Hot! Nba Draft 2012

By Andrew Sharp - Featured Contributor

The 2012 NBA Draft is Thursday, and after a thousand mock drafts and wall-to-wall analysis for weeks, we still don't know what to expect. Let's run down some of the bigger stories.

Also, who is Damian Lillard?

With that in mind, let's run down some of the talking points surrounding this week's Draft.

Mock Draft:Latest 1st Round Forecast From SB NationTHE SCARIEST BEST DRAFT CLASS

People have downplayed the 2012 class because it was initially so hyped and it turns out only Anthony Davis is a sure thing, but look closer and there are more potential stars here than just about any class you'll ever see. The only problem is that everyone comes with their own question marks.

The questions above and a handful of others have defined the past month of draft discussion, but this year's class boils down to a comment from Seth Davis' anonymous scout burn book at Sports Illustrated . Talking about Royce White, one scout said, "He's another guy I'd be scared to take and scared not to take."

That's pretty much everyone from No. 2-13 in this draft and then after that, the rest of the first round is still exciting because they totally could've been lottery picks in a different year.

You can go right down the list: Harrison Barnes, Quincy Miller, Terrence Jones, Damian Lillard, Royce White, Jeremy Lamb, Andre Drummond, Bradley Beal, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Fab Melo, Kendall Marshall, Perry Jones, and on and on. More than half of the first round will be guys you would be terrified to actually draft, but who could ultimately turn into All-Stars.

This isn't usually true; most years, everyone beyond the top six or seven are likely role players, or starters at best. Think back to last year's draft. After one season of evidence, you could make a case that nobody past Kyrie Irving will ever make an All-Star team.

This year is different. You have one definite franchise player, but then about 15 guys who could be anywhere from really good to great. Or, you know, hugely disappointing. , where you had good players all over the board interspersed with a few glaring busts. (I'm not saying Thomas Robinson is Michael Beasley and MKG is Russell Westbrook, but .)

THE BOBCATS CAN'T WINDARYL MOREY IS SISYPHUSTHE ANDRE DRUMMOND SWEEPSTAKESHOW DID HARRISON BARNES BECOME A TOP FIVE LOCK?ALWAYS BE RECRUITING (AND/OR SCREWING WITH EVERYONE)BOLD OPINIONS!A TRADITION LIKE NO OTHERUNTIL THURSDAY NIGHT.Ben Swanson (@CardboardGerald)

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Andrew Sharp

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