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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 6:34 p.m., Wednesday, June 25, 2008

NBA mock draft: Updated first round

By Rick Bonnell
McClatchy Newspaper

Here's a mock draft of Thursday's NBA draft.

This mock draft reflects the Pacers-Raptors trade, Bobcats-Nuggets trade, Hornets-Trail Blazers trade.

1. Chicago Bulls, Derrick Rose, Memphis guard: How does this affect Ben Gordon's impending free agency?

2. Miami Heat, Michael Beasley, Kansas State forward: Just because they draft him doesn't mean they'll keep him.

3. Minnesota Timberwolves, O.J. Mayo, Southern Cal., guard: Rashad McCants could become extraneous here.

4. Seattle Supersonics, Russell Westbrook, UCLA guard: A bit of a risk, but he's a guard with size who plays great defense.

5. Memphis Grizzlies, Kevin Love, UCLA forward: Hurting as they are inside, Love has the chance for instant impact here.

6. New York Knicks, Danilo Gallinari, Italian pro forward: New coach Mike D'Antoni is comfortable with International players.

7. Los Angeles Clippers, Eric Gordon, Indiana guard: They can use another wing scorer, with Corey Maggette's status in doubt.

8. Milwaukee Bucks, Joe Alexander, West Virginia forward: Has great athleticism and the Bucks need everything but power forwards.

9. Charlotte Bobcats, Jerryd Bayless, Arizona guard: No question this team needs another point guard under contract.

10. New Jersey Nets, Brook Lopez, Stanford center: The Nets need to stabilize their inside game.

11. Indiana Pacers, Anthony Randolph, LSU forward: Trading for T.J. Ford solves Pacers' point-guard problem.

12. Sacramento Kings, D.J. Augustin, Texas guard: This is a fall-back plan in case Beno Udrih leaves via free agency.

13. Portland Trail Blazers, DeAndre Jordan, Texas A&M center: Blazers have so much young talent, they can wait for him to figure it out.

14. Golden State Warriors, Brandon Rush, Kansas guard: One of the more ready-to-play prospects in this draft.

15. Phoenix Suns, Robin Lopez, Stanford forward: Not as polished offensively as his brother, but still a keeper.

16. Philadelphia 76ers, Darrell Arthur, Kansas forward: Might not be a starter, but he'll quickly fit into a rotation.

17. Indiana, Nicolas Batum, French pro forward: This is a shot in the dark following Wednesday's trade with Toronto.

18. Washington Wizards, Roy Hibbert, Georgetown center: With Etan Thomas's heart condition, they need alternatives at center.

19. Cleveland Cavaliers, Kosta Koufos, Ohio State center: It makes great sense for the Cavs to deal this pick for veteran help.

20. Charlotte Bobcats, Donte Greene, Syracuse forward: Hibbert makes sense if he's there or Nos. 9 and 20 could become one higher pick.

21. New Jersey Nets, Mario Chalmers, Kansas guard: They're disenchanted with backup point guard Marcus Williams.

22. Orlando Magic, Marreese Speights, Florida forward/center: Could use a more conventional power forward to back up Hedo Turkoglu.

23. Utah Jazz, JaVale McGee, Nevada center: Jazz is a team that has always valued a lot of big men.

24. Seattle Supersonics, Jason Thompson, Rider center: An exceptionally productive big man from a smaller conference.

25. Houston Rockets, J.J. Hickson, N.C. State center-forward: A true back-to-the-basket scorer is more valuable in the pros than college.

26. San Antonio Spurs, Alexis Ajinca, French pro center: International players have been good to the Spurs (Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili).

27. Portland Trail Blazers, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Memphis guard: Blazers acquired this pick from Hornets, and it could be moved again.

28. Memphis Grizzlies, Ryan Anderson, California forward: A jump-shooting forward in the mold of Austin Croshere.

29. Detroit Pistons, D.J. White, Indiana forward: The Pistons are leaning toward the best big man left on the board.

30. Boston Celtics, Joey Dorsey, Memphis forward: An active, tough guy with some size to add to the champions' depth.