The Sports Enthusiast's 2009 NBA Lottery Mock Draft

Welcome to the new and improved, most unpopular, exciting, and entertaining blog on the Internet. Gone are the days of Chit-Chat Sports, even though I still love the name. Welcome to my newest self-proclaimed nickname...The Sports Enthusiast. Since The Sports Guy, Bill Simmons is already taken, I'll go with Enthusiast. Anyway, on to some real business. It's been a brutal two week stretch for sports, hence the lack of articles. But since the NBA draft is two days away, I'll give you my Lottery Mock draft for this year. By the way these picks are who I THINK the teams will take. Not who they should take. Alright let's get started.

Disclaimer: I have a man-crush on Ricky Rubio and Stephen Curry. Just wanted to give you guys a heads up.

1. LA Clippers - Blake Griffin F/Oklahoma - Its almost way too obvious. To the point where the Clippers have already said that they are taking Blake Griffin. However, (I'll be in the minority here) I am not sold on Blake Griffin's immediate impact in this league. This is not the Big 12. Every night Griffin is going to play against guys who will be physical with him, and without a legitimate jump shot I do not see the immediate impact.

2. Memphis Grizzlies - Hasheem Thabeet C/UCONN - Wow what a mess Memphis is. It's really a shame because they could have a decent fan base. However if they take Thabeet, they'll have a Mayo, Gay, Thabeet core. Which is not terrible. I guess...

3. Oklahoma City - Ricky Rubio G/Spain - My favorite team for next year, already. I was so torn on this pick because everyone is saying that they are going to take James Harden but they have to be completely insane not to take Ricky Rubio. The other name I have for this team is Stephen Curry. Could you imagine a Rubio/Curry, Westbrook, Durant, Green, Krstic starting lineup? I'm calling shotty on them in NBA 2k10 right now.

4. Sacramento Kings - James Harden G/Az St. - Sacramento needs any sort of help. They were the worst team in the NBA and you can expect that again next year. At least Harden will provide some excitement on that team.

5. Washington Wizards - Jordan Hill F/Arizona - Washington almost has to take Jordan Hill out of necessity. Best big left on the board and the Wizards need some kind of presence inside.

6. Minnesota Timberwolves - Tyreke Evans G/Memphis - Another player who left to early. There seems to be a lot of these guys lately. Evans has the ability to be a decent scorer but I am just not sold on his readiness to help the T-Wolves now.

7. Golden State Warriors - Brandon Jennings G/Italy - God I loved this kid in the McDonald's All-American game two years ago. Then he decided he did not want to take Final Exams and then went to play in Italy. Now we see him back in the draft. If Jennings falls to Don Nelson at 7, I don't even think that David Stern will have to leave the podium. The pick will be in, in about 3 seconds.

8. New York Knicks - Stephen Curry G/Davidson - Favorite player in the draft. He has that IT factor that you can not measure. He's the best shooter of the past 15 years, Hands down. I said he would be a Knick last year and I feel like David Stern will make sure that the Knicks get Steph Curry somehow. Imagine, LeBron/Bosh in 2010 with Curry. I'm giddy.

9. Toronto Raptors - Demar DeRozan G/USC - The Raptors need guard help. Terribly. At this point any guard would work for the Raptors. However considering that they have a decent PG right now. They try their luck at DeRozan from USC.

10. Milwaukee Bucks - Jru Holiday G/UCLA - Milwaukee needs a PG to lead their team. Actually I shouldn't say team, because I don't even know what they are after trading their best player.

11. New Jersey Nets - Terrence Williams G/F Lousiville - Love Williams from Lousville. The Nets have a PG and Big so they need a swing man opposite of Vince Carter. Terrence Williams would learn under Vince Carter because I'm pretty sure Yi Janlian is not panning out.

12. Charlotte Bobcats - Gerald Henderson G/F Duke - Henderson broke out this year as a legitimate wing threat. Just what the Bobcats need. The Bobcats are going to make the playoffs next year. Mark it down.

13. Indiana Pacers - Jonny Flynn G/Syracuse - No-brainer for Indiana. If Flynn falls this far he's the easy pick. Flynn will end up being one of the best 6 guys taken in this draft. Mark that down too while your at it.

14. Phoenix Suns - Ty Lawson G/UNC - Very sketchy pick from a fan standpoint. But think about it. How many years does Nash have left to play? In Phoenix? 1 maybe 2? So you get Ty Lawson in to learn as much as he can about playing PG in the NBA from one of the best 5 PGs of all time.

Enjoy the weekend. I'm sure I'll be back when something crazy happens in the draft Thursday!