Now that we know who’s in and who’s out of this year’s NBA draft, it’s time for take two of my Griz draft board for this summer’s lottery pick.
What was already shaping up as a weak draft took a big hit with an unexpected group of top prospects deciding to stay on campus an extra year, taking four players — Greg Monroe, Cole Aldrich, Willie Warren, and Al-Farouq Aminu off my earlier list. Another top prospect who decided to stay in school — North Carolina’s Ed Davis — was not on my first list because I never thought he was coming out.
The Monroe and Davis defections, in particular, hurt the Grizzlies, because the Griz desperately need an upgrade at the 4 and Monroe and Davis were the two most promising Blake Griffin consolation prizes on the board.
With those guys, as well as Aldich, out of the mix, don’t think it’s a given the Grizzlies will go big with their top pick. A lot of mock drafts I’ve seen have the Grizzlies going for a power forward, presumably out of pure need. In Chad Ford’s mock, he has the Griz taking Jordan Hill 6th, but James Johnson 6th or 7th in scenarios where Hill is off the board.
