1. Milwaukee Bucks – Zion Williamson – Wolf doesn’t need to overthink this. There might be smarter players in this draft, but Zion is no dummy. His mother was a track star. His father was a football player. His step father was a college point guard. Zion was undersized as a kid. So his step father taught him the tricks and trade of the point guard to survive on the court. Now he is a freak, and he still possesses those point guard skills that his step father taught him. He’s not a Ben Simmons level passer, but more so an Evan Turner level passer. Not that I’m saying he is Evan Turner.

 

2. Phoenix Suns – Ja Morant – Laddas loves polarizing prospects, and there is no other prospect more polarizing than Ja Morant. Ja has drawn many comparisons to Russell Westbrook for his style of play. He’s actually a better playmaker than Russ and can finish at the rim. He just has poor shooting mechanics and he gets a lot of knocks for his defense. He has the tools to become a good defender though, and he is on a team that can help him get there.

 

3. LA Clippers – Deandre Hunter – Andrew has already expressed that he wants to build around Giannis and Draymond. Nobody in this range really fits Giannis, so Andrew will either have to trade or reach down. Hunter isn’t that big of a reach, but imagine drafting a guy that got compared to Jae Crowder with the #3 pick.

 

4. Boston Celtics – Jarrett Culver – I don’t see Toby as someone that buys into the RJ hype. I think he’ll skip and take the next best person. I think Culver will fit perfectly with MitchRob, Collins, and Tatum. He’s very explosive off the dribble. He can slip through defenders and finish at the rim. He’s incredible defensively. He’s a great passer. He just has inconsistent shooting form.

 

5. Brooklyn Nets – RJ Barrett – Breece takes the best player available here. RJ could be a good passer if he wanted to be, he just doesn’t want to. He’s a very competitive player and always wants the ball in his hands. Barrett plays like he’s a star when he’s not really that good at being the star. And like a lot of players of this archetype, he does nothing off the ball. Since he’s going to an organization like the NBA Knicks, these same habits will continue.

 

6.  Denver Nuggets – Coby White – Digga has never been afraid to reach in the past, but today he doesn’t have to. Dragic is getting old and Digga has a chance to draft his Jamal Murray look-alike. He’s not as good a shooter as Jamal Murray though. Coby has a favorable 6’5 height for a point guard. He’s actually a shooting guard learning to play point guard. He’s decent at defense and he’s very good at improvising in late clock situations. His only downside is he isn’t very good at finishing at the rim.

 

7. Indiana Pacers – Brandon Clarke – PJ Tucker is getting old. Spud gets his Shawn Marion look-alike to cover up for Marvin Bagley’s defense. Brandon Clarke is the best shot blocker in the class and he has incredible touch on finishes around the rim. His only downside is he can’t shoot and he’ll turn 23 years old this year.

 

8. Oklahoma City – Goga Bitadze – While Jaxson has higher upside, Goga is the more complete center today. I don’t picture Wiz waiting until the end of a rookie contract for Jaxson to get good. Goga is a terrific shot blocker and defends the rim well. He has good touch around the rim and can stretch it pass the arc. He’s a good rebounder and sets good screens.

 

9. Utah Jazz – Darius Garland – I think Tim takes the best value here with Garland. Especially since his guards are getting further past 30. He’s a terrific pull up shooter. He could pan out as a CJ McCollum lite or even Jeff Teague without the defense.

 

10. Detroit Pistons – Jaxson Hayes – Sheed takes best the player available. He could use a backup center. Jaxson Hayes is a football player who was recently converted into a basketball player. His father was the tight ends coach for the Cincinnati Bengals, and he raised Jaxson Hayes to be a tight end. This is why Jaxson is so good at catching. You can lob a pass into the paint full of defenders and Jaxson will come down with it as if it was a touchdown. This projects him really well as rim runner. The last player to convert from football to basketball was Marquese Chriss. I’m not saying he’s Marquese Chriss, but the dude did learn to play basketball a little late in life. 

 

11.  Dallas Mavericks – Cam Reddish – I can see Javi taking a shot on Reddish here. Reddish has great size and length for an SF. He’s very comfortable shooting from NBA range but shot at a very inconsistent rate at Duke. Now he is in a system where he’ll be able to flourish as a three point shooter under Travis Schlenk. He should be a competent defender from the get go.

 

12. Atlanta Hawks – PJ Washington – I don’t see anyone in this range that fits the Hawks. So I see Ben taking PJ Washington and trying to trade him, Saric, Vonleh, or Gary Clark afterwards. PJ projects as a corner three power forward like Patrick Patterson that can defend, rebound, and finish.

 

13. Toronto Raptors – Rui Hachimura – Jesse takes “Asian Jabrari” at pick 13 to get buckets off the bench. Rui has a good pull up jumper. He’s big, strong, and very long. He’s a decent rebounder. He’s a very bad defender.

 

14. San Antonio – Luka Samanic – With Horford and Gortat expiring with age, I see Rook attempting to get younger with his bigs by selecting 6’11 euro Luka Samanic. Samanic is a mobile big that can attack slower bigs off the dribble. He can push transition with his dribble and hit stand still threes making him a tough cover with NBA spacing. He has the feet to switch comfortably in space, but will need to add more toughness to protect in the paint.

 

15. Minnesota Timberwolves – Sekou Doumbaya – Darko takes best value here with Doumbaya who is a freight train athlete. He’s big, strong, and long. He’s still very raw, but his tools make him a defensive building block. He can create in isolation situations but hardly a finished product.