More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

Los Angeles Clippers president Andy Roeser poses for photographers after the Clippers won the NBA draft lottery, Tuesday, May 19, 2009, in Secaucus, N.J., giving the Clippers the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA draft. Surprised they didn't put Griffin on the jersey..

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Ladies and Gentleman,

Many people didn't really understand our Wednesday mock draft that it was what teams should do, rather than what they will do.  Our resident draftologist decided to put together a post on what he thinks the teams will actually do.  After the jump, enjoy/hate/whatev.  Let Steve know what you think.

Scott

Changed Nick Calathes because he is withdrawing from the draft and signing in Greece.

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More photos » by John Bazemore - AP

Blake Griffin will most likely be the prize for the winner of the NBA lottery on Tuesday night.

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If you are a team looking for a big man, look elsewhere. This is a guard draft plain and simple. With big men like Patrick Patterson pulling out of the draft, there are very few big men that are solid first round picks (aside from Griffin, Thabeet and Jordan Hill). There are a ton of good point guards though - there will be alot of guys under 6'3'' getting drafted early in the 2009 draft.

The only big men after the Big 3 are Earl Clark (if you consider him a big man), DeJuan Blair (all 6'5'' of him), James Johnson and B.J. Mullens. Austin Daye is too skinny to be a low post threat in the NBA. So if your a Nets fan and you think the team needs a Big man do not be surprised if they draft Jonny Flynn. The talent belongs to the guards this year.

Tuesday night is one of my favorite nights of the year. The NBA Lottery. Is it fixed? Who knows, maybe.The prize for the winner of the lottery is Blake Griffin. He is a scoring and rebounding machine that everyone wants. The Kings have the best shot to get him. Don't be surprised though if he doesn't end up in Sacramento. The team with the greatest percentage to win the lottery actually rarely wins it. The Bulls won it last year with a 1.7 % chance!  The lottery can completely change your team as shown by the Bulls, led by Derrick Rose, taking the defending champs, the Celtics, to 7 games.

The last four seasons the team with the best chance to win the lottery was the 5th worst team in 2006, Toronto. The sixth worst record has won it two of the past four seasons (so Memphis, you might be getting Blake Griffin.)  The team with the highest percentage has only won the lottery twice since 1991.  The last time the team with the worst record won the lottery was Orlando, in 2004, who got Dwight Howard and Cleveland, in 2003.  You know who the Cavs got. 

I think the team who will win the lottery is an up and coming team similar to Portland two seasons ago, the 2007 lottery winner. This team needs a big man and has a star on their team already who will be a great duo with Mr. Griffin. That team is... the Oklahoma City Thunder!!

Griffin is arguably the best player to ever come out of Oklahoma and they would sell out every single night with Griffin on the team. They might even sneak into the playoffs with Blake next year. Griffin and Kevin Durant would be very scary. I'm usually wrong with my Lottery predictions so I wouldn't be celebrating yet, Thunder fans, because this is supposed to be pure luck. Make sure to tune in Tuesday Night and see if the future of your favorite NBA team is changed forever.

Odds here. (H/T to NorskTroll)

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

Tyler Hansbrough will spend all his time in the NBA next year but Austin Daye will need some time in the D-League to hone his raw skills.

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Hey Ridiculous Upside readers, my name is Steve Neff and hopefully I’ll be making a couple of posts on this year’s upcoming draft in the next few months. With the D-league Finals now over, it will be a down time for minor league basketball so the blog posts will shift ocassionally the draft.  Here is a short preview of some players in the draft who could have to go through the D-League to solidify a spot on an NBA roster, a la Von Wafer or Mike Taylor.

First, though, there are a few players that almost definitely won't be making the long bus rides from Dakota to Sioux Falls next winter.  Next year’s presumable Rookie of the Year, Blake Griffin, will be too busy averaging 15 and 7 in the NBA to be sent down to hone his skills. Hasheem Thabeet is raw, but he doesn’t need the D-League - can't coach size and his blocking ability. B.J. Mullens from Ohio State is overly unpolished - you will almost certainly see him next year in the D-League.  An NBA team will pick him because he is young and 7 feet tall but this guy is Patrick O’Bryant 2.0.  Really, he can only dunk the ball, but scouts love his size and potentially ridiculous upside.  Maybe he'll be able to develop after his NBA team sends him down to the D-League.  Maybe.

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