Well, it’s about that time. We’re a little less than 36 hours away from the NBA draft, where we will finally sort out all the speculation (and stop getting excited early-morning e-mails from Stu, who saw and heard another rumor of the Heat taking O.J. Mayo on SportsCenter this morning). The Redactular is set. The pleas for your mock drafts have been asked for and, in some cases, answered (still time and room for many more). Now it’s time to break it down, lottery-style. We’ll slot in each player according to where we expect them to be picked, then detail any local-based trades we think might happen. Not even back-to-back homers by Brendan Harris and Brian Buscher and news that several prominent former NFL players are in town to shoot a commercial can derail us from the topic at hand (though more on the latter subplot later, we hope). Let’s get right to it:

1. Chicago — Derrick Rose. Will they regret it?
2. Miami — Michael Beasley. Sorry, Stu.
3. Minnesota — O.J. Mayo. Not for long.
4. Seattle — Russell Westbrook.
5. Memphis — Kevin Love.
6. Knicks — Jerryd Bayless.
7. Clippers — Eric Gordon.
8. Bucks — Joe Alexander.
9. Charlotte — Brook Lopez.
10. Nets — Danilo Gallinari.
11. Pacers — D.J. Augustin.
12. Kings — Mario Chalmers.
13. Portland — Anthony Randolph.
14. Warriors — Kosta Koufus.

Most likely trade scenarios (according to nobody but the sources in our heads): Wolves deal Mayo and the ghost of Antoine Walker to the Grizzlies for Love and Mike Miller. Miller gives the Wolves a sharpshooter they very much need. The salaries of Miller and Walker match, though Miller has an extra year, which gives the Grizz much-needed cap space down the road. Mayo fits seamlessly into Miller’s role. OR: If for some reason Memphis passes on Love and he falls to Milwaukee at No. 8, the Wolves package Mayo and another player to the Bucks for Love and Charlie Villanueva (his $2.7 million salary makes him a pretty easy salary match). The Wolves get bigger and stronger in a hurry, while the Bucks get another backcourt piece to the puzzle.

As you can see, both scenarios involve Kevin Love coming here. Whether that’s simply wishful thinking, we’re not sure. And why exactly we have such a hankering for Love over Mayo is unclear. Also, how long will Love last on the board? Again, we’re not sure. But we are unabashedly aboard the Love Boat, and we think he makes sense here. If he and Al Jefferson could work to at least become adequate low post defenders, the Wolves would have a great front court. On offense, they would be very hard to stop. The question, then, is whether the Wolves love Love enough to take him at No. 3, which some folks feel is too high. We think they can squeeze some extra value from the pick by taking Mayo, who is generally seen as the more enticing prospect, and then packaging him to get Love and another piece. Then again, if Miami writes a surprising final chapter in Stu’s erotic fiction novel and takes Mayo at No. 2, all bets are off. As much as we dig Love, the Wolves would steal Beasley at No. 3 and we’d be ecstatic. In any event, it figures to be one of the more intriguing drafts from a local perspective in quite some time.

Fasola-link! Machine gun camp?

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