With the 2012 NBA Draft now less than a week away, it’s time to start cranking out some mailbags. Feel free to leave a comment below if you have any questions and I’ll try my best to answer them before next Thursday. Among the topics covered in this edition; what the Charlotte Bobcats are thinking at number two and what the Minnesota Timberwolves do at #18 if one of the top shooting guards isn’t on the board.
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I was reading your mock draft and I was wondering if you could give me a little more info behind why you have the Bobcats taking Robinson over Kidd-Gilchirst. I agree that Robinson is the better player and probably could affect the team quicker but wouldn’t picking him almost waste their pick last year with Biyombo? Those two would be so undersized with both of them around 6’9″ that I don’t see how that could as more than just a lineup going small for a stretch. Like I said I agree that Robinson is better but picking Kidd-Gilchirst would fill a need and help more long term than stocking up on another 6’9″ power forward. -Landon
(DK) It really comes down to the Bobcats needing a scorer. MKG is going to be a great role player in the NBA but is not an elite scorer. Yes, Robinson and Biyombo would give Charlotte an undersized frontcourt but Biyombo is a defensive-minded big and not really a long term answer at center. When you are a team as bad as Charlotte, I think you have to take the best available player.
Who should my LAC pick at the 53rd spot? I like Kim English. -Richard
(DK) I like Kim English too but think he is a mid 2nd rounder so I wouldn’t expect him to be on the board when the Clips are picking. LA really needs depth at every position but point guard so they should take the best available player. Remember though that whoever they end up taking likely won’t end up being a major contributor right away.
So just read your mock and u say it’s likely T Ross is gone by 18. (I agree) Who do we (T-wolves) get then? -Chris W.
(DK) Minnesota is coveting a scoring guard with their first round pick. It’s unlikely any of the top guys like Rivers, Jeremy Lamb, or Ross slip to 18 and it would be a reach to grab someone like Jenkins, Doron Lamb, Fournier, or Barton. I would then turn my attention to somebody like Moe Harkless who would serve as a potential replacement for restricted free agent Michael Beasley. He’s not the shooter that Minnesota needs but should be better than Wesley Johnson down the road.
The T-Wolves could also end the slide of whichever power forward slides (Sullinger, Moultrie, or one of the Jones’. It doesn’t fill a need and actually creates more of a logjam at the four but serves the best available theory. Fab Melo could also be an option as a replacement for Darko as backup center. Sota could also shop the pick so they have a ton of options but in a perfect world; Ross falls to them at 18.
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David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft on the web.
You can follow him on Twitter at DavidKay_TSB.