2005 NBA Mock Draft by Lucky Lester

Ding, Ding, Ding; Round 2!

Before I lay out the second round, let me express myself a little bit.

Here are some things I wouldn't do. If I were the Bobcats Brass I wouldn't trade my 5th and 13th pick to move up to 3rd, even if Marvin Williams happens to slip that far. At 5 they'll have a superb point guard available, if it be Deron Williams or Raymond Felton, and at 13 they could snag another great prospect with tons of upside who could come in and start from day one.

I wouldn't skip on Bogut because his vision isn't stellar. I would not pick Chris Taft and expect him to flip script and start playing at his talent level. I wouldn't undervalue Raymond Felton, who is as accurate a passer as I've seen in some time while possessing speed unparalleled by any of his draft mates.

Rashad McCants is a future star, he's not Joseph Forte. I definitely wouldn't pass up on Sean May because he looks chubby. I know he's not Chuck Barkley but I do believe he will be an all star before his career is over. I wouldn't ignore the obvious skills of Gerald Green and Martel Webster because they aren't Lebron James. Both will be great. I wouldn't rank any foreigners above Fran Vasquez. He's going to be a player.

And last but not least I wouldn't let Larry Brown decide who plays on my team, unless of course, I was the owner of the Cavs, in which case I would let anyone besides myself make the decisions.

I wrote the first round of my mock draft a few weeks ago, and from what I've seen I have some guys that might be on their way up. Marvin Williams might be getting closer and closer to becoming a Buck, but I still believe they have to go with Bogut.

The Hornets could move down a couple spots, the Jazz are interested in Deron Williams. The Bobcats have been rumored to be interested in the 3 spot, but it would be ludicrous to trade their two top 13 picks to move 2 spots.

The Lakers might be trying to move up. They have Butler and a gaggle of tradable characters plus open spots at every position except ballhog guard. If they stay put, they are so desperate for size that they might be trying to pluck high school big Andrew Bynum… we'll see.

Lithuanian center Martynas Andriuskevicius might not stay in the draft, but his 7'2" frame might get him a late guarantee, which would keep him in. Speaking of guarantees, the Knicks are linked to guarantees with multiple players. That might be because Thomas will say anything to anyone? Danny Granger has looked great in everything he's done, proving himself to be a solid all around player… He should go earlier than 11 to the Magic.

Like everyone else, I have my second round standouts. Luther Head, Ryan Gomes, Julius Hodge and Salim Stoudamire will all play better than their draft position. Kennedy Winston has the look of an NBA quality starter in the next 5 years and Nate Robinson will be a scoring force off someone's bench in the near future. Travis Diener and Stoudamire can both shoot the lights out, so an NBA roster spot will be easily obtainable for both of those assassins. John Gilchrist is tough, and he'll be a player. Brandon Rush is a future star, and if he stays in the draft, he'll be picked in this round, and in three years he'll be a quality starter in this league. For someone who can do it all, Daniel Ewing will slip too far, and he'll impress right away.

By Tuesday the early entrée list will be finalized, so as it seems, I should have waited until then. With my first and second rounds I figured these guys would go back to school… Randolph Morris, Louis Williams, Carl Krauser, Eric Williams, Dee Brown, and a few others. These next guys I figured to stay in the draft, but it seems like they might go back… Ike Diogu, Rudy Fernandez, Tiago Splitter, Nemanja Aleksandrov, Marko Tomas, Peja Samardziski, and Pops Mensah-Bonsu. I have all those guys getting drafted. Look Tuesday for the final list.

As for news outside the draft, Rasheed Wallace is one of my favorite players, but what the hell is he doing leaving Horry open for a three to win the game? In the same boat, how does anyone besides Chauncey take the last shot in that game? Tim Duncan is clutch? Big Boring Quiet missed 6 free throws in a row in game 6, most of which were important. Did anyone see Tim try a joke after the game? Big Bobby? Nice Tim.

Robert Horry? Threes, I'll take those, but where on earth did that left-handed explosion come from? How does Rip Hamilton feel right now? I think he had 3 air balls and missed a terrible attempt at a game tying shot when he had Prince open for an easy lay in. Did I mention he was the hurdle Horry jumped over on the dunk?

Tony Parker is a magician; he can disappear as well as anyone I know. Kid had 2 points in the second half last night.

Manu Ginobli is one of the brightest young stars in the league, but if he cut his hair he'd get half the foul calls from the Zebras. His rude left shot-put gets phantom foul calls like the one called on Teyshaun Prince in game 6. He's a perfect fit for a league that doesn't need to see a foul to call one, all they need is reasonable doubt.

One last thing… "Kobe Bryant? Who? I'm Sorry, I'm not familiar with that name…" (Shaq, ESPN's Sunday Conversation) WOW!

31. Atlanta - David Lee. Lee's been impressive, and he'd give Atlanta some size with scoring ability. Top^

32. LA Clippers (From CHA) - Luther Head. Head is a great young scorer; the Clippers could use some bench production from a winner. Top^

33. New Orleans - Ryan Gomes. I think Ryan's the most underrated player in the second round. He's called a tweener, but really, he can just play any position. Top^

34. Utah - Roko Ukic. If the Jazz don't get a point with their first choice, look for them to give Roko a shot with this pick. Top^

35. Portland - Julius Hodge. I think Hodge is a fantastic player. He's not Darius Miles, he's only skinny like him. Hodge will get the job done consistently. Top^

36. Milwaukee - Brandon Bass. Bass's value is going up and Milwaukee wouldn't go wrong with two rookies to bolster their frontcourt. Top^

37. LA Lakers (From NY via Atl/Cha) - Sean Banks. I have a feeling the Lakers could be moving a couple of their players, like Caron Butler. Banks would be a young gifted replacement for Caron. Top^

38. Toronto (Pick may be conveyed to ORL) - Kennedy Winston. Winston had some great games. He was there to step up in the Tourney the last couple years. Toronto could use any size and skill that falls their way. Top^

39. LA Lakers - Dwayne Jones. The Lake Show needs as many good big men to rebound Kobe's wayward fade-aways as they can find. Jones has played well in workouts and he's got size. Top^

40. Golden State - Salim Stoudamire. Chris Mullin knows a lights out shooter when he sees one. Salim may be 6'2" but he's a sniper on the floor. Top^

41. Orlando (May go to TOR) - Jason Maxiell. Orlando also needs big men. Dwight Howard has as much upside as anyone in the league, but after that the answer isn't there. Maxiell has enough upside to excite. Top^

42. LA Clippers (May go to TOR, ORL or GS) - Linas Kleiza. Kleiza will give the Clip's a young building block. God knows they need more of those. Top^

43. New Jersey - John Glichrist. This young point guard from Maryland will be a tough off the bench point guard from a team that really doesn't have one. Top^

44. Orlando (From CLE) - Steven Smith. The Magic needs size on the perimeter. Smith has moved out from under the radar, so he'd be a good pick here. Top^

45. Detroit (from PHI) - Ersan Ilyasova. Joe Dumars knows how to pick them. (Give Darko a chance A.L. - after Larry) Ersan has upside, and could help an aging team of Champions. Top^

46. Indiana - Eddie Basden. Basden is a shooting guard who can play. He's from a small school, but could help a replacement by committee for recently retired Reggie Miller. Top^

47. Minnesota - Nate Robinson. If Minnesota takes a chance on the skills of the talented but short Nate Robinson, my bet is he starts by mid-year. Top^

48. Seattle (From MEM) - Daniel Ewing. The Sonics like players who can do it all, because their best offensive players aren't much into defense. They need to have guys like Ewing who can step up off the bench. Top^

49. Washington - Predrag Samardziski. How do you pronounce that? Big guy who could compliment a flurry of young gunners. Top^

50. Boston - Matt Walsh. Walsh can shoot and he's got some size. Danny Ainge might just take a chance on this formerly floppy haired Florida beach boy. Top^

51. Utah (From CHI via HOU) - Will Conroy. The Jazz needs a point guard, so I wouldn't be surprised if they took a second shot in the second round. Top^

52. Denver - CJ Miles. Miles had a tough year, but look for him to improve in the League. He's got the skills to play on the second level. Top^

53. Boston (From SAC) - Travis Diener. Is this a Danny Ainge clone or what? Ainge loves himself, I've learned that from all those years of hearing him talk. Don't be surprised if he takes Travis. Travis is good. Top^

54. New York (From HOU) - Mike Bell. Bell looked pretty good at the Chicago pre-draft camp. He's relatively unknown, and Isiah likes the chance to look good so he takes Bell. Top^

55. Seattle - Jawad Williams. Williams is a good shooter in a pretty good-sized body. If Nate McMillan thinks he can light a fire under Jawad, the Sonics might get a good player with 55. Top^

56. Detroit - Pops Mensah-Bonsu. This George Washington power forward has a lot of upside. He's raw but courageous, sounds like a perfect player for Detroit. Top^

57. Phoenix (From DAL via NO) - Omar Thomas. Thomas has looked like a player in recent workouts. He's definitely found himself on many a team's draft boards. Top^

58. Toronto (From MIA) - Brandon Rush. Rush might be a Mo Pete type player, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Rush also might push himself into super star status, but then again, that's the risk you take picking a high school kid. Top^

59. Atlanta (From SA) - Marko Lekic. The Hawks might go big again here, this time with a foreign wild card. Top^

60. Detroit (From PHI, via UTA) - Amir Johnson. Don't be surprised to see Joe Dumars take his favorite of the undrafted high school early entrée boys. There will be a handful of them to choose from. Top^

If you want to send Lucky Lester an email or you would like to add his articles to your web site, you can reach him at LuckyLester@hotmail.com.

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