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Posted: Wednesday May 19, 2010 11:15AM ; Updated: Wednesday May 19, 2010 12:31PM
Ian Thomsen
Ian Thomsen>INSIDE THE NBA
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2010 NBA Mock Draft
You're Ted Leonsis. You've just purchased the Washington Wizards and your first dividend is the No. 1 pick in your first NBA draft. Do you worry about pairing point guard John Wall with point guard Gilbert Arenas? The answer is no, not only because Arenas is a scorer who can play alongside a true point guard, but also because he has missed 199 games over the past three years. Unless history stops repeating itself, you may never have to worry about the conflict.

 
1 PG John Wall Kentucky Fr. 6-4 195
Wall provides Washington with a chance to instantly reinvent itself around the most exciting player in the draft. He will change the face and style of the franchise, not only with his open-floor ability but also with his potential to be among the league's best defenders at his position.
2 SG Evan Turner Ohio State Jr. 6-7 210
Turner, Derrick Favors or DeMarcus Cousins? The Sixers need help everywhere. They'll go with Turner in hopes that he'll become their version of Brandon Roy, settling down their team and providing the leadership and playmaking that were lacking this season.
3 PF Derrick Favors Georgia Tech Fr. 6-10 246
The presence of Brook Lopez at center compels the choice of Favors, an active big man with the energy and range to help defend the paint. The blend of low-post skill from Lopez and the explosive athleticism of Favors -- together with their shared length -- should provide New Jersey with one of the league's most intimidating front lines.
4 C DeMarcus Cousins Kentucky Fr. 6-11 270
The presence of an enormously talented -- and simply enormous -- center will enable the Timberwolves to deal Al Jefferson. Cousins' size and athleticism will complement the perimeter shooting and passing of Kevin Love.
5 SF Al-Farouq Aminu Wake Forest Soph. 6-9 215
Sacramento could use an athletic wing and Aminu -- a frontcourt tweener -- will provide length and explosiveness. He's raw but the rebuilding Kings are in no real hurry, and in the meantime he'll rebound and defend.
6 PF Greg Monroe Georgetown Soph. 6-11 247
Other teams will view him as a complementary frontcourt playmaker, but Don Nelson will imagine the possibilities of playing through the best passing big man in college basketball. The highly skilled Monroe can create a shot for himself as well as for others.
7 C Hassan Whiteside Marshall Fr. 7-0 235
Is he the next Marcus Camby? The Pistons -- desperate for frontcourt athleticism -- will gamble on the explosive shot-blocking and open-court potential of Whiteside with an eye toward reinventing their old defense-first formula.
8 SF Wesley Johnson Syracuse Jr. 6-7 205
Johnson is a smart scorer who will provide length alongside fellow forward Blake Griffin. Whomever the Clippers hire as coach needs to start working with Johnson to make better use of his athleticism defensively than he showed at Syracuse.
9 PF Ekpe Udoh Baylor Jr. 6-10 240
Udoh has a high work rate (to borrow a line we'll hear often at the World Cup) and he's a decent passer with a mid-range jumper. He isn't especially explosive, but he'll fill in some of the size that's been lacking in Utah.
10 PF Ed Davis North Carolina Soph. 6-10 225
He regressed this season and he's still far from a finished product offensively, but Davis comes from a strong program and he has the skills to help in a lot of ways at both ends of the floor. Will he learn to create his own shot? If so, he could be a star someday.
Picks 11-20 Picks 21-30
 
 
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