Sure, and we could pick Ibaka or any number of possible “future” assets. The practical fact is that Alexander is the best SF in the draft (no-one else looks any better than what we already have) Westbrook is a good defender with an upside, and Augustin followed by Chalmers are the best PG’s left on the board. I don’t think Gordon’s a fit, and we’d have to get to 5 to get Bayless or Mayo – and we might not get them there. We’ll trade up, or we’ll set the board to get a vet. I don’t actually see anything else in this draft that could help us, given that we have youth and depth, and certainly no need for big men (there aren’t any in the draft better than what we have in any case). We have a lot of pieces to deal, which is why every report indicates KP has been working all the trade channels. #13 might not be a bad pick, but our problem is we have a roster loaded with players that are likely to be every bit as good as anyone we can get at 13. Some think Brandon Rush would be a help, but I don’t know that he’s “better” than Webster, which, given we have both Outlaw and Webster already at that position, makes me wonder why we’d draft him.

The mocks have seen the early hype on the SF’s drop all but one down the list – Alexander. Recently, I’ve seen Ajinca, McGee and Koufos projected to the Blazers, and Rush. The first 3 are irrelevant other than as trade bait, and Rush is said to be coveted by Phoenix, so that if we draft him there, he’d probably end up being some part of a trade. Bottom line. What these mocks keep doing is make my point above, which is that there are only a couple of players we might want, and the only way to get them is to trade up. Barring that, everything else will be directed towards a vet, and/or the salary cap next year. Hopefully, KP can convince other GM’s that the 13 has more value to them, than it does to us.