2012 Raptors Republic Mock Draft: Fan Edition - 14th Overall Pick

[MangoKid]

We're going to go ahead on course and ignore the Houston-Milwaukee trade. We already did the Milwaukee pick at 12, so for the sake of sanity, we'll keep this the Houston pick.

Raptors Republic, who do you think the Houston Rockets will take with the #14th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft?

[Miekenstien]

rivers

[Burnit482]

rivers

[blackjitsu]

Houston making all these moves has me confused. I went with Terrence, but honestly, if they can't make a trade what do they do with their picks!? I'm confused.

[MangoKid]

With the 14th and final pick of the lottery selections of the 2012 Raptors Republic Mock Draft, the Houston Rockets select...


AUSTIN RIVERS, SG, DUKE




2011-12 NCAA Statistics

PPG: 15.5
RPG: 3.4
APG: 2.1
FG%: 43.3
3FG%: 36.5


Positives
•Extremely confident
•Good shooter with deep range
•Sick crossover move, very quick
•Nice floater
•Skilled ball handler
•Has a killer instinct on the floor

Negatives
•Good, but not elite, athlete
•Not an explosive leaper
•Needs to add a left hand
•Gambling defender
•Questionable shot selection
•Can be selfish


Analysis, as per ESPN Scouts

The Good: He's a big time scorer who thrives with the ball in his hands. Has a sick crossover that allows him to get seperation on his jump shot. Gets to the line a lot.

The Bad: He's not an elite athlete and is a bit undersized as a two guard. He struggles when he doesn't have the ball in his hands. He can be a streaky shooter from long distance and is just a so-so free throw shooter.

The Upside: Rivers has a lot of talent, but his transition from high school to college has been a bit of an eye opener for him. There was talk before he made the jump that he could be a point guard at the next level. That's been a hard one to see. He's more of a pure scorer. He probably needs another year to get more experience playing without the ball in his hands all of the time. But there's no question he can be dangerous and has risen to the occasion for Duke on several occasions.