Draft Express Mock: Cousins Positioned to Fall from Top 5

There was a time in the not so distant past when it was not considered out of the realm of possibility that Kentucky freshman John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins could go 1-2 in this year’s NBA Draft. Not only is that looking extremely unlikely, but Cousins could be in a situation where he falls out of the top five entirely.

According to Draft Express’ latest mock draft, Cousins is slated to go off the board at number six to Golden State. For my money, Draft Express is the best source around for draft coverage in terms of their sources and insight, so ten days ahead of the big day, I put some substantial stock into this opinion.

Jonathan Givony of Draft Express followed up the release of the mock with some additional comments via Twitter:

Hearing Cousins won’t work out in Minnesota. Apparently they have their mind made up on Wes Johnson. Jives w/everything else we’re hearing.

Detroit at 7 is probably the furthest Cousins would fall. They would take him in a heartbeat. Golden State needs to do some soul-searching.

No. Not sure he’s even in the mix for NJ. Its Favors or Wes Johnson there. RT @zachmentz isn’t cousins at three a lock after wall/turner?

According to these comments, it doesn’t sound like Cousins is a possibility at three for New Jersey or at four for the T’wolves. Givony also seems to think the Kings would make the mistake of selecting Greg Monroe over Cousins, leaving either the Warriors or Pistons as possibilities.

While I would not like seeing Cousins fall like this, I don’t mind Cousins having the little bit of extra motivation to prove his doubters wrong. Cousins size, strength, and skill is unmatched by any other prospect out there and if he is happy and motivated, he’s a star waiting to happen.

It’s not as if anything extremely out of the ordinary has happened to cause this to my knowledge. Cousins came to the NBA Combine a little heavy and has not impressed in interviews. Those simple things have gone a long way with Cousins already iffy reputation, whether deserved or not.

In this same mock draft, Wall goes off the board at #1, Patrick Patterson at #11 to the Hornets, Daniel Orton at #19 to the Celtics, and Eric Bledsoe at #25 to the Grizzlies.

Texas A&M Says ‘No Thanks’ to Pac-10

On a conference expansion note, Chip Brown of OrangeBloods.com reports via Twitter that Texas A&M, in a meeting with the Pac-10′s Larry Scott, has turned down an invitation to join the conference. With the news that A&M is being heavily pursued by the SEC, this would suggest that the Aggies will opt to join the SEC over the Pac-10.

The only other possibility is that Dan Beebe and the Big 12′s last ditch effort to keep the conference intact is succeeding and A&M will stay there. I would guess the SEC scenario is slightly more likely.  Again, we should know something much more concrete early this week and odds are that Chip Brown will be the man who breaks it.  He’s been absolutely unstoppable in his coverage of the craziness that is realignment.