Who will draft Jimmer?

Everybody in Provo, Utah knows Jimmer Fredette should be drafted number one overall, however, I have a sneaky feeling bias might play a small role in that view and NBA teams might have a different opinion. So for now, Jimmer is safe from having to move to Cleveland.

Last night's draft lottery yielded a few surprises in Jimmer's favor, meaning it's time to begin guessing who will draft college basketball's reigning player of the year. However, projecting who will draft the Jimmer is about as easy as guarding him.

Jimmer's draft stock was helped tremendously by the decisions of several elite college players who decided to return to school, most notably Jared Sullinger, Perry Jones, Harrison Barnes and Terrence Jones. All four were projected as lottery picks and in the case of the first three, the upper end of the lottery.

Staying in school removes four players who would have almost certainly been drafted ahead of Fredette moving Jimmer into the discussion as a lottery pick. 

After the ping pong balls fell last night, I see three teams who are most likely to draft Jimmer:

Utah at 12, Phoenix at 13 and New York at 17.

Utah drafting Jimmer with the 12th pick will be the most talked about location. Jimmermania was a national phenomena last season, however, in Utah it reached it's fever pitch. Jimmer's celebrity in Utah could be very attractive to a team who traded away Deron Williams last season and is seriously lacking a player to help fill their arena and sell jerseys.

Drafting Jimmer would help solve both of those problems. And it's not as if Jimmer is simply a media creation, rumor has it he is actually a pretty good shooter; something the Jazz have been missing for a while now. Utah also has the 3rd pick where they'll be able to grab a higher impact player which allows them a little more room to reach on Jimmer with the 12th pick.

If Jimmer makes it past Utah at 12, Phoenix at 13 makes sense as well. Drafting a player is as much about the system the player is coming in to as it is about a player's specific skill set. Phoenix is an easy match for both. The Suns, with Steve Nash, push the ball up the court quickly, shoot a lot of 3s and subscribe to the theory of the best defense is a good offense; which is very favorable for Fredette's limited defensive abilities.

Jimmer may not end up a two-time MVP at the next level, but he draws many comparisons to Steven Nash. Jimmer is also an above average passer who finds open teammates when defenses focus on him. If Utah doesn't grab him, Jimmer might as well start packing his POY trophies and head to Phoenix.

In the event both Utah and Phoenx pass on Jimmer, New York is the next logical stop with the 17th pick. The Knicks play an uptempo offense that would find Jimmer open in transition where his ability to shoot would fit in nicely. With Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire, there may not be a lot of shots to go around, however, defenses will be highly focused on those two, leaving Jimmer free to move around a softened perimeter. 

Again, the style of play and players in place make New York an optimal location for Jimmer, not to mention New York is Jimmer's home state, where Jimmermania spread a little more wildly than other areas of the country.

Other teams will be interested in drafting Jimmer, but these are the three most likely landing spots based on need, system and talent in place. 

However, we are Jimmer Fredette. Any team could catch Jimmer fever and take a chance on him much higher than you might think, a la the Denver Broncos and Tim Tebow.

If you have any illusions there won't be a few teams who see Jimmer as a legitimate NBA starter, a word of the wise to you….

Fredette about it!