, but Charlotte really needed that consistent shooter. Enter Nik Stauskas who is one of the best shooters in this draft. With Kemba at the top and Big Al Jeff down low, Stauskas would be a great fit on Charlotte as their number three scoring option.
10	(from NOP)	Taylor Bartle	Aaron Gordon	PF	Arizona	The 76ers are allegedly offering Thad Young up for a toasted biscuit and a cup of tea. If any deal does come to fruition, Gordon fills that role perfectly. His game is extremely similar to Young's, freakishly athletic, can get to the rim, needs some work on his jumper. It'd be a seamless transition.
11		Kevin Nesgoda	Zach LaVine	SG	UCLA	LaVine blew the Nuggets brass out of the water with his workout a few weeks ago and their jaws are still on the floor. He's an athletic freak who can get to the rim at will, has decent shot mechanics, but needs to knock down his jumper with a bit more consistency. He has the length to defend most threes in the league, but his natural position will be the SG spot. The Nuggets will have the benefit of bringing him along slowly behind Randy Foye, but he should get some really good burn this year as a rookie.
12	(from NYK)	Kevin Nesgoda	Dario Saric	F	Croatia	Saric could have come over last year, but wisely stayed in Europe and got a little more seasoning. He played PF in the Euro leagues, but will more than likes play most of his minutes at the SF position with some burn at the stretch four during small lineups. He has deceptively quick hands and can steal the ball easily from those not paying attention and is a pretty damn good rebounder. He has a bit to go on his outside shot, but most 20 year olds do. He has a ton of upside.
13		Taylor Bartle	T.J. Warren	F	North Carolina State	The Timberwolves are already in rough shape and things only look to get worse once they deal Kevin Love. Warren could be a bright spot, providing them with a scoring boost they will need without their All-Star. While Warren doesn't rebound as well as Love (then again, few do), he does grab a decent rate for his size. It's doubtful that Warren will be a transcendent player, but he will be a nice piece.
14		Chris Meirose	Gary Harris	SG	Michigan State	Harris should fit right in to the Phoenix system immediately. While a bit undersized, he has a great basketball IQ and plays defense hard. In the Suns offense he should readily find himself in situations for his shooting to come into its own. While he doesn't have a single go to skill, he does a little bit of everything, and does most of it very well. Coming out of Izzo's system he should thrive in Phoenix.
15		Dontae Delgado	Jusuf Nurkic	C	Bosnia	The Hawks have gone on a Spurs-like international run with success in the past year, why not continue the trend? Nurkic gives them the big body in the middle, with the goal of either providing much needed depth in the frontcourt or moving Al Horford to his natural PF position.
16	(from CHA)	Chris Meirose	Rodney Hood	SF	Duke	I think the Bulls win the Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes, so IF that happens they look elsewhere. Since that hasn't happened (yet), Hood addresses a gaping hole on the Chicago Bulls. Thier best SF last season was Mike Dunleavy. Hood brings length and the ability to score on a pick and roll. He'll continue to improve on offense, and will also add size in the years to come to help his defense against the stronger and bigger players in the NBA.
17	(from BKN)	Dontae Delgado	Tyler Ennis	PG	Syracuse	Ennis has great value at this point in the draft. He can be either a solid trade piece for Boston GM Danny Ainge or he can replace Rondo in a total rebuild. This is the definition of grabbing the, 'best available player." Ennis is a pass first, semi-athletic point guard, who's stock has fallen due to workouts against other guards in this draft.
18	(from WAS)	Chris Meirose	James Young	SF	Kentucky	Young will benefit from the system in Phoenix. It will help him find space and make good shot selections on offense. Young brings a 7 foot wingspan that long term should be a great tool on defense. He can come along at a reasonable pace on this team without the pressure of having to deliver every night. He would thrive under coach Horny's guidance.
19		Chris Meirose	Elfrid Payton	PG	Louisiana-Lafayette	If Payton falls this far in the draft I'll be truly surprised. He was one of my early "players to watch" and it appears he's been climbing on everyone's draft boards as well. His game lacks some polish, but he has incredible drive and I see him quickly adjusting to the NBA game. He's big enough to guard larger PG's, but athletic enough to cover the smaller quicker guards as well. He could create some real havoc backing Derek Rose in Thibs defensive system in Chicago. He creates his own shot well, and had great quickness to get into the paint and to the rim.
20		Mitch Northam	Shabazz Napier	PG	UConn	The Raptors would love if Payton, Ennis or Smart fell to them at this spot, but if they don't they will still need to draft a point guard. With the uncertainty surrounding both Greivis Vasquez and Kyle Lowry this off-season, the Raptors could have a giant void at point guard. Perhaps Napier doesn't have better skills than the others taken ahead of him, but he is a proven winner and a hell of a hard worker. The Raptors could also say, "to hell with drafting a PG" and take Kyle Anderson, Adrien Payne or PJ Hairston too, but point guard may be a bigger position of need.
21	(from DAL)	Kevin Nesgoda	Kyle Anderson	SF	UCLA	Anderson is not an efficient scorer, but he doesn't have to be for OKC. The Thunder need a decent defender off the bench who can give them a few plus minutes while Durant gets some rest. Perry Jones appears to not be the guy and unfortuntely for the Thunder Sam Presti has to spend another pick on trying to find a decent back up for Durant. Anderson does have some pretty glaring flaws that are easily fixable in the right system. With the way Brooks nurtures talent along off the court Anderson could be a decent rotation player eventually.
22		Mitch Northam	P.J. Hairston	SG	Texas Legends - NBDL	What did Memphis need last season? Oh, a guard besides Mike Conley that could shoot? Problem solved. Hairston may have some attitude issues, but that's nothing that spending a season under Tony Allen, Conley and Z-Bo in Memphis won't fix. Hairston is a big time scorer that can get buckets inside and out and can catch fire quickly from three-point land.
23		Dontae Delgado	Jordan Clarkson	PG	Missouri	Utah needs help in the backcourt and while I am not the biggest Trey Burke fan, Clarkson is no threat to take his spot. Clarkson gives Utah a guard in the rotation that is solid in attacking the rim, has the potential to guard both guard spots (at 6'5" with a 6'8" wingspan), and can create some mismatches in the backcourt with his size. He's not a true point guard in any sense as he has trouble creating for others and his shooting leaves much to be desired, but he has solid tools to be a good rotation guard in the near future.
24	(from POR)	Mitch Northam	Adrien Payne	PF	Michigan State	Depth behind Al Jefferson and at the power forward position is something that the Hornets desperately need. They were forced to play Josh McRoberts big minutes against the Heat in the playoffs and he'll be a free agent this summer. Payne is a guy who should develop into a decent big man that teams can use in their rotation.
25		Mitch Northam	Glenn Robinson, Jr.	SF	Michigan	Maybe it's a reach, maybe it isn't. But among the Rockets need, a shooter is one of them. Glenn Robinson Jr's draft stock took a hit this year, but he should still be a good player at the next level. Big Dog Jr. moves well without the ball and does a nice job cutting and coming off of screens, as well as finishing at the rim and crashing the boards on offensive. On defense, there are some skills to be desired, but Robinson shows some signs of potential on that end, being able to bother shooters with his length and by anticipating passing lanes. More than anything, he can hit open shots.
26		Kevin Nesgoda	Clint Capela	PF/C	Chalon/International	The Heat have lost a lot of their inside presence and why not go get a guy that appears to be very comparable to Serge Ibaka. Capela could potentially come in and start right away for the Heat, allowing Bosh to drop down and play the stretch four. He would not be relied on for any scoring, he would just have to block some shots, grab some boards and have the advantage of slowly developing his offensive game. It's raw, but it's there.
27	(from IND)	Chris Meirose	Jarnell Stokes	PF	Tennessee	I have a strong suspicion that Phoenix will not stand pat with 3 first round picks, so they may well NOT be picking here. If they are picking, they should take some size here. Stokes isn't as tall as they might like here, but he plays a center's game and has a 7'1" wingspan to compensate for the inches he gives up in height. He scores well with good efficiency on offense, and has the size and strength to immediately make an impact on defense for Phoenix. Stokes is particularly adept at scoring with his back to the basket which should give him good passing angles in Hornacek's offense. Stokes can shoot the hook with either hand, though will need to continue honing his shooting game to round out his options in the post - particularly against tall and more athletic NBA players.
28		Dontae Delgado	Mitch McGary	C	Michigan	The Clippers need both frontcourt depth (their bigs off the bench consisted of giving minutes to Ryan Hollins and Hedo Turkoglu) and perimeter defense, in this case it was a close choice between McGary and Jerami Grant. I honestly believe McGary is just going to be more important in the long run. The Clippers have depth at the wings spot, whereas they will be thinner after the departures of Hedo and Collins.
29		Kevin Nesgoda	Jordan Adams	SG	UCLA	With Derek Fisher off to coach the New York Knicks and Thabo Sefalosha more than likely leaving in free agency the Thunder are going to need a scorer and a defender here at the two. Not sure if he can step in and start right away, but he could be the answer in a year or two. He has a sweet shot and has the make up to be a pretty decent defender on the wing. Could be a great backcourt mate for Westbrook.
30		Chris Meirose	Walter Tavares	C	Gran Canaria	I never have a good feel for who the Spurs will draft. With them regularly picking this low, it is hard to know who they've really decided they like. "Edy" as most call Tavares, has only been playing basketball for a few short years. In that time he's grown nearly 3 more inches, and has figured out how to protect the rim on defense. He's slowing growing in his offensive game, and I think a coach like Greg Popovich could bring him along and help him develop into a true force in the paint. Tavares' hands are so big he can nearly circle the middle of the basketball when gripping it. He shoots solidly from the FT line, and if he can develop a go-to move in the post he could really turn into something.