NBA Mock Draft: The NBA season is now over for 14 NBA teams, most of which are looking forward to lottery day, which takes place on June 22nd, about one month away.
There are several players in this years draft that are considered elite prospects – five of which separate themselves from the pack – Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, Jalen Green, Jalen Suggs, and Jonathan Kuminga.
Looking back on this past year, both Green and Kuminga were the two headline players of the G-League’s new Ignite team, which allows elite recruits players to bypass going to college in order to earn money – something the NCAA will not allow.
Both Green and Kuminga took this route, but projected second-round players Daishen Nix and Isaiah Todd also were a part of the Ignite team. In 2021-22, Jalen Hardy will headline the team alongside Scoota Henderson.
This draft has lots of talent within the lottery – and is considered to be significantly stronger than the 2020 NBA Draft (headlined by the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards and Charlotte Hornets’ LaMelo Ball).
NBA Mock Draft: Minnesota Timberwolves move up, Lakers get All-American
Some of the players later in the lottery still have tremendous talent (and extremely high ceilings), such as Josh Giddey, a 6-foot-8 point guard from the NBL – known as a high-level playmaker and isolation scorer. Sharife Copper and James Bouknight are also electric players that have higher ceilings – albeit lower floors.
The more pro-ready, high-floor players in the lottery, however, are Scottie Barnes, Davion Mitchell, and Corey Kispert – all of which have skill sets that should translate smoothly to the next level.
For the sake of real-ness, I’m going to run a Tankathon simulation to decide who owns the top-4 picks.
The order to the lottery is here:
"1. Oklahoma City Thunder 2. Houston Rockets 3. Minnesota Timberwolves 4. Charlotte Hornets 5. Detroit Pistons 6. Orlando Magic 7. Cleveland Cavaliers 8. Toronto Raptors 9. New Orleans Pelicans 10. Sacramento Kings 11. Orlando Magic 12. San Antonio Spurs 13. Indiana Pacers 14. Golden State Warriors"
Alright, let’s get into the Mock Draft.