2010 NBA Draft Preview

With the world, and ourselves, focusing so much on the World Cup, it's hard to realize there are other things happening in sports. But, one of RSS's favorite events is coming up tomorrow night...the NBA Draft. It's not just the crazy outfits, the crazier picks, or the craziest of terms coined by the likes of Jay Bilas and Mark Jones, but there's just something about drafts that piques our interest. So, here is your abbreviated draft preview to tell you who the stars, steals, and busts will be in the Class of 2010.

3 Stars

(1) John Wall-G-Kentucky

-In a draft class devoid of a lot of deep talent, Wall is a clear star and should be the 1st pick by the Wizards without much thought. Combining the outright speed and ability to lead the break of Derrick Rose with the strength and rebounding of Jason Kidd, Wall could be on a fast-track to superstardom in a league that favors point guards more than ever. At worst, Wall will be a very good starter, at best, an MVP candidate. He's the sure bet for Rookie of the Year.

(2) Evan Turner-G/F-Ohio State

-After John Wall, the next sure thing is Ohio State's do-it-all man, Evan Turner. Turner can play 3 positions (PG, SG, SF) and has the all-around skills to be a very capable player for many years. While I don't think his ceiling is as high as Wall, he will be a near All-Star caliber talent for either Philadelphia or New Jersey. Many compare Turner to Brandon Roy, but I see Turner as a poor man's Paul Pierce, who can create his own shot just by going at his own pace. There's no way Turner slips past #3 with his deeply developed skill set.

(3) DeMarcus Cousins-C-Kentucky

-The hardest call in the draft by far is the enigmatic big man DeMarcus Cousins. Many times during his freshman year, he looked like a man amongst boys with his ability to dominate the paint as a scorer, rebounder, and defender. But, the problem is that most of the time, Cousins had a propensity to act like a boy who had taken his ball and gone home. If, and it's a big if, Cousins ends up on a team where he can mature, he'll develop into an elite two-way big man in a league without many great post players. If he doesn't mature, we're looking at Eddy Curry 2.0. But, in draft speak he does have a higher floor than PF Derrick Favors and a higher ceiling than SF Wes Johnson, so he's worth the gamble.

3 Steals

(1) Damion James-F-Texas

-James is a player I've been high on for several years coming out of a Texas program that has begun to produce quality NBA players. In this thin of a draft class, any serviceable NBA player drafted outside the lottery would be like...well, hitting the lottery. James has improved every year at Texas as a rebounder, and now as a spot-up shooter. Some contender will be pleased to have a finished product, ready to contribute at the end of Round 1.

(2) Jordan Crawford-G-Xavier

-Crawford is a rare player who's had two coming out moments as an underclassman. The first was his not-so-secret dunk over LeBron James in a pickup game. Then, he burst onto the scene in this year's NCAA Tournament with his breakout performance against Kansas St. in their double OT thriller. While Crawford probably won't be a starter, he's a combo guard who can provide instant offense off the bench. Plus, having him here gives an excuse to play these Gus Johnson highlights!

(3) Eric Bledsoe-G-Kentucky

-The Ringo Starr of this past year's Kentucky hoard of freshmen, Bledsoe was always playing in the shadow of the more heralded John Wall. But, Bledsoe has many of the same talents as Wall (speed, ability to lead the break, good defender) and already has a better jump shot than his college teammate. For a player coming from the same school at the same position, Bledsoe might turn out to be just as good as John Wall, even though he's being picked much later.

3 Busts

(1) Ed Davis-C-North Carolina

-You might sense a theme with our picks for the busts of the draft, underdeveloped big men. The first on our list is Ed Davis of UNC. Davis was touted as a potential Top 5 pick heading into this season and was expected to shoulder the load this year for the Tar Heels. Instead, Davis averaged a pedestrian 13 PPG and 10 RPG as the main focus of the Carolina offense. As usual, some team in the top half of the 1st round will see potential with Davis because of his height and a small sniff of skill. But, here's betting the only thing Davis will see next year is the NBDL.

(2) Daniel Orton-C-Kentucky

-Speaking of NBDL, here's the next rookie big man to go the way of Hasheem Thabeet, Kosta Koufos, and B.J. Mullens. Of course, many thought young men would stop making stupid decisions to leave college early for the NBA Draft once the age limit was put in place. But for the likes of those mentioned above and Kentucky Fr Daniel Orton, the allure is too much to pass up apparently. Then again, some NBA GM will look at Orton's gaudy stats (3 PPG, 3 RPG, two games with over 10+ points, no games with 10+ rebounds) and won't be able to resist. If Orton had stayed at UK for just one more season, he would have had a chance to succeed at the next level. Now, he'll see a court in Tel Aviv before he sees meaningful minutes in the NBA.

(3) Xavier Henry-G-Kansas

-Our last selection may be a bit harsh, but color me unimpressed with Xavier Henry's freshmen season at Kansas. Henry was the prized recruit from last year's college season other than John Wall, but had much less of an impact at Kansas. As usual, Henry's game could use another year of seasoning. But, with his decision to come out after his freshman year, he might have dropped his ceiling from All-Star, to just very good. It might be a bit harsh to call him a bust, because I don't think he'll be an NBDL failure, but I don't think he'll turn out to be the All-Star talent many thought he would become.

3 Wild Cards

(1) Chris Paul

-As always on draft night, we have to expect the unexpected. The biggest chip currently on the table is Hornets PG Chris Paul. Paul has said he's open to a trade, but the Hornets are saying their committed to building around him. Normally, the potential trade of an All-Star PG would be buzzworthy on its own, but with the news that World Wide Wes is encouraging suitors of LeBron to trade for Chris Paul, suddenly the situation goes to DEFCON 4. Of course, if World Wide Wes told NBA GMs to watch the Insler/Mahut 5th set on a continuous loop, they'd do it if they thought it could get them LeBron. The two most likely teams to trade for Paul are the Knicks and Nets, who would both move land and sea to capture LeBron, which leads us to the Draft's next wild card...

(2) Crazy Russian Nets Owner

-Ah yes, Mikhail Prokhorov, the heliskiing Russian tycoon who is entering his 1st NBA Draft as owner of the Nets. With the best odds going into the lottery, Prokhorov must have been disappointed that his mere presence wasn't enough to force the ping pong balls to bounce his way. And with this being a 2-5 player draft, depending on who you believe, Prokhorov is at a difficult spot at #3. So, does he stay where he's at and take the best player available, give up and move back, or trade the pick in the hopes of securing a big name to lure LeBron? Will he randomly show up in the crowd? Will he make his picks while kickboxing or doing backflips while water skiing? That's the thing...nobody knows what to expect.

(3) David Kahn and the TWolves

-With all that being said though, no single entity is as unpredictable heading into Thursday night's draft as TWolves GM David Kahn. As Hubie Brown might analyze the situation: "You're David Kahn, alright. Now, last year, you did something no one thought possible by making the dumbest, most shocking set of picks in the history of the draft, alright...not only did you take a point guard who won't leave Spain to play for you, you then followed that up by drafting another point guard, ok?"

Seriously though, who knows what Kahn might do at the 4th pick. Scenarios are in place which span the gambit from trading either Kevin Love or Al Jefferson, to trading up, to staying put and taking DeMarcus Cousins or Derrick Favors, which would make sense for Kahn to draft a player at his team's one position of strength. Maybe he'll try to trade with the Pacers and attempt to get Larry Bird to come out of retirement. Maybe he'll draft another PG? Maybe he just will forget to make the pick! Whatever he does, you can bet it will be met with a heavy dose of skepticism.

That's it for our 2010 NBA Draft Preview. Join us for our thoughts on how things shaked out later in the week as well as our continuing World Cup coverage. Until then, it's bye for now!