NBA coaching

Phil Jackson & Gregg Popovich have won 15 of the past 20 NBA titles. The other five were won by Rudy Tomjanovich (2), Larry Brown, Pat Riley and Doc Rivers.

One reason I can see truth in the Miami rumor of LeBron James and Chris Bosh joining Dwayne Wade is that I can easily Pat Riley knifing another coach to guide some All-Stars to a ring. And credibility is big with players.

#10 - Pacers - Paul George

Still in shock over the Hayward pick. Still hoping to hear the Jazz have a trade in the works.

Paul George is supposed to have a freaky amount of potential, but he's a big question mark.

#9 - UTAH JAZZ - Gordon Hayward

I'm a bit deflated. This is the Jazz's second Top 10 draft pick in about 27 years, and I was hoping some of those other guys might slip. But we'll see. I wish him well. I hope he lives up to his potential.

#8 - L.A. Clippers - Al-Farouq Aminu

They have Baron Davis (PG), Eric Gordon (SG), Blake Griffin (PF), and Chris Kaman (C) so Aminu makes sense.

#7 - Detroit - Greg Monroe

Nooooo! I was hoping he'd fall to the Jazz. Solid pick by Detroit, can't argue with it. They need to rebuild, and big men is a good place to start.

#6 - Golden State - Ekpe Udoh

I'm surprised by this pick. The Warriors probably could have traded down for him and got some other assets. I see the Warriors being a lottery team again. I don't get how Don Nelson is still employed there.

#5 - Kings - DeMarcus Cousins

This one has potential to be huge. I'd wager he lives up to it, as long as he has good coaches. Who's even coaching the Kings these days?

#4 - T-Wolves - Wesley Johnson

Still no surpises, and while Minny has an effective front-court with Kevin love and Al Jefferson, and a solid PG prospect in Jonny Flynn, they take better wings, and Johnson fills that need.

#3 - New Jersey - Derrick Favors

Good choice by New Jersey. They're not going to land any of the top five free agents this summer, so they should groom their talent and get the sixth or seventh best free agent, they can be on the right track in a hurry. Favors will need a year or two.

#2 - Sixers - Evan Turner

He's projected by most to be the early favorite for Rookie of the Year. Smart pick.

#1 - Wizards - John Wall

Supposed to be the next franchise player. Good for the Wizards. They have a lot o draft picks; I anticipate them trying to trade Gilbert Arenas at midseason if they're not above .500 in January.

Mock Draft... minutes before

Minutes before the actual draft starts:

#1 - Washington - John Wall
#2 - Philadelphia - Evan Turner
#3 - New Jersey - Derrick Favors
#4 - Minnesota - Wesley Johnson
#5 - Sacramento - DeMarcus Cousins
#6 - Golden State - Epke Udoh
#7 - Detroit - Greg Monroe
#8 - LA Clippers - Al-Farouq Aminu
#9 - Utah - Ed Davis
#10 - Indiana - Luke Babbitt
#11 - New Orleans - Paul George
#12 - Memphis - Patrick Patterson
#13 - Toronto - Cole Aldrich
#14 - Houston - Gordon Hayward

I assume at least six first-round picks will be traded today.

Lakers suck

Did I say "suck"? I meant "win." Ah well. Boston played great but when Ray Allen's shooting remainded off and the Lakers got 20 more free-throw attempts, what could they really do?

Phil Jackson has won 11 of the past 20 NBA championships with the teams of Jordan/Pippen, Shaq/Kobe and Kobe/Pau. If Phil really wanted to go to Chicago, and Chiacgo somehow got LeBron, does anyone dobut in a year or two, he'd get a 12th with LeBron/Rose?

Kings-76ers trade affects NBA draft

The Sacramento Kings have traded Andres Nocioni to the Philadelphia 76ers for Samuel Dalembert.

Seeing as how the Sixers pick #2 and the Kings pick #5, this could signal the directions the two franchises are going. It's been widely believed John Wall will go #1 to the Wizards, but there's been uncertainty where the Sixers will go. Do they go with Evan Turner, allegedly the next Brandon Roy? Or do they go with Derrick Favors, the best big-man in the draft? This would signal they're leaning Favors, which is who coach Doug Collins... likes. (Favors pun avoided!)

Then we go to #5. Most mocks have Wesley Johnson going at #4, but if he doesn't, the Kings are poised to pick him, and if not, they could also go for athletic wingman Al-Farouq Aminu.

If the Wolves pass on DeMarcus Cousins, he could then fall to #6 with Golden State or #7 Detroit.

So does Greg Monroe then fall to #8 or #9? In my draft-scenario dreams for the Jazz, but we'll see.

Go, Celtics, go!

Doing a little dance since the Celtics went up 3-2. I'm a big Celtics fan this week.

MWC - The 5th BCS Conference?

Utah and BYU are anxiously watching the shuffling of the Pac-10, Big Ten and Big 12 with great interest. One possibility, after the dust settles, is that the Pac-10 would be the Pac-16, the Big Ten would be the Big Sixteen, the SEC and ACC would grow, the Big 12 and Big East would collapse, and the MWC, with the recently acquired Boise St., could get the Big 12 left-behinds (Kansas, Kansas St., Iowa St. and Baylor) and be the fifth BCS conference. It's one theory from Roy Kramer, the BCS godfather.

Who can the Jazz get at #9?

Assuming the Jazz don't trade the pick, what can they really get from the slot that's produced players as varied as Amare Stoudamire and Patrick O'Bryant?

1. John Wall - won't be there.
2. Evan Turner - won't be there.
3. Derrick Favors - won't be there.
4. Wesley Johnson - won't be there.

5. DeMarcus Cousins - He's an obvious NBA talent, but there's a lot of question marks about his off-court behavior. Maybe that'll scare enough GM's away, but somehow I doubt it. Odd of being there at #9: 5%

6. Greg Monroe - He's about the same size as Cousins, but with better attitude and passing skills, but doesn't have the potential or wingspan. There are a lot of big men to choose from this year, and he seems to be one of the best, after the no-brainers. Odds: 10%

7. Al-Farouq Aminu - I keep hearing great things about his athleticism. Odds: 25%

8. Patrick Patterson - Should be a really good power forward but one that'll have to compensate for not having the height so many teams crave in their bigs. Odds: 70%

9. Each of these guys will likely be available but I think they'll go with

Ekpe Udoh - (6'10"/PF/Jr) - His profile was raised by Baylor's deep run in the tournament. Best-case scenario: the next LaMarcus Aldridge. Worst? Marcus Haislip. But the potential, the long arms, I think if the above 8 are gone, they go with Udoh, but other possibilities:

Cole Aldrich - (6'10"/C/Jr) - Hm, a tall white American guy. How many of those develop into something? He doesn't have the immediate obviousness of Kevin Love or Chris Kaman, so what is he, a shorter Kosta Koufos?

Luke Babbitt - (6'9"/SF/So) - The Jazz don't really need a small forward, with Andrei Kirilenko and C.J. Miles there.

Ed Davis - (6'10"/PF/So) - Seems to be the biggest question mark in this range. Will his game translate? Will he be a starter in five years or out of the league?

Xavier Henry (6'6"/SG/Fr) - Long arms and athletic. But with Boozer likely leaving and Okur injured, the Jazz really need more front-court help than back-court.

Hassan Whiteside - (7'0"/C/Fr) - Great potential, would have benefitted from another year or two at college, I see the Jazz passing him on him because they don't have the time for another big-man project; they need an immediate rotation player, if not starter.