26. Dallas Mavericks: Tyler Honeycutt – SG/SF – UCLA – Sophomore: While they are winning games in the playoffs, and look to have a real shot at the NBA title this year, the Mavericks are old. They have no talented youth on the wings, and although they may be able to make it work this year, it’s going to be a whole lot more difficult next year without any young guns. Honeycutt fills that need for them – not completely, but enough to breath some life in this quickly peaking roster. He can run, score and given his athletic abilities, he can learn to be a good defender – which is exactly what the Mavs need moving forward.
27. New Jersey Nets (from Lakers): Marshon Brooks – SG – Providence – Senior: If the Nets want any chance of keeping Deron Williams in New Jersey past the next trade deadline, they need help offensively on the wings ASAP. They will not find that with this pick in this draft. However, as the nation’s second-leading scorer (behind Fredette), Brooks could be a great spark off the bench in the way that Marcus Thornton has been for the Hornets and Kings in recent years.
28. Chicago Bulls (from Heat): Travis Leslie – SG – Georgia – Junior: Athletically, there are not many more players in this draft above Leslie. To be frank, he’s a freak. When he’s on the court with Rose, teams are going to have an insanely difficult time containing the two, because there aren’t many backcourt pairs who can soar higher than those two.
29. San Antonio Spurs: Jeremy Tyler – PF – USA – 1992: It’s going to be a long-while before the Spurs ever find a legitimate replacement for Tim Duncan. But with him on his way out, the Spurs need some depth up front. While they do have Tiago Splitter and DeJuan Blair as viable candidates, they still need more raw talent, which Tyler brings to the table. He may be the love-child of Stephen Jackson and Michael Beasley (or Ty Crane from the movie “Coach Carter”), but insanity aside, the kid has talent – and the Spurs need that. Poppovich has proven to be an A1 candidate for dealing with headcases and making them effective players, so maybe he can do the same with a very egotistical, but very talented young kid.
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30. Chicago Bulls: Nolan Smith – G – Duke – Senior: With reigning MVP Derrick Rose taking up a majority of time at the PG position, the Bulls aren’t in much need of anything at the point guard position. And with CJ Watson providing assurance as a reliable backup, there isn’t much need for that spot either. However, as a former NCAA champion, Smith brings a winning-pedigree into the league with him, and he would fill the role of the Bulls’ third point-guard perfectly. He will likely see few minutes at the point-spot, but he is capable of filling the other guard spot as well, which the Bulls often see inconsistency at.