NBA Freeballin' (soon to be PaidBallin')

The NBA draft is June 24th and the deadline to withdraw your name from the draft has come and gone. Now I know there isn’t much information out there about this, so once again I will use my inside connections in basketball the internet to get the latest scoop on all our former Cats entering the Association.

Patrick Patterson- gets the first spot on the list because he earned it. Scouts are raving about his work ethic and passing but his poor rebounding this year has been a focus for detractors. He confirmed his entrance to the NBA in an emotional press conference recently and has hired an agent. Mock drafts have him as high as #8 and as low as the late lottery, but none have him stting until the second round.

John Wall- some guy, I haven’t heard too much about his prospects in the NBA but anytime I asked I got a lot of confused looks. Doesn’t look good for his chance to be drafted.

DeMarcus Cousins- Might not get to hear his name called if he’s five minutes late to the draft. No mock drafts I’ve seen have him going lower than #4. His quickness and athleticism is off the charts for his size and everyone knows his ability to score. I’m not going start about the character thing because it’s BS, but his other knocks do have some legs. His fundamentals are not refined and needs work on his defense. The headband is the other part of this package deal.

Eric Bledsoe- The first of the surprises, his stock is still very high and he has been projects to go anywhere from #16-24. If he drops that far, it will be because of his turnovers and the fact that, at 6″1′, he has to play the point and several analysts have noted he didn’t perform well when put in the position. His range and quickness were what have impressed people greatly and many say there will be a team in the lottery willing to make the gamble. Rated as one of the 20 best underclassmen in the draft by Bleacherreport.com

Daniel Orton- the most mystifying departure of the class, and the sole reason the if I meet a guy named Mark Hamilton in Lexington I will call him a dick, Orton did not shine this year but his physical tools alone made him a 7th man lottery pick. His huuuuge frame and polished defensive mechanics have NBA execs drooling and willing to take a shot on him in the mid-1st with one board showing Orton coming off the board at #20 to San Antonio. ESPN’s Chad Ford ranks him as the #10 best player in the draft.

All have declared for the draft and all look poised to be taken in the 1st round, so the draft might be worth watching this year. Look for this to be Kentucky’s announcement that the machine known as Big Blue is back to producing world class players. Good luck to all these players and I can only hope that John Wall does end up going to the Nets. The threat of living in New Jersey would be enough for me to come back for one more year.

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