By Jeremy Brunner

Its time for my annual mock draft. Just a reminder: This is not how its going to happen, but then again, none of the other mock drafts on earth will be right either.

1. Portland: Greg Oden - Ohio State

Forget all the Durant fans, Oden is the best player in the draft(maybe since LeBron) and an easy call as the number one pick. Some would claim Durant has a higher ceiling. Not seeing it. When there are plenty of Ray Allens and Paul Pierce's in the league, give me a center with the ability to dominate on both ends of the floor like Tim Duncan. Will be be another Duncan? Probably not, but he will prove worthy of the top pick.

2. Seattle: Kevin Durant - Texas

Quick name the player: He led college basketball in scoring. He won numerous player-of-the-year awards. His team dissapointed in the NCAA tournament. No. Its not Kevin Durant, its Adam Morrison, last years mega-scorer. Now I'm not saying Durant will struggle like Morrison did, I'm just saying don't enshrine him into the Hall of Fame just yet.

3. Atlanta: Al Horford - Florida

This pick has Hawks fans everywhere terrified. Will Atlanta take a similar small forward for the 16th consecutive draft? Not when there is a solid PG(Conley) and a powerful rebounder like Horford on the board.

4. Memphis: Mike Conley - Ohio State

The worst team in the NBA last season will get a lot better in a hurry. Remember this was a playoff team in the West just a year ago. With Conley and one more key piece, they could be back again soon. Right now, the Grizz start Damon Stoudamire at the point. The most recent Memphis headline reads "Court Denies Stoudamire's Request for Jury Trial". Not good.

5. Boston: Jason Smith - Colorado State

He's about to get fired anyways, why shouldn't Danny Ainge do something entertaining. And seriously, would it get better than Ainge plucking a fellow MWC giant about 15 picks too early. But seriously, if Yi Jianlian of China is a 7-footer who can shoot outside, and he's projected in the top five, then why not Smith. He should change his name to something European-sounding, and he could have really been picked here. Boris Smithsky perhaps?

6. Milwaukee: Corey Brewer - Florida

Like Brandon Roy, the best SG/SF prospect will drop farther than he should. The Bucks have to be happy to get Brewer here, now they can trade Michael Redd for more defensive help. Look out for the Bucks, this could be the year Andrew Bogut lives up to that 'next Tim Duncan' potential. Ummm, yeah.

7. Minnesota: Yi Jianlian - China

He's 7 foot tall, and Chinese, but he's no Yao. But he's still good enough as an inside-outside guy to go early in the lottery. Plus, if they keep KG, the T-Wolves could be the first team ever to regularly play three 7-footers at the same time.

8. Charlotte: Jeff Green - Georgetown

The Bobcats are pretty solid at every position, now they need to start the process of gradually upgrading the talent at every position. That starts with Green, a SF with some serious upside potential.

9. Chicago: Brandan Wright - North Carolina

If you're the Bulls, do you ever go wrong taking a guy out of North Carolina? I thought not.

10. Sacramento: Joakim Noah - Florida

The Kings already have one lockdown defender in Ron Artest. Now they add an energy guy like Noah. If Mike Bibby isn't completely past it, this could be a decent team again.

11. Atlanta: Julian Wright - Kansas

Hawks fans everywhere are delighted when Atlanta takes their traditional SF with their second lottery pick. Wright can be dominant, or dissapear, kind of like many NBA players.

12. Philadelphia: Spencer Hawes - Washington

There is always a token 7-foot white guy in or around the lottery, whether its Chris Kaman or Curtis Borchardt or Chris Mihm. The Sixers are hanging out in purgatory, that stage where you aren't good enough to make the playoffs, and you're not bad enough to win the lottery.

13. New Orleans: Rodney Stuckey - Eastern Washington

Big Sky in tha' House. As the league I used to call games for on college radio, I am always trying to promote the Big Sky. We'll do it here with the Hornets reaching for Stuckey. Now I need to go back to my other project, the ACC-Big Sky Challenge. Someday it will happen. But, I've had trouble talking Mike Sheshefski into bringing Duke to Ogden. What a wuss.

14. LA Clippers: Nick Young - Southern California

A local kid stays home. The only downer, being from SoCal, he knows just how crappy the Clipps are.

15. Detroit: Derrick Byars - Vanderbilt

Another reach. But the Pistons may need backcourt help with Chauncey Billups opting out of his contract.

16. Washington: Thaddeus Young - Georgia Tech

Young is a bit of a tweener, but he has NBA skills, and should help the Wiz try to give Gil Arenas the supporting cast he so desires.

17. New Jersey: Al Thornton - Florida State

The Nets will get lucky when Thornton slips all the way to them at 17. A solid SF, Thornton will give NJ the depth to deal Richard Jefferson, possibly for some sound.

18. Golden State: Acie Law - Texas A&M

Although the Warriors will burn up their phones trying to trade for Yi. The smart pick is Law, he's a point guard who can back up Baron Davis, and fill in when he inevitably gets hurt.

19. LA Lakers: Josh McRoberts - Duke

Will Kobe stay? Will he go? Will the Lakers get him the help he deserves? Wait a minute, he's the one who drove Shaq out of town. He's getting exactly what he deserves. And now the Lakers will draft McRoberts to please Kobe. After all, Bryant once committed to Duke and wanted Coach K to come to L.A.

20. Miami: Alando Tucker - Wisconsin

Another reach, but the Heat need to get younger, and they need some glue-guys like Tucker who don't need to score to get on the court.

21. Philadelphia: Javaris Crittenton - Georgia Tech

A combo guard that can back up both Andre Miller and Iggy.

22. Charlotte: Sean Williams - Boston College

Don't kid yourself, if Williams is there at 25 the Jazz will snap him up faster than Hans Olsen grabbing bear claws. And with a shot-blocker like him, AK might be on the next bus out of town.

23. NY Knicks: Tiago Splitter - Spain

He's an awful GM, but Isiah knows how to draft. Here's a 7-foot Brazilian who has range, and who doesn't need one of those.

24. Phoenix: Rudy Fernandez - Spain

A typical Suns player. He has no real position. He can shoot the lights out. He doesn't care so much about defense. And, if he's any good, they could include Barbosa in a blockbuster trade. How would KG or Kobe look in a Suns uni?

25. Utah: Daequan Cook - Ohio State

After cursing the Jazz for weeks for drafting a shooting guard(before they even did it), I pick them to take a two-guard. The lesson as always, I am a sellout. They will do what they did last year and go with the best player available. Sitting here, they should probably either trade up or trade down, but teams aren't always willing to deal.

26. Houston: Morris Almond - Rice

Rumor has it that Almond is the best shooter in the draft. If that's true, he'll be a perfect fit in Houston, where he can just camp out and catch Yao and T-Mac feeds for years to come.

27. Detroit: Kyrylo Fesenko - Ukraine

The Pistons are a franchise on the brink of panic, and there's no bigger sign of panic than drafting a 7-foot-1 Ukrainian.

28. San Antonio: Marco Belinelli - Italy

Doesn't this guy just sound like he belongs on the Spurs. Their best players are from France, Argentina and the Virgin Islands, why not add Italia to the list. Side note: I interviewed this guy the other day, high comedy. He sounded more than a little bit like Borat, and he used the word shot instead of shoot. The culture barrier is always entertaining.

29. Phoenix: Wilson Chandler - DePaul

A talented, but young project, the Suns will take him to sit on the bench for a year or two and learn how to play the right way(no defense neccessary).

30. Philadelphia: Marc Gasol - Spain

Pao's little brother isn't nearly as good, but he is 7-foot, so that's gotta be good for something.

Agree/Disagree? Post below.