posted June 16, 2008 at 15:40 EST in NBA Free Picks

BetUS Sportsbook NBA betting faithful who like to tackle interesting propositions will have their eyes on NBA Draft futures betting, which will take place in New York on June 26. And one of the more interesting propositions involves a UCLA center who made a big splash as a freshman in leading the Bruins to the Final Four again. Of course, I'm talking about Kevin Love, the freshman who declared early for the draft, and whose middle name is Wesley - after Unseld, that is.

Love won't be the top choice in the draft, as one of his UCLA predecessors, Bill Walton was, or second, as role-model Unseld was - we already know that. But just how high WILL he go?

BetUS NBA Draft Betting Odds

When will Kevin Love Get Selected?

5th Draft Pick +275

6th Draft Pick +450

7th Draft Pick +450

8th Draft Pick +325

9th Draft Pick +325

10th Draft Pick +450

Any Other Pick +175

Kevin Love may not have the ideal size for an NBA center. But you are not going to find many guys with his kind of fundamentals. He is an educated player who grew up in a basketball family. Entering UCLA amidst much hoopla, Love absorbed the pressure and essentially did everything that was asked of him when all was said and done, to the point where he was ultimately named Pac-10 Player of the Year. He may not be an imposing physical presence, but there has been a growing trend toward using the smaller center that can play a bit on the outside. Love can play power forward too, and if there was a team with a formidable power forward, that team wouldn't be too compromised with a Kevin Love at center.

Whether he's playing at the "4" or "5" position, he's still going to have the ability to throw that outlet pass, and that's valuable for a team who wants to run. He can run the floor himself, and if you noticed last year, he got more assertive as the season progressed when it came to blocking shots. He's also a 77% free throw shooter.

NBA general managers, to me, are often not the sharpest knives in the drawer. There are an awful lot of draft mistakes. And part of the reason is that sometimes they draft purely for potential, without consideration for how that potential will come to the surface or why it hasn't yet. Too little of it has to do with performance and productivity. And particularly in the case of big men, you find a lot of underachievers. Here's something interesting - one website, DraftExpress.com, which compiles "Usage Statistics," has Love rated as the second most productive player in the draft, right behind Michael Beasley.

I can't help but think - sometimes it looks like they're drafting for a fantasy team. In other words, they're grabbing guys who are scorers but who haven't demonstrated they can help a team in any other way. I figure the object of this whole thing was to win championships, not play fantasy basketball. Yet players like Ricky Davis keep holding on to a job in this league. I think a guy like Kevin Love has the ability to help a team in many ways. In fact, I can almost guarantee that in the long run he is going to be of more use to a team aspiring to win a championship than either Jarryd Bayless or O.J. Mayo, both of whom will quite possibly go ahead of him.

To those players, it's much more about them than it is about the other players. But the question shouldn't be "How well can the guy score?" It's, "How much better can he make the sum of the parts?" I think Love will score big in those areas, and I have faith that there will be an NBA exec that sees that.

Supposedly Minnesota is interested, though perhaps not at the #3 pick, which has brought up the possibility of a trade with Memphis, which is #5. But not everyone likes Love.

According to an NBA "source" quoted anonymously at one draft website, "All you have to do is look at how Kevin played against the Lopez kid. He started forcing shots and turning the ball over. And he's going to see much bigger, longer and more athletic bigs in the league. I just don't think he'll be able to match them physically or athletically."

That "Lopez kid" is Stanford's Brook Lopez, a 7-foot scorer and shot-blocker who came out after his sophomore season. My guess, ultimately, is that after Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley, you could quite possibly see Mayo and Bayless drafted, not to mention two of the following three players - Lopez, LSU's Anthony Randolph, and Italy's Danilo Gallinari, who the Knicks seem to like. That would leave Love with either a #6 or #7 slot, which would be where I'd play. Let's flip a coin. OK - it's #7.

JAY'S PLAY: 7TH DRAFT PICK (+450)

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(Charles Jay of http://www.ebookies.com makes his shots from the top of the key as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room).