NBA WIZARD 2012 DRAFT PREDICTION (THE LOTTERY)

(1) NEW ORLEANS HORNETS 
Anthony Davis is the concensus number one pick and there is absolute no doubt who the Hornets will draft with their first pick.
 
(2) CHARLOTTE BOBCATS
The Charlotte Bobcats will trade this pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers because the Bobcats are not high on Thomas Robinson and would like to use the second pick to get multiple assets.  I expect the Cavs to trade their 4th and 24th picks to the Bobcats for the 2nd overall pick.  The Bobcats will then use the 4th pick to draft Harrison Barnes.  Jordan doesn't want to be blamed for not drafting Thomas Robinson and is hoping the Wizards pick him so that drafting  Barnes is an easier decision.  Regardless of what happens, the Bobcats will use the 4th pick to draft Barnes.

(3) WASHINGTON WIZARD 
The Washington Wizards need a wing scorer to pair along with John Wall, so their choice will come down to Harrison Barnes and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.  I think the Wizards should pick Harrison Barnes, because they already have Trevor Ariza, who is similar to MKG, but I don't think the Wizards are high on Barnes.  I believe the Wizards will pick MKG

(4) CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
The Cavs will use the 2nd pick that they will acquire via trade from Charlotte to draft Bradley Beal.  They are in love with Beal.

(5) SACRAMENTO KINGS
The Kings have two options.  The first would be to trade Tyreke Evans and their 5th picks to the Rockets for Kyle Lowry and the Rocket's 12 and 16 picks.  I wouldn't make this trade.  The likely scenario would be to use the pick themselves.  For as much as they like Drummond, Thomas Robinson will be available at five, so there is no way I see them passing up a sure thing.  Robinson will average a double-double as a rookie (10ppg and 10rpg), so picking him at five should be a no-brainer.

(6) PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
The Blazers are considering three players, Andre Drummond, Dion Waiters and Damian Lillard.  Will they take a risk on a raw center like Drummond, or will they pick a guard?  I think the Blazers will take Dion Waiters with the sixth pick, because the Blazers have another pick at 11, and there will be a few quality big men available.  Despite that, it wouldn't surprise me if the Blazers use this pick on Andre Drummond.

(7) GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
The Warriors are considering trading this pick because they don't believe their two choices -- Andre Drummond and Damian Lillard -- will be available at this spot, but fortunately for them, both of those players could be available at seven, if the Blazers select Waiters.  Here is exactly how this selection will go for the Warriors.  Drummond would be the Warriors first choice if he's available, if not, Oakland native Damian Lillard will be their pick at seven.

(8) TORONTO RAPTORS
The Raptors will take whichever player the Warriors don't select however, their first choice would be to take Damian Lillard.  However, if Drummond is still on the board, the Raptors will gladly select him with the eighth pick.

(9) DETROIT PISTON
The Pistons are going to draft big with this pick and the decision will come down to two Tar Heels, John Henson and Tyler Zeller and maybe Myer Leonard.  When all is said and done, I believe the Pistons will select Tyler Zeller with the ninth pick.

(10) NEW ORLEANS HORNETS
The Hornets will pick Austin Rivers with the 10th pick, you can pretty much book it!  Don't get caught up with the narrative that Eric Gordon and Rivers cannot play together, because neither is a pure point guard.  This is simply not the case.  The Gordon-Rivers backcourt will immediately be one of the best and most dynamic in the league from day one!  This team is definitely making the playoffs next year and will be a contender in two seasons, once Anthony Davis adds 20 pounds to his skinny 225-pound frame.

(11) PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
This pick will depend on what the Blazers do at six.  This pick will also infuence what the Blazers do with their sixth pick, which is why I'm expecting them to select Waiters over Drummond at six.  The Blazers know that a quality big will be available at 11 and they could have a choice between Tyler Zeller if the Pistons pass on him, or his teammate John Henson, whom I believe will be available.  The Blazers will select John Henson with the 11th pick.

(12) HOUSTON ROCKETS
The Rockets have made it known that they are going to draft a big, no matter what the draft landscape looks like at this point, so selecting Myer Leonard makes sense here.  The Blazers could pull a fast one and select Leonard instead of John Henson, but I doubt that will be the case.  I believe Leonard will be available at twelve and I expect the Rockets to select him.

(13) PHOENIX SUNS
The Phoenix Suns would love to select Austin Rivers with this pick, but he should be off the board by 13, so I expect them to select the best player available and on my board that player would be Kentucky's Terrence Jones.  He's not Rivers, but his energy and intensity should more than make up for being a less talented player.

(14) MILWAUKEE BUCKS
The Bucks will have two options here, Jeremy Lamb and Terrence Ross and to be honest, either player will be a good pick at 14.  I think Jeremy Lamb will be the better outside shooter and that is something the Bucks desperately need, which is why I expect Lamb to be the last lottery selection.

OTHER NEWS

ROCKETS
The Rockets are hoping to trade their 12th and 16th picks and Kyle Lowry to the Sacramento Kings for Tyreke Evans and the King's 5th pick.  They would then use the 5th pick on Andre Drummond.  If they acquire the 5th from Sacramento, their dream would be to package the 5th and 18th picks along with whomever the Magic want for Dwight Howard.

OKC
The Oklahoma City Thunder are very interested in Bradley Beal and are believed to be offering James Harden.  Many believe that Michael Jordan -- the Bobcats owner -- is not interested in spending money and will not commit the $12-14 million average that Harden will be asking now that he's a free agent.  However, if the Thunder are willing to take back the Bobcats' Tyrus Thomas (3year/$26 million), this deal will get done.  In actuality, even if Harden is paid $14 million, if you remove Thomas salary, the Bobcats would only be adding an additional $5 million to their payroll.  And if you take into account the $4 million Beal will make next season, the Bobcats would only be adding $1 million to their payroll.  In a nutshell, Beal and Tyrus Thomas will make a combined $12 million next season, so giving Harden a salary starting at $12 million would pretty much be a wash.

LAKERS
The Lakers have made Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace available, but I don't think they'll have any takers, especially for Pau's 2years/$39 million contract.  If anything, I see the Lakers trading Andrew Bynum for Dwight Howard, before Pau.  His age and contract makes him very difficult to move.  The one trade that I will make if I were the Lakers, would be to trade Pau to the Hawks for Josh Smith and a few draft picks.

CLIPPERS
A trade to bring Odom to the Clippers is being discussed and looks very likely, but the Clippers want to include Mo Williams.  A third team will have to be included to facilitate such a trade, because the Mavericks are in no position to take on Williams' $8.5 million salary.

NBA WIZARD 2012 NBA FINALS PREDICTION

2012 NBA FINALS

(2) OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER  (47-19)  VS.  (2) MIAMI HEAT  (46-20)

The dream series has finally arrived.  Kobe vs. Lebron never materialized, so Durant vs. Lebron will be the most imposing personal matchup since Jordan vs. Drexler in the 1992 NBA Finals.  However, there are many other intriguing factors in this series.  Miami's "big 3" vs. OKC's "big 3" will be the second deciding factor next to Lebron vs. Durant, because regardless of what happens between Lebron and Durant, the other two stars, (Bosh and Wade) vs. (Westbrook  and Harden) will be very key in determining the winner of this series.  The final determining factor, or the X-factor, will come down to what I call "the Others."  For Miami, (Haslem, Alexander, Chalmer and Battier), for OKC (Ibaka, Perkins, Collison and Sefolosha).  With that said, let's start with the Durant vs. Lebron Matchup, which I believe will be the key to this series.

Durant vs. Lebron
For their careers, Lebron has a 12-4 record against Durant, but keep in mind, most of this came when the Thunder weren't that good.  The gap has closed over the years, as evident by the team's 1-1 record this season, but for argument sake, I felt it was worth pointing out the 12-4 record.

The reason I wanted to point this out, is to show that Lebron has dominated his personal matchup against Durant.  In this year's post season, Lebron is averaging 30.8ppg, 9.6rpg, 5.1apg on 50.8 percent shooting while Durant is averaging 27.8ppg, 7.9rpg, 4.2apg on 50.5 percent shooting.  I anticipate Lebron winning this matchup, even though it will probably be by a hair.  I don't expect Lebron to dominate this matchup, but I certainly expect him to win it.  The reason this is important, is because if you go back 20 to 30 years, the NBA champion has always had the best player in the series.  To be honest this is the key reason I believe the Heat will win the championship.  I don't see how OKC wins, if Lebron ends up being the best player in the series.  Then again, there are other factors, that could sway this series.

Miami's Big 3 vs OKC Big 3 
Well, we can't discuss the big 3's of both teams without including Lebron and Durant and I've already stated who I believe will win that matchup.  However, that leaves (Bosh and Wade) vs. (Westbrook and Harden).  On the face, it looks like OKC has this matchp won, simply because both Westbrook and Harden are very healthy, unlike Wade (drained knees) and Bosh (abdominal strain).  The problem with this, is Westbrook has been inconsistent despite being healthy, whereas despite health issues, Wade numbers have been slightly better.  In the Post season, Westbrook is averaging 21.7ppg, 5.1rpg and 5.1apg on .436 percent shooting, while Wade is averaging 22.9ppg, 5.0rpg and 4.1apg on .47 percent shooting).  Their numbers are fairly similar, but it obvious that Wade's are slightly better.  In order for OKC to win the "big 3" matchup, Harden will have to completely outplay Bosh to the tune of a 22ppg average or higher, with Bosh averaging less than 15ppg in the series and I simply don't see this happening.

The Others
Without question, OKC wins this matchup hands down.  The addition of Ibaka, gives the Thunder a "big 4" and once you add his production to Perkins (the paint clogger), Sefolosha (the perimeter defender) and Collison (the banger), it makes it very easy to pick the OKC others.  I like Chalmers, Haslem and Battier, but I don't see them outplaying OKC's others.

Conclusion
I'm picking Lebron to win the Durant-Lebron matchup and I'm picking Miami's "big 3" over OKC's "big 3," but the others could determine this series, or perhaps not.  In order for Lebron to win his personal matchup and for Miami's "big 3" to win that matchup, two things will have to happen.  One, Lebron and Wade will have to outplay Durant and Westbrook.  Two, OKC's others will have to be ineffective on the defensive end against Miami.  Obviously Perkins, Ibaka, Sefolosha and Collison are known for their defense and if they play well, Durant and Westbrook will end up winning their respective matchups between Lebron and Wade.  In order for Wade and Lebron to win this matchup, which is what I am predicting, OKC others will have to be somewhat ineffective on defense.

I simply don't see how Miami loses this series if Lebron and Wade outplays Durant and Westbrook, which is why I am picking the Heat to win this series.

Heat in 6