ESPN NBA draft insider Chad Ford has released his seventh and final 2011 NBA mock draft just a few hours ahead of the actual draft itself. His top five does have some changes from his previous mock. The Cavaliers are still taking Kyrie Irving first overall and the Timberwolves still take Derrick Williams second. However, he now has Jazz taking Enes Kanter at #3 and the Cavs going with Jonas Valanciunas at #4. Brandon Knight goes #5 to the Raptors.
The rest of his top 10 sees Jan Vesely at #6, Kemba Walker at #7, Tristan Thompson at #8, Kawhi Leonard at #9 and Klay Thompson going to the Bucks at #10.
For the 76ers, Ford's mock doesn't play out particularly well. In the five pick prior to #16, Bismack Biyombo, both Morris twins and Nikola Vucevic all come off the board. All would be potential Sixers targets. Ford has them taking Texas forward Jordan Hamilton from what it left.
The Sixers need size, but with Thompson, Vucevic and Morris all off the board, the only other big man worth taking here is Kenneth Faried. If Faried were a little bit bigger, I think they'd do it. Instead, I think the Sixers will prepare for the inevitable trade of Andre Iguodala.It may not come on draft night, but most believe it will happen sometime before the season, and that's why Hamilton is the pick. Donatas Motiejunas is another possibility here.
Ford also did a full ssecond round mock, where he once again has the Sixers taking Oakland center Keith Benson.
The Sixers continue to need bigs and Benson is one of the biggest players in the draft. He's skilled and a very good athlete for his size, he just needs to get stronger and improve his motor.
Benson is 6-11 with a big 7-4 wingspan and a 9-2 reach. He's very long and lanky is a good leaper and runs the floor well. However, his defense and overall toughness have been called into question. Still, with so few true centers in this draft class, Benson has become a bit of an interesting prospect.
Check our Sixers 2011 NBA Draft Preview and our NBA Draft storystream.