The draft is only one night away and here is my lottery mock draft.
1. Cleveland Cavaliers Joel Embiid
2. Milwaukee Bucks Jabari Parker
3. Philadelphia 76ers Andrew Wiggins
4. Orlando Magic Dante Exum
5. Utah Jazz Julius Randle
6. Boston Celtics Noah Vonleh
7. LA Lakers Gary Harris
8. Sacramento Kings Aaron Gordon
9. Charlotte Hornets Marcus Smart
10. Philadelphia 76ers Nik Stauskas
11. Denver Nuggets Doug McDermott
12. Orlando Magic Dario Saric
13. Minnesota Timberwolves Shabazz Napier
14. Phoenix Suns TJ Warren
Despite the injury issues Cleveland has the opportunity to draft a franchise changing center with an impact unseen since Dwight Howard ten years ago. If LeBron comes back and they don't trade the no. 1 to MN for Love we're talking about Irving, LeBron, and Embiid as the corner stones of a championship caliber team.
Jabari wants to play for Milwaukee and the Buck's desperately want an all-star caliber player that can be the face of the franchise and bring legitimacy to a franchise that hasn't contended in years.
Philly is going to sweat it up, but ultimately will get their man Wiggins with the third overall pick. Teaming him with Noel gives them a very young and athletic team led by MCW. I don't like them trading him to LA for the 7, but trying to build around solid young PG, SF and C.
It makes sense. The hype around Exum isn't proven, but having a backcourt of Exum and Oladipo gives them a chance to have Victor play the 2 and guard point guards with Exum running point and guarding 2s. Lethal.
I saw Randle play in Florida and in seeing him I knew he was ready for the NBA. He can step back to hit fifteen footers, and will mesh well with Derrick Favors in the frontcourt. Utah may have another year in the lottery, but their starting to build something.
Vonleh has high upside, and in my opinion is the best asset available at this point in the draft. The Celtics are a bit clustered on their roster, but will either make a big move or blow it up. Selecting Vonleh could be a PF to build a team around if they deal Green and Rondo.
Kendall Marshall is not a playoff Point Guard. Kobe's coming back and the Lakers are going to try to bring in forwards in free agency. A backcourt of Harris and Kobe is very good. Harris is a smart player from Michigan State that doesn't need the ball in his hands to score. His perimeter shooting will be important for drive and kick scenarios.
Boogie Cousins, Aaron Gordon and Rudy Gay in the frontcourt. Isaiah Thomas running the point and hopefully an emerging Ben McLemore at the 2. The Kings seriously may have something hear. Derrick Williams and Royce White might pan out as decent bench players, and then we're talking about a 6 seed in the West.
A backcourt of Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart. Bad-Freaking-Ass. Not to mention Al Jeff down low. The Hornets now have possibly the coolest jerseys in the league, but if they add Stephenson or a decent three that can shoot the ball, they may just have the coolest team in the entire league, and a good playoff team in the weaker East.
PG Michael Carter-Williams, SG Nik Stauskas, SF Andrew Wiggins, PF Somebody, C Nerlens Noel. They won't be good right away, but this would be a young, athletic, defensive, run and gun squad that would put fans in the stands even if the wins aren't there. I want this almost as bad as Charlotte.
The Nuggets are another franchise in limbo. They have decent veterans but no star. The depth is there, but injuries have held them back and they missed the playoffs a year after being knocked out in the first round against Golden State. I believe a trade is looming, but until then they should take the best asset available in proven shooter Dougie McBuckets.
Saric isn't going to be available for another few years because of his new Europe deal, but Orlando isn't ready to be good yet. They don't seem to want to keep Afflalo, and instead are shopping him for a pick. Maybe even eleven. They've got a good center in Vucevic, and maybe the Oladipo/Exum backcourt. So stashing Saric and drafting more young talent could mean a contender in three years.
Barea sucks. SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS. By far my least favorite player. Every time he was in the game I could feel my blood pressure rising. I love Dieng and Muhammad, but we seriously missed having a backup point guard like Trey Burke. Besides teaming up both the Shabazzes, Napier just went Kemba Walker and led his team to a national title. The kid can shoot and will be a sick end of game closer. We need him. He is undervalued and will be a starter in this league. Take Napier.
I don't care about this pick. I want Phoenix to package their first round picks, Frye and Len and send them to Atlanta for Al Horford. The Hawks are building around Teague and Milsap with great shooters and players with a high basketball IQ. Their looking to build a San Antonio of the East per say, and adding Frye would give them another sharp shooting forward, Len gives them a rim protector of the future still young enough to mold into the system, and Phoenix's picks would give them the opportunity to flood their roster with elite young talent in a deep draft to begin building towards the future.
If the Suns don't trade this pick to ATL, I love Warren for them. They have the best backcourt in the league behind Dragic and Bledsoe. They have the best Heat Check guy in the league in Gerald Green. They have the Morris twins and Frye solidifying the frontcourt, and adding Warren as a scoring threat from the 3 would give them an awesome lineup moving forward. I'm thinking four seed in the West barring injuries and an Alex Len improvement.
What do you think is going to happen tomorrow night? Are Napier and Warren going too high? Are you caught up on Payton? This is what I most want to happen. Let me know what you want to happen. Comment below.
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