SBNation NBA Mock Draft: Pick No. 29

There are no guarantees picking at 14 - the Clippers need point guard help, and they need help on the wing, and the likes of Crittendon or Kopenen at the point, N Young, T Young, Stuckey, Almond etc. on the wing, all seem like good players, but realistically, they're long shots to help a lot.

By trading the 14th pick to the Suns for 24 and 29, instead of one long shot, the Clippers ended up with two long shots from this mock draft, one at each of their need areas. I don't get to watch these guys as much as real scouts do, but I absolutely loved Belinelli's game when I saw him play. With years of experience in the top leagues in Europe, he should be ready to play NOW, and I personally was considering taking him at 14 until Noah slipped. And Pruitt, while far from a classic point guard, has the size and skills to be a good pro, and is probably closer to helping now than Crittendon (bear in mind that the Clippers at least are hoping that their point guard problem is temporary, while they cross their fingers and wait for Shaun Livingston to rehab.)

In reality, as one of my readers pointed out, the Clippers have a bit of a roster crunch right now. They have 10 or 11 guys from last year's club, and the rights to two other players (Sofoklis Schortsianitis who I call My big Fat Greek Center and Guillermo Diaz) who played in Europe last season. Two guaranteed contracts to two first round picks is NOT really what they want. But in Mock world, I rolled the dice hoping to get a two for one, where the Clippers would end up with potential help at two spots. The gamble paid off in Mock world.