This isn't a mock draft.  Aside from only covering the first 4 picks, this is a rambling flow of ideas around each team's pick.  Mock drafts are guesswork, and fail to allow the necessary wiggle room in draft analysis.  This will have more wiggle than J-Lo's rump.  Also, 1999 called, apparently it would like me to return my J-Lo reference.

(I get a bit longwinded about the Thunder and the Kings, so they're after the jump.  -Ex G)

If it's not Rubio or Thabeet, then I honestly have no idea.  But since it is a likely scenario (based on all the recent chatter), I'll go with Harden.  I've heard Stephen Curry thrown in the discussion here, and it honestly would be a good pick in my mind.  You pair Westbrook and Curry as lethal combo guards who both can handle and shoot, and they spread defenses away from Durant.  Harden could do the same thing.  Neither Harden nor Curry address OKC's weaknesses down low, but either pick makes their offense absolutely frightening. 

A lot of folks have stated that the Kings' pick at 4 will shape the rest of the draft, but I think the Thunder are actually the key player.  They can go a variety of directions and improve an already strong, young, up-and-coming team.  Their pick shapes a lot of the rest of the draft, but it would be hard for them to screw up this pick.  By the way, pookey, can you be on the lookout to be sure that this paragraph doesn't result in an outbreak of SuperSonic fan suicides?  Thanks.

Obviously the Kings pick is very dependent on the first three picks.  Hence the need for some wiggle in this breakdown.  If Rubio is on the board, it would be stunning if he wasn't the pick.  If he's off the board, which I actually think will end up being the case, it gets more intriguing.  I believe that the Kings would select Brandon Jennings,  Tyreke Evans, or Jrue Holliday.  I put those in the order I believe they would draft the players, but it's all pure speculation.  I also do not think that they would draft Thabeet, even if he is still on the board.  Thabeet has not done any workouts thus far, and I can't imagine Petrie taking a guy who wasn't willing to do a workout.  Of course, Rubio has yet to do a workout either.

A little more on why I place these guys in the order that I did.  I think Jennings blew away a lot of spectators in the recent workout with Holliday and Jonny Flynn.  The Kings gossip mill churned out some info that Flynn was impressive, but I feel like that was a combination of smokescreen and truth.  I think Flynn impressed them, but I don't think the Kings are ready to use the number 4 pick on him.  If he's there at 23 by some miracle, absolutely.  Or if there's an opportunity to trade up.  Geoff Petrie doesn't follow consensus on where guys are "supposed" to be drafted, but he also knows the value of a pick. 

Evans and Holliday are interesting.  I keep flip-flopping on both of them.  Evans has a lot of physical skills, but as Chad Ford mentioned recently (insider), I can't imagine the Kings were impressed with his refusal to workout against Terrence Williams. I've stated before that I don't trust Ford as a prognosticator, but as a guy who can get a whisper from the inside he might be on to something here.  From everything I've read, it also sounds like Holliday disappeared in the three-man workout, and was really overshadowed by Flynn's leadership.  Long story short, I say they would go with Jennings.

To wrap this up, this is not meant as a mock draft.  It's more of a conglomeration of my thoughts on each pick.  You see, the thing I love most about the draft is the uncertainty.  A mock draft assumes a knowledge of what will happen.  Clearly, I have no idea what will happen on draft night.  But I have a lot of ideas, as do all of you.  But the one idea we can all share is the hope that we'll find on draft night.  Nothing is more exciting than potential.  And we get to see three young players added to the team.  In times like this, I'm just glad I'm not Geoff Petrie.