Lerm Mock Draft #1

Here is my first mock draft for the NBA class of 2013. The draft lottery was last night, and while my Sixers failed to get a top-three pick, there is a lot of potential in this year's group. I believe that there are two locks at the top of the draft, Nerlens Noel and Ben McLemore. After that, the third best player might go third overall or 35th overall. 

As far as this mock draft is concerned, this is what I think each team will do, not necessarily what I believe it should do. While it is likely that multiple trades will be made on draft day, this draft is reflective of what the draft will look like if each team stays in its current spot. As this is my first mock draft, and the draft is still relatively far in the future, a lot could change between now and then. Feel free to check back regularly for my updated draft board, and keep an eye out for my next post, in which I'll go into some more detail about what players I like and don't like. Enjoy!

1. Cleveland – Nerlens Noel, C (Kentucky)

2. Orlando – Ben McLemore, SG (Kansas)

3. Washington – Otto Porter Jr., SF (Georgetown)

4. Charlotte – Anthony Bennett, PF (UNLV)

5. Phoenix – Victor Oladipo, SG (Indiana)

6. New Orleans – Alex Len, C (Maryland)

7. Sacramento – Trey Burke, PG (Michigan)

8. Detroit – Shabazz Muhammad, SF (UCLA)

9. Minnesota – Sergey Karasev, SF (Triumph Moscow, Russia)

10. Portland – Rudy Gobert, C (Cholet, France)

11. Philadelphia – Cody Zeller, PF/C (Indiana)

12. Oklahoma City – Kelly Olynyk, C (Gonzaga)

13. Dallas – Michael Carter-Williams, PG (Syracuse)

14. Utah – CJ McCollum, PG/SG (Lehigh)

15. Milwaukee – Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SG (Georgia)

16. Boston – Gorgui Dieng, C (Louisville)

17. Atlanta – Steven Adams, C (Pittsburgh)

18. Atlanta – Dario Saric, SF (Cibona Zagreb, Croatia)

19. Cleveland – Glen Rice Jr., SF (Rio Grande Valley, NBA D-League)

20. Chicago – Mason Plumlee, C (Duke)

21. Utah – Tony Mitchell, PF (North Texas)

22. Brooklyn – Jamaal Franklin, SG (San Diego State)

23. Indiana – Jeff Withey, C (Kansas)

24. New York – Allen Crabbe, SG (California)

25. Los Angeles Clippers – Lucas Nogueira, C (Estudiantes, Brazil)

26. Minnesota – Reggie Bullock, SF (North Carolina)

27. Denver – CJ Leslie, SF/PF (NC State)

28. San Antonio – Shane Larkin, PG (Miami)

29. Oklahoma City – Archie Goodwin, SG (Kentucky)

30. Phoenix – Tim Hardaway Jr., SG (Michigan)

-Sean Lerman

Why You Want the Memphis Grizzlies to Play in the NBA Finals

The Grizzlies are one of my favorite teams in the NBA. Often times it seems that the best defensive teams in the league are devoid of any interesting personalities. If you're not from San Antonio, there's a pretty good chance that if you could hang out with any group of guys in the league, it's probably not going to be the Spurs.

Conversely, it is often the case that the teams with the most "interesting" players (Nick Young in Philadelphia, Demarcus Cousins in Sacramento, every single player that played for the Wizards from 2003 to 2006) aren't the best teams in the league.

What makes Memphis unique is that they are undoubtedly the best defensive team in the league while simultaneously having a very fun cast of characters (Z-Bo, "Trick or Treat" Tony Allen, Jerryd Bayless).

You might not be hoping the Grizzlies beat the Thunder, and there's a pretty good chance you're hoping the Warriors reach the finals, but there are quite a few reasons that Memphis is where your Western Conference loyalties should lie.

As a great defensive team with no real superstar, it's refreshing to see Memphis competing for the title. We're in an era of the NBA where teams are clamoring to acquire one or more of the top 15 players in the league. Memphis built its team in a traditional sense: strong inside players, defensive-minded wings, and a pass-first point guard.

In addition to their defense and strong team play, they have a very fun offense to watch, even if it isn't the most effective. They may not run and gun like the Warriors, Thunder, or Knicks, but the Grizzlies shoot a fair amount of three pointers themselves. In addition to that, Marc Gasol might be the best passing big man in the league and he routinely places the ball exactly where it needs to be, allowing Mike Conley, Quincy Pondexter, Allen and Bayless to score some really high-percentage baskets. The final piece of the offensive puzzle for the Grizz is Zach Randolph. Despite a slow second half to the season, Z-Bo has picked it up in the playoffs and is starting to look like his old self with a variety of masterful post moves based around his incredible strength and body control.

Perhaps the most interesting wrinkle of the Grizzlies making the finals is that it would mean that the Thunder did not make it. This would mean Durant will have gone six seasons without winning an NBA Championship. Furthermore, the Thunder look very pedestrian without Russell Westbrook, and Durant has yet to really step up and take over since Westbrook's injury. At what point do we start criticizing Durant the way we criticize all the other superstars that haven't won a ring? We blasted LeBron for years, Dirk took a lot of heat before finally winning a championship, and the lack of a championship ring is one of the biggest holes in Allen Iverson's resume.

Finally, the most important factor in why it would be great to see the Grizzlies make the finals is that they probably have the best chance of beating the Heat in a seven game series. As we've learned from Chicago, the blueprint for beating Miami is to rebound, play 48 minutes of quality defense, and pound the ball down in the post.

If that's the kind of basketball you're looking for, well there isn't a team in the league that plays it better than the Memphis Grizzlies.

-Sean Lerman

Who Actually Should Have Been the NBA's Most Improved Player?

Today, it was announced that Paul George of the Indiana Pacers won the Most Improved Player Award for the 2012-13 season. In my mind, there were three players that could have won. Here are their stats from last year.

Player A: 12.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, .440 FG%
Player B: 13.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, .432 FG%
Player C: 12.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists, .366 FG%

Now here are their stats from this season.

Player A: 17.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists, .419 FG%
Player B: 17.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 8.0 assists, .431 FG%
Player C: 17.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.7 assists, .423 FG%

Let's break this down. Player A improved his rebounding the most at +2, but his field goal percentage dropped over 2% from last season, which means that he took quite a few more shots to increase his scoring so much.

Player B averaged the most points per game last season out of the trio, but he had one of the biggest stat increases of any player in the NBA, improving his assists per game by +3.5. It should also be noted that Player B improved by leaps and bounds on the defensive end of the court.

Player C increased his scoring more than either of the other two, eventually landing at +5.6 in the category. This player also increased his assists by a respectable +1.3 and had a huge uptick in efficiency in raising his field goal percentage by nearly 6%.

Player A is Paul George, Player B is Jrue Holiday, and Player C is Charlotte Bobcats point guard Kemba Walker.

I believe that it should have been Walker that won the award. Not only did he improve on the offensive side of the court, he more than doubled his steals per game average from 0.9 to 2.0.

He did this all for a team that gave 27 minutes per game or more to Byron Mullens, Ramon Sessions and Josh McRoberts. Add on another 20 or so minutes each for Ben Gordon, Hakim Warrick, and Brendan Haywood.

Let me repeat that. Brendan Haywood.

Somehow, Kemba Walker led this team to 21 wins. Somehow, they weren't the worst team in the NBA.

People keep telling me that I need to keep George's defense in mind in the fact that he won. Except the only problem with that is he was a good defensive player last year. If you're going to make that argument, at least tell me I should be in favor of Holiday.

I think the biggest case against Walker was that he plays in Charlotte, and nobody cares about the Bobcats. Nobody watched him play this year. His team was bad and wasn't in a big market, so he got overlooked.

What's really exciting is that all three of these players have a seemingly limitless ceiling of potential going forward, and I wouldn't be surprised if any one of them made a run at Most Improved Player again next season.

-Sean Lerman

Why the Sixers Should Re-Sign Swaggy P

Let's make this clear right off the bat. Nick Young is not a good defensive player. He occasionally loses focus for a possession of five. If the opposing team has a shooting guard that does more than stand around for corner threes, he's going to give up his fair share of points.

I could not care less.

The Sixers are not a great team. They're okay. They win a few games here and there. Next season isn't going to be overwhelmingly different unless the team makes a huge splash in free agency this offseason. So if the team isn't going to be good, I would hope that it is at least entertaining.

As I type this I am watching the Sixers get outplayed and outhuslted by the New York Knicks. I turned on the game about halfway through the second quarter and did a quick scan of the court. You know who I was looking for?

Swaggy P.

I saw the score and automatically chalked the game up as a loss. (Side note: if they come back and win this, won't I look silly tomorrow). But even when the team is losing, Nick Young always makes things interesting. You never know what is going to happen when the ball is in his hands, although you can safely assume that it won't be a pass, unless it's an insane behind-the-back no look pass that Michael Jordan couldn't have handled in his prime.

Young makes some of the most incredible baskets I've ever seen. Some of the shots he makes could be duplicated by, maybe, three other players in the league. Although, to be fair, some of the shots he takes couldn't be made by anybody, which is why he's only shooting 41% on the year.

But guess what? Young has never shot less than 40% over the course of a season in his entire career. For all the shots you can take at him for his shot selection, he has consistently provided offense for whatever team he's playing for.

Not to mention the fact that he is always a basket or two away from catching fire and scoring 10 straight points so fast you didn't even realize it happened.

Nick Young's confidence level rivals that of Kobe Bryant and probably exceeds that of LeBron, Durant and most other stars in the league. Because of this, you know that in the last few minutes of the game, when every shot counts, he isn't going to shy away from the ball. If Jrue Holiday is injured or totally covered on a final shot, who would you want to pull up from downtown when the team is down by three with four seconds left?

Evan Turner? No. Dorrell Wright? Not a chance. Spencer Hawes? Just stop.

The easy, and correct, answer to that question, is Swaggy P.

The final point I'd like to make is that he won't even cost that much money. Young's current contract pays him about $6 million per year. There is no reason Philadelphia couldn't re-sign him for the same amount, or even potentially a little less if you can sell him on the fact that he'll get consistent playing time on a team with no other serious threats from beyond-the-arc.

At the end of the day, the Sixers probably won't re-sign Young. No matter where he plays next season, though, those fans can count themselves in for a treat. Because if nothing else, Nick Young is one of the most entertaining players in the NBA, and entertainment is what it's all about.

-Sean Lerman

How Badly did the Sixers lose the Andrew Bynum trade?

It is really easy to look back at the Andrew Bynum trade and think about how poorly the 76ers made out in the deal. And I mean really easy. They gave up one of the top perimeter defenders in the league, a young, talented center, and an athletic swingman for Bynum, who has as many minutes played this year as I do, and Jason Richardson, who is roughly 74 1/2 years old.

However, things aren't always as simple of what was given up for what came back. For example, getting rid of Igoudala's contract was arguably the most important part of the trade for Philadelphia.

Yes, having Nik Vucevic and his 12.4 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game would really be a nice addition to the team right now, especially since the Sixers are relatively weak in the frontcourt, but for the cap relief that getting rid of Iggy provided, those parts of the trade are probably a wash.

Having canceled out those two aspects, the next step has to be evaluating the remaining aspects of the deal. The Sixers traded Moe Harkless and a protected first round pick for Jason Richardson and Andrew Bynum. This is where the trade gets a little shaky.

Bynum is basically a moot point here. He hasn't played a game yet this season. I highly doubt that he will. If he does, it'll be for a few minutes per game at the end of the year for no reason other than showing himself to potential suitors in free agency.

Moe Harkless is nothing particularly special. He is averaging just 4.8 points and 3.8 rebounds on the season. This wouldn't be too horrible for a rookie, except for the fact that he is playing nearly 20 minutes per game! For comparison, Dorell Wright, in roughly the same number of minutes per game in 06-07, outdid Harkless in most of the important statistical categories.

I don't think anybody is calling Wright a high quality NBA player, and at least he can hit a jump shot.

So no serious loss there in getting rid of Harkless. Moving on to the protected first round pick, there is only so much that can be said. Mid-to-late first round picks don't often pan out, so a protected pick isn't overwhelmingly valuable, and it's more than acceptable as far as a loss in a trade that offered the potential of Andrew Bynum playing a full season in Philly.

Jason Richardson is not the player he was in 2005. He's not even the player he was in 2010. Unfortunately, he's still being paid like that player. Richardson is due about 6.5 million dollars per year for the next three years, the last of which is a player option.

Kind of makes you wonder why the Sixers amnestied one year of Andres Nocioni's deal.

J-Rich's contract is going to hurt the team over the next few years, but not too badly considering how much cap Philadelphia cut in other parts of the trade.

Overall, the bottom line here is that the trade was not a success by any stretch of the imagination, but it wasn't the disaster many people are making it out to be either.

I just can't wait until the Sixers spend 60 millions dollars on Al Jefferson or Josh Smith and commit to another four years of finishing five games under .500.

-Sean Lerman

Welcome to Sports With Lerm!

Hello out there and welcome to Sports with Lerm! Before you go on and read all the mind-blowing things I have to say about the world of sports, you may be interested in why I'm qualified to distribute these awe-inspiring bits of knowledge.

I suppose it would be important to start with who I am. My name is Sean Lerman. I am a 22-year-old sports talk show host, and you can listen to my show, The Shot Clock on Wednesday's at 9:30 p.m. on 1490 WBCB and oh look here's the link right here! How convenient!

I'm also a senior at Bloomsburg University, and I work in the sports information department where I write game stories and press releases as well as stat football, basketball, baseball, soccer, field hockey, wrestling and the occasional stone-circle death match.

As far as my actual athletic experience is concerned, I played baseball all throughout high school and spent a season as a backup to the backup's backup catcher at Westminster College. I stopped going there because in case you aren't aware, Westminster is a one-traffic-light town about half an hour from Lake Erie and 15 minutes from Ohio. Not exactly a bustling borough.

I live in Bloomsburg right now while I finish up my final semester. After which, I'll be returning home to Philadelphia where *crossing fingers* I can get a real job in radio.

In the meantime, I'll be posting here at least once per week about all the crazy and interesting things happening in the world of sports. You may even see the occasional podcast with myself and Josh "The Hammer" Hannock. His blog is right here, but I promise that you'll like mine better.

Well that's probably enough rambling about how wonderful I am for one week. Check back soon for all kinds of fun stuff!

-Sean Lerman