NBA Draft: Top 5 Prospects at Each Position

With the draft just a few days away, I figured it was good to do some other type of things other than just a mock, so here's my top 5 prospects at each position, rated by how I like them. I'll just list them, then explain after each position (rated by what position they would most likely project to in the NBA).

Point Guard
1. Marcus Williams
2. Randy Foye
3. Jordan Farmar
4. Rajon Rondo
5. Kyle Lowry

I've written before about how much I like Marcus Williams, so it's no surprise I have him at #1 here (heck, I might even devote a whole column to him in the next couple days if I'm abitious enough). Basically, I love his game and the mere prospect of him falling to Philly at 13 makes me giddy. After that, Foye's the guy. Foye's tough, a scorer, and should be able to handle the ball well enough in the NBA. After that, some guys (here's looking at you Chad Ford) love Rajon Rondo's game, but I like Farmar a little more, though I may be biased. I just think he's a much better shooter than Rondo, which is why I'd go with him. Rondo and Lowry are both hard-nosed defensive players without a great offensive game. I think both will be solid pros.

Shooting Guard
1. Brandon Roy
2. Ronnie Brewer
3. JJ Redick
4. Shannon Brown
5. Quincy Douby

Everyone's favorite Brandon Roy is up at top because of his versatility and all-around game. After that, I'd take Brewer over Redick because Brewer is much more athletic and about 50x better defensively, even though Redick's obviously got the better shot. I think Shannon Brown is athletic enough to overcome the fact that he's only about 6'3'', because he can score off the dribble or from the outside. At #5, I put Douby just barely over Guillermo Diaz because of the deft shooting touch.

Small Forward
1. Rudy Gay
2. Adam Morrison
3. Rodney Carney
4. Shawne Williams
5. PJ Tucker

Yes, it's true, I like Gay more than Morrison. Morrison's the better scorer, but he doesn't do anything else real well. He's not a good defender, and not a great rebounder or passer. I think Gay has the better all-around game, and I think money's enough of a factor to keep him motivated. At 3 and 4 I'll go with the Memphis guys, although I like Rodney Carney quite a bit more than Williams, because Carney is a very good defender. At 5 I go with the surprise PJ Tucker, who's undersized, but he's hard-nosed and can get to the basket.

Power Forward
1. Tyrus Thomas
2. Andrea Bargnani
3. Cedric Simmons
4. Alexander Johnson
5. Paul Millsap

Hard to project exactly where Bargnani will play, but I put him at PF, right behind Thomas. I think Thomas is the best player in the draft because of how quickly he's improved, how athletic he is, his desire, defense, etc. I saw the makings of an offensive game as we went along in the Tourney, and as long as he keeps developing in this league I think he's a cross between Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire. At 3 I have Cedric Simmons, who seems to be climbing faster than anyone in the draft in the past couple months. At 4 I like Alexander Johnson, a freak athlete for his size, who should be a very nice player if he can be more consistent. Rounding out I go with Paul Millsap barely over Leon Powe, in the battle of "Guys who's college resumes might make you think they're better than they really are."

Center
1. LaMarcus Aldridge
2. Patrick O'Bryant
3. Shelden Williams
4. Hilton Armstrong
5. Sene Saer

I guess whether or not you consider Aldridge a center depends on how liberal your definition of "center" is, but that's where I've got him. Right behind him I like O'Bryant, who in time should be a better offensive player than Shelden Williams. Hilton Armstrong is a very solid defensive player even if he's not quite that effective offensively, and Saer is another guy that is working his way up the draft board steadily.

And there you have it. Now, I do realize that there should probably be more foreign guys in the mix here (especially at SF or PF), but I just don't know enough about those guys to rank them. Anyway, expect some more NBA Draft coverage over the next couple days, including a Mock Draft at least for the lottery. Once again, the Draft is Wednesday night.