NBA Lottery Mock Draft

With the NBA Draft Lottery coming up on May 17th, it’s time to start looking at who could go where in those first 14 picks of the NBA Draft. For the first 5 picks I’ll give an in-depth look at each pick and for 6-14 give the basics and an NBA comparison. To make this more interesting and realistic, I used ESPN’s NBA Lottery Simulator to determine the draft order. I randomized once to make it as realistic as possible so, let’s get started!

1. Boston Celtics (Via Nets): Brandon Ingram, 6’10”, Small Forward, Duke

So, I know Ben Simmons has been pretty much the consensus #1 pick for some time now, but he simply doesn’t fit what the Celtics need. The C’s need shooting, something Simmons isn’t great at, but something Ingram excels in. Ingram is an elite shooter alongside having incredible length (7-foot-3 wingspan) making him capable of guarding wings of all sizes. At 6’10”, 196 lbs. Ingram needs to gain some weight to become a more solid player on both ends of the floor but has the feel of a Kevin Durant type player.

NBA Comparison: Slightly Less Talented Kevin Durant

2. Philadelphia 76ers: Ben Simmons, 6’10”, Power Forward, LSU

With Ingram off the board, Simmons is a no brainer at #2. As I said earlier, Simmons is not a good shooter, but can do pretty much everything else well. He has a very high Basketball IQ and is naturally a good rebounder given his size. For his height, he is an unbelievable passer and utilizes that ability often, sometimes to his team’s demise. Simmons has an uncanny knack to get to the basket and would often pass off to inferior teammates instead of taking over games himself at LSU.

NBA Comparison: Slightly Less Talented LeBron James

3. Phoenix Suns: Dragan Bender, 7’1”, Power Forward, Croatia

At only 18 years of age, Bender shows a lot of promise. He is a versatile offensive player showing the ability to play multiple positions. He’s an above average shooter for his size and does a good job at penetrating the paint. To become more effective Bender needs to gain some muscle to keep up with the strength of NBA big men. With just his raw ability, Dragan has a chance to develop into a very dominate NBA player, but could also continue the trend of European players’ games not translating to the NBA. (i.e. Darko Milicic, Nikoloz Tskitishvili, etc.).

NBA Comparison: Kristaps Porzingis

4. Sacramento Kings: Jamal Murray, 6’5”, Point Guard/Shooting Guard, Kentucky

Jamal Murray may be the best scorer in the draft not named Ben Simmons. He isn’t overly athletic and doesn’t have the passing ability of a true point guard which is something scouts aren’t high. He is a deadly shooter shooting over 50% from the field this past season and 41% from 3 point range. Overall, he is a very fundamentally sound basketball player that has big upside and has a very high Basketball IQ.

NBA Comparison: Eric Gordon

5. Philadelphia 76ers (Via Lakers): Buddy Hield, 6’4”, Shooting Guard, Oklahoma

Buddy Hield’s draft stock skyrocketed this season after having a stellar senior campaign and put the Sooners on his back on their way to the Final Four during March Madness this year. He is a terrific shooter and excels in getting to the basket but has questionable shot selection at times. He is also undersized for an NBA Shooting Guard. If Hield can become a better ball handler and take the responsibility of running an NBA offense, he has a very high ceiling.

NBA Comparison: C.J. McCollum

6. Minnesota Timberwolves: Jaylen Brown, 6’7”, Small Forward, California

NBA Comparison: (Potentially) Jimmy Butler

7. New Orleans Pelicans: Kris Dunn, 6’4”, Point Guard, Providence

NBA Comparison: Reggie Jackson

8. Denver Nuggets (Via Knicks): Henry Ellenson, 6’11”, Power Forward, Marquette

MNBA Comparison: Ryan Anderson

9. Toronto Raptors (Via Nuggets): Jakob Poeltl, 7’0”, Center, Utah

NBA Comparison: Timofey Mosgov

10. Milwaukee Bucks: Marquese Chriss, 6’9”, Power Forward, Washington

NBA Comparison: Derrick Williams

11. Orlando Magic: Domtantas Sabonis, 6’11’, Power Forward, Gonzaga

NBA Comparison: Luis Scola

12. Utah Jazz: Furkman Korkmaz, 6’6”, Shooting Guard, Turkey

NBA Comparison: Marco Belinelli

13. Phoenix Suns (Via Wizards): Skal Labissiere, 7’0”, Center, Kentucky

NBA Comparison: Zach Randolph

14. Chicago Bulls: Denzel Valentine, 6’6”, Small Forward, Michigan State

NBA Comparison: Danny Green

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