In the latest 2012 NBA Mock Draft from Sam Amick at SI.com, Syracuse shooting guard Dion Waiters was projected to be selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the No. 11 pick of the first round.
Here's what Amick said about the Waiters pick:
"The supremely confident Waiters is an efficient and versatile scorer who could help replace Jamal Crawford, who is expected to opt out of his contract this summer. He may have passed the likes of UConn's Jeremy Lamb, Rivers and Washington's Terrence Ross in the shooting guard category. Waiters is believed to have a promise from a lottery team, and many suspect that it's Phoenix at No. 13. (Toronto general manager Bryan Colangelo has made it clear he did not give Waiters a promise.) Pass-first North Carolina point guard Kendall Marshall could be in play as well." (via SI)
Waiters stopped his pre-draft workouts last week which led to speculation that an NBA team had already made him a promise. At the time, Portland was not one of the teams linked to Waiters. One of those teams, the Phoenix Suns, have the No. 13 pick in this year's draft. The other team (Toronto) has the No. 8 pick. However, as Amick points out, the Raptors have said they did not make Waiters a promise.
For more 2012 NBA Draft speculation and analysis, stay tuned to this StoryStream.