It's All About Pat Mills

Pat Mills will have to make the Portland Trailblazers roster before he gets to blow by Chris Paul again.

Twenty four hours have passed so I thought I would provide you with as many links as possible (before I head overseas for a few days) regarding Pat Mills being drafted by the Portland Trailblazers.

Before I go though, anyone know of someone that predicted the top five picks in the draft and the team's they would end up with?

Sir Link-A-Lot featuring Pat Mills:

- Mills the fourth Aussie to be linked with Portland.

- Trailblazers press release.

- Backup point guard Sergio Rodriguez was traded by the Trailblazers before the draft. Does this leave the door open for Mills?

- Blazer Blog - live from the draft

- RotoTimes.com believes Mills was one of a few to drop too far in the draft.

- The Australian newspaper's thoughts.

- Boston Celtics were hoping Mills would slide a little lower.

- Hoopsworld hints at Mills heading overseas.

- Not draft related but a great read. Aussie rules and hoops are closer than we think.

NBA Draft Top 5

Let's hope the NBA Commissioner does not forget which Griffin to announce first.

The NBA Draft is less than forty eight hours away so I thought it was time for me to pen my thoughts on the top 5 picks.

Here goes and I'd love to hear your thoughts at the end.

#1 - LA Clippers Everyone will fall over if Oklahoma's Blake Griffin is not selected here. (It would be good value if David Stern let Taylor Griffin's name slip in here.) Griffin is already counting the cash associated with being the top pick but can he turn the unfortunate Clippers around.

He will help but a motivated Baron Davis is the key here. Davis can make Griffin's transition to the pros a little easier if he is on top of his game and can get along with Coach Mike Dunleavy.

No rookie is coming into the Western Conference and leading his team to immediate success. Even a manchild power forward. One night it's Tim Duncan, then A'mare Stoudamire, next is Dirk and the list goes on.

Luckily for the Clippers, they are getting a guy that will help their cause. The cupboard is not completely bare for LA's other team but can they all just get along?

#2 - Memphis Grizzles If in doubt go for a big man, so UConn's Hasheem Thabeet will be called next by David Stern.

Thabeet reminds me a lot of Portland's Greg Oden. His best asset right now is defense and rebounding but needs polish on his offensive game.

I watched Thabeet at the Sweet Sixteen where UConn was defeated by Missouri and too many times he was just muscled off the block. This meant he was taking some unbalanced forced shots.

If he can develop a solid face up game on the block he will become a tough cover in years to come at the offensive end.

#3 - Oklahoma City Thunder Taking a punt here and saying they will draft the Spaniard Ricky Rubio but he will be shipped off to Minnesota in exchange for ASU's James Harden.

So when that happens Harden will become a great fit for what the Thunder are trying to achieve.

Russell Westbrook is adamant that he is a point guard so Harden would slide nicely into the two spot. Although in some circles Harden's athleticism is being questioned, the guy is a player. The Pac-10 tried to stop him all season and had no success in slowing the lefty.

I'm looking for the Thunder to improve greatly this upcoming season as their previous draft picks begin to mature.

#4 - Sacramento Kings They need a point guard to run and control the show. Johnny Flynn is someone they will think about but I believe the Kings have fallen in love with Tyreke Evans.

In a recent workout against many of the guys competing for the same spot, Evans was too big, too strong to handle and contain getting to the rack.

Where I question Evan's game is what will be his best position in the League? It will take some time for the former Memphis Tiger to find his groove in the NBA.

#5 - Minnesota Timberwolves via the Washington Wizards As I mentioned above, James Harden and Ricky Rubio will be part of a draft day trade, which means Rubio is headed to the Great Lakes area.

With Randy Foye heading to Washington I'm guessing the T-Wolves are ready to let the Pistol Pete like point from Spain come in and do his thing. (Providing the T-Wolves can agree to a buyout price with Rubio's Spanish club team.)

The people of Minnesota need to be entertained if they are going to leave their house during winter so a few Rubio to Jefferson highlight plays may just do the trick.

Don't expect the world from Rubio, immediately. Please remember he is only 18yo and is in the Western Conference.

Time will tell if the hype has been all worth it for this young international star.

These are purely just my thoughts, so we will have to wait until Friday to see how on the money my crystal ball was.

NBA Draft Combine ft Pat Mills & Joe Ingles

Not what you want to be on the back page for.

While I try to figure out what the future holds for me, I will not put you guys on hold. Here is the latest news, especially how the NBA Draft Combine is going for the Aussies.

- ABC Northern Grandstand radio commentator Zane Bojak was on top of all the issues happening in the far north over the past day. Click here to here the thoughts of Townsville Crocodiles CEO Ian Smythe, former teammate (again) Russell Hinder and myself on the day's events.

- DraftExpress.com - "Having already evaluated the other players here on multiple occasions, we were especially excited to see Joe Ingles, as he’s generating some pretty nice buzz these days. While there were a few interesting things to take away from this workout, the lack of competitive action seen here means we’ll probably have to wait until the Reebok Eurocamp in Treviso to get a real read on what type of player he is."

"The OT's" very own Joe Ingles is starting to get the attention of many scouts in the USA right now. Keep it up Joe, and all the best with the draft.

- NBA.com - "Austin Daye really stole the show amongst the small forwards. His shot barely touched the net on almost all attempts, and he looked ridiculously smooth in pretty much everything he did. Internationals Joe Ingles and Omri Casspi both shot the ball well. Tyler Smith and Damion James look like they'll be heading back to school, while Sam Young showed some serious athleticism."

Just a small snippet from the NBA Draft Combine.

- DraftExpress.com - Representatives of eight NBA teams spent their Memorial Day in Washington D.C. watching a workout featuring UConn freshman Ater Majok. The Sudanese big man competed alongside college seniors such as UAB’s Lawrence Kinnard and Chicago State’s Josh Mayo, in both individual skill-based drills and a two on two setting. The feedback we received seemed to be lukewarm at best and very poor at worst. Majok is apparently trying to showcase himself as some type of small forward prospect, and the reaction in the gym was not very positive. “He’s five years away from being five years away,” one high-level NBA executive told us. “He definitely needs to go back to school,” said another. Majok’s frame reportedly looked good, and he actually sports fairly nice shooting mechanics. The problem is that he looks like someone that has barely played any competitive basketball whatsoever in the last few years, which just happens to be exactly the case. He’s also not quite as athletic as you might think looking at him on first glance, as he appears to be “more long than he is athletic.” “It’s going to be very tough for him to get drafted this year,” the NBA executive opined. “By the time he’s ready to play, who knows where you’ll be. He needs to go back to UConn for at least another two years” Majok’s “advisors” are apparently exploring the option for him to play overseas next year, according to reports we’ve gotten from teams in Europe."

Sudanese born Australian Ater Majok has his feelers out there. It will be interesting to see if the kid heads to college or Europe?

- Day 1 Draft Combine notes.

- NBA teams are asking draft prospects if they have "friends with benefits" during the interview process.

- Andy Katz ESPN - "Pat Mills showed some Ty Lawson- and Darren Collison- like speed during point guard drills Thursday. Mills isn't a lock for the first round. "I'm doing everything to stay in," Mills said. "If the feedback is negative then I may come back." Mills, who broke his right hand during the season but came back for the West Coast conference tournament, said his right wrist is completely healed after an X-ray three weeks ago.
An Australian Olympian, Mills said he is also going to the Reebok Euro camp next week in Treviso, Italy. "I want to expose myself in these workouts to experience playing in games," said Mills. The NBA draft combine is limited to skill work. "Me being an international player allows me the chance to go over there as well." But he said he won't take a guaranteed contract in Europe over returning to Saint Mary's if he is a second-round NBA pick. He wants to play in the NBA, but he also wants to make sure he's in the first round."

- Yes, we have the Melbourne Tigers back in the mix but there is no cigar for the defending champion South Dragons. They are definitely staying home for at least this season.

- Chris Anstey's premature retirement is over. I'm guessing he is a Melbourne Tiger again.

- 2002 FIBA World Championship All-Star Five player Pero Cameron brings up game 300 in his native country of New Zealand. Congrats Pero..and set one of those illegal screens for old time sake.

- Gold Coast Blaze will announce the signing of Adam Gibson very soon, while captain James Harvey will take a good look at European options first.

- Cairns Taipans feel they will miss the boat on some players with the return of the Melbourne Tigers.

Joe Ingles Workout & Interview

Boomers and NBA Draft

The Australian Boomers continued with their build up to the Beijing Olympics tonight. They played the new look New Zealand Tall Blacks over in Auckland. Sleep walking their way to a 75-60 victory the Boomers cannot get to Europe quick enough for some competition.

The game was over by quarter time with the Aussies getting out to a early 26-9 lead at quarter time. Thanks to a fast starting Chris Anstey (8 first quarter points) the Boomers put it on cruise control for the remainder of the game.

For the Aussies, Shawn Redage and Joe Ingles had outings that would have impressed coach Brian Goorjian. Redage was everywhere. Maybe too hyperactive at times but you can see he is giving his all to make it to Beijing. I'm waiting to see how he goes when they go to Europe where he will play against bigger and better opponents.

Ingles played assertive but under control basketball tonight. I love his feel for the game but as we saw against Iran he sometimes goes for the home run play too much. His ability to make the right decision will one day make him a good player at the international level for the Boomers. For now though, the young fella has to learn to play under control on a nightly basis.

Everyone is pumping up Pat Mills' tyres right now. Sure he was solid tonight but my six year old son isn't losing any sleep over a Kiwi point guard rotation of Lindsay Tait and Jeremy Kench. Europe will be a great test for the youngster.

I can't wait for the second game of the series on Saturday in Melbourne. It means we are only one game away from finally seeing the Boomers take on some legitimate Olympic medal competition.

Enough of that. It is only hours now until the fate of three Aussies and their NBA aspirations are decided courtesy of the NBA Draft. (Catch the draft action on ESPN from 9am Friday.)

Nathan Jawai has been State side preparing for this day for about a month. Hopefully he has put his best foot forward during his workouts for about 20 NBA teams.

We will find out if he impressed anyone enough to get rewarded with a first round pick. If he does, this guarantees him three years in the League at a healthy salary.

My Prediction: Early second round (ESPN's Chad Ford has him at 33.)

Aleks Maric is someone that not all Aussies are aware of. He has plied his trade in the tough Big 12 Conference for the past four years for the University of Nebraska. An interesting stat I came across today is Maric holds the All Time record for most double doubles in conference play (26).

This is quite an achievement by anyone's standard but it does not guarantee you an NBA deal.

If Maric slips through the NBA web he will play for big money in Europe. Another local talent that will not play in their home country. Australia has quite a stable of players building in Europe.

My Prediction: Late second round pick

Aaron Bruce is a guy that has given himself the best possible chance of making the NBA.

His career statistically at Baylor actually declined over his four years there. To his credit he has taken it on the chin and found a way to get some workouts with NBA teams.

You have to admire the fighting character the Horsham native has shown in his quest to make the NBA.

My Prediction: Not drafted, but will be on someones Summer League roster.

News From Around The Traps:

Boomers dust Tall Blacks. Another write up.

Opals too good for Russia.

Small chance Bogut may miss Olympics.

Jawai ready. More on "Baby Shaq".

Maher looking for reduced role.

NT junior (Sheppard) to practice with champs.

Petrie a Hawk.

Simmons/Ford NBA Draft banter

J O'Neal/TJ Ford swap addresses.

Episode 3 - "The Rookie"