Check-in on the 2009 Draft Order

Now that All-Star weekend is signalling the season's midway point, that means the trade deadline is nigh. And with the trade deadline comes a mountain of offseason speculation to lay upon the molehills of reality.

Since roster movement is in the air, and Stop-n-Pop just laid out the must-read Midseason Draft Reports (editions 1, 2 and 3), I thought an update to the draft pick scoreboard may be in order.

Feast your eyes at the top team (sorted by 1st rounders owned, total picks owned, 2nd rounders in that order):

As you can see, the Wolves are sitting pretty right now, with the potential to add another 1st rounder from Utah (full details available on our draft info page). While it would be a bad thing to get overloaded with picks in what's considered to be a weak draft year, it's nice to be first in something for a change.

A couple quick observations:

• A total of 6 teams have already traded away their 1st rounder this year, ranging from 17 - 29. Minnesota has the best one.
• The two teams that currently have no picks at all (Denver and Houston) are two of the teams most in need of youth infusions.
• There's no way in hell that Portland (4), San Antonio (3) and Detroit (3) will want all their 2nd rounders. Definitely look for movement there.
• The boring teams who currently have their own picks in both rounds: Washington, Memphis, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Utah, Atlanta, Orlando. It's worth noting, though, that Memphis had originally traded away both picks , but got their 1st back from Washington (which was protected and probably wouldn't have been conveyed this year) and their 2nd back from Houston. Good recovery Chris Wallace.
  
• Teams in danger of losing their 1st rounder if they play too well: Minnesota (top 10 protected), Charlotte (top 14 protected), Utah (top 22 protected)