45th annual DBR Mock Draft, 2016 - It's a wrap!

[JasonEvans]

We got so many folks signed up so quickly, we are ready to start the draft. Please make your pick in a timely fashion. If you know you are not going to be available for several hours, you can PM your pick to me or pfrduke and we will post it for you.

One of the most important things you do, by the way, is to explain your pick. Why did you select the player in question and how does he fit into your team's plans for the future. As a reminder, even if NBA trades happen over the next few days, our mock draft order is locked at this point. We ignore all NBA trades made at this point.

So, with that, lets get this started. Here is the draft order...

1. Philly - pfrduke : Brandon Ingram, F, Duke
2. L.A. Lakers - Edouble : Ben Simmons, F, LSU
3. Boston - NashvilleDevil: Marquese Chriss, PF, Washington
4. Phoenix - gurufrisbee: Dragan Bender, PF, Croatia
5. Minnesota - flyingdutchdevil : Jamal Murray, SG, NBA Prep U
6. New Orleans - brevity : Buddy Hield, G, Oklahoma
7. Denver - Reddevil : Jaylen Brown, SF, Cal
8. Sacramento - johnb : Kris Dunn, PG, Providence
9. Toronto – mattman91 : Jakob Poeltl, C, Utah
10. Milwaukee - KaZe : Wade Baldwin, PG, Vanderbilt
11. Orlando - NSDukeFan : Henry Ellenson, PF, Marquette
12. Utah – FerryFor50 : Denzel Valentine, SG, Michigan St.
13. Phoenix - gurufrisbee : Deyonta Davis, PF/C, Michigan St.
14. Chicago - CDu : Skal Labissiere, PF/C, NBA Prep U
15. Denver - Reddevil : Furkan Korkmaz, SG, Turkey
16. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Domantas Sabonis, C, Gonzaga
17. Memphis - jacone21 : Timothe Luwawu, France
18. Detroit – DukeTrinity11 : Demetrius Jackson, PG, Notre Dame
19. Denver - Reddevil : Brice Johnson, F, UNC
20. Indiana - luburch : Malik Beasley, G, FSU
21. Atlanta - Jason Evans : Dejounte Murray, G, Washington
22. Charlotte - JNort : Malachi Richardson, SG/SF, Syracuse
23. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Tyler Ulis, PG, Kentucky
24. Philadelphia - pfrduke : Cheick Dialo, PF, Kansas
25. LA Clippers - theschwartz : Taurean Prince, SF, Baylor
26. Philadelphia - pfrduke : DeAndre Bembry, SG, St. Joe's
27. Toronto – mattman91 : Patrick McCaw SG, UNLV
28. Phoenix - gurufrisbee : Thon Maker, F, High School
29. San Antonio – subzero02 : Ante Zizic, PF/C, Croatia
30. Golden State - SilkyJ : Damian Jones, C, Vanderbilt

Second Round
31. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Malcolm Brogdon, SG, Virginia
32. LA Lakers - Edouble : Isaia Cordinier, G, France
33. LA Clippers - theschwartz : Juan Hernangomez, PF, Spain
34. Phoenix - gurufrisbee : Stephen Zimmerman, C, UNLV
35. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Caris LeVert, G, Michigan
36. Milwaukee - KaZe : Ivica Zubac, C, Bosnia and Herzegovina
37. Houston - Troublemaker : Guerschon Yabusele, PF, France
38. Milwaukee - KaZe : Petr Cornelie, PF, France
39. New Orleans - brevity : Rade Zagorac, F, Serbia
40. New Orleans - brevity : Gary Payton II, PG, Oregon St.
41. Orlando - NSDukeFan : Diamond Stone, C, Maryland
42. Utah – FerryFor50 : Zhou Qi, C, China
43. Houston - Troublemaker : Pascal Siakam, PF, NM State
44. Atlanta - Jason Evans : Cat Barber, PG, NC St
45. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Michael Gbinije, G, Syracuse
46. Dallas - tfk53 : Dorian Finney-Smith, F, Florida
47. Orlando - NSDukeFan : Wayne Selden, F, Kansas
48. Chicago - CDu : AJ Hammonds, C, Purdue
49. Detroit – Jason Evans : Ben Bentil, PF, Providence
50. Indiana – luburch : Chinanu Onuaku, PF/C, Louisville
51. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Jake Layman, F, Maryland
52. Utah – FerryFor50 : Isaiah Whitehead, G, Seton Hall
53. Denver - Reddevil : Perry Ellis, F, Kansas
54. Atlanta - Jason Evans : Georgios Papagiannis, C, Greece
55. Brooklyn - Awhom111 : Kay Felder, PG, Oakland
56. Denver - Reddevil : Daniel Hamilton, SG/SF, UConn
57. Memphis – jacone21 : Fred VanVleet, PG, Wichita St
58. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Marshall Plumlee, C, Duke
59. Sacramento - johnb : Jarrod Uthoff, F, Iowa
60. Utah – FerryFor50 : Robert Carter, PF/C, Maryland

-Jason "it's a wrap!" Evans

[pfrduke]

I will explain in more detail later, but in the interest of time, the Sixers are thrilled to select Brandon Ingram. In short, we think he's going to be the next Durant and we don't want to pass that up.

[Edouble]

With the second pick in the draft, the LA Lakers select Ben Simmons.

Hoping to compete for another run of titles with another LSU guy, the Lakers are thrilled when Ben Simmons falls out of the #1 spot, as Brandon Ingram heads to Philadelphia. With Simmons publicly proclaiming his desire to play for the Lakers for months now, the Lakers know that the prize of the 2016 draft will bring his "A" game moving from the Tiger's purple and gold to the Laker's purple and gold.

The number two pick's play making abilities are a huge plus for a Lakers team that is on somewhat rocky ground with last year's number two pick and playmaker, D'Angelo Russell. If all goes well, Russell and Simmons could look like Russell and Durant in a few years, but if team chemistry forces the Lakers to deal Russell, Simmons may just step up and answer his calling as "the next LeBron James".

[NashvilleDevil]

With the 3rd pick of the 2016 DBR Mock Draft the Boston Celtics select, Marquese Chriss, University of Washington.

My thinking behind this pick is Chriss has the highest upside but because of Boston's tremendous infrastructure he will not be pressured to produce or be a franchise savior like the top 2 picks.

[gurufrisbee]

Wow. I'm all kinds of shocked. Shocked we're starting already. Shocked it's already my pick. And mostly shocked that with the #4 pick in the DBR mock draft, the Phoenix Suns are able to take:

DRAGAN BENDER

The 7 foot Croatian teenager was our hope and desire going into this and we're ecstatic to be able to snag him here. We generally like our backcourt trio of Bledsoe, Booker, and Knight but the Suns are a wasteland in the frontcourt. We're not sure if Bender ends up as our center - which now is the rebound only combination of Tyson Chandler and Alex Len (and actually they often played them together) or power forward where we really only have Teletovic left. Bender has huge offensive upside and is already a terrific passer who will continue to improve our offense (we're bottom ten in the league in scoring per game).

[tfk53]

Wow. I'm all kinds of shocked. Shocked we're starting already. Shocked it's already my pick. And mostly shocked that with the #4 pick in the DBR mock draft, the Phoenix Suns are able to take:

DRAGAN BENDER

The 7 foot Croatian teenager was our hope and desire going into this and we're ecstatic to be able to snag him here. We generally like our backcourt trio of Bledsoe, Booker, and Knight but the Suns are a wasteland in the frontcourt. We're not sure if Bender ends up as our center - which now is the rebound only combination of Tyson Chandler and Alex Len (and actually they often played them together) or power forward where we really only have Teletovic left. Bender has huge offensive upside and is already a terrific passer who will continue to improve our offense (we're bottom ten in the league in scoring per game).


Everything I have seen about this kid suggests long term all-star. Very impressive. Videos of his passing talent fun to watch.

As much as I want Ingram to flourish, in 5 years Bender may well be looked at as the gem of the 2016 draft. Hopefully, he and Ingram can have their battles as to who was the best pick.

[GGLC]

The guy who might very well end up the best player in the draft is still on the board.

[brevity]

The guy who might very well end up the best player in the draft is still on the board.

Believe me, I know. I pick #6, but I've got to wait for flyingdutchdevil to pick for Minnesota at #5, and pray to Dean that the Mock Wolves don't draft Brice Johnson!

[GGLC]

That's the one!

[JasonEvans]

The guy who might very well end up the best player in the draft is still on the board.

Yeah, there is talk that Philly is considering him with the #1 pick. Supposedly, he had a workout with them that just blew them away.

-Jason "I wonder if we are talking about the same player" Evans

[GGLC]

Yeah, there is talk that Philly is considering him with the #1 pick. Supposedly, he had a workout with them that just blew them away.

-Jason "I wonder if we are talking about the same player" Evans

I think we probably are.

[GGLC]

Let me revise that. We definitely are not!

[gurufrisbee]

The guy who might very well end up the best player in the draft is still on the board.

Well almost everyone is still on the board.

Although I wonder how often the best player from the NBA draft does NOT go in the top four.

[flyingdutchdevil]

FDD in his second year as GM of the Babywolves had success with drafting KAT in the first round and Terry Rozier in the second round.

As we enter a new season, the Babywolves are stacked. PGs, SGs, PFs.... We have it all. All we need is time and trade chips.

So... Let's take the best player left on the board.

With the fifth pick of the draft, the Babywolves select... Jamal Murray from the university of NBA. Excellent shooter, good D, good size, huge potential.

[subzero02]

Well almost everyone is still on the board.

Although I wonder how often the best player from the NBA draft does NOT go in the top four.

That shouldn't be too hard to determine for the last 40 years... I would guess that it happens a bit under 50 percent of the time. The jury is obviously still out on some of the more recent draft classes.

Also, some years are a lot more cut and dry than others... 97 tim duncan#1 ...03 james#1... but 1999 Brand #1, Lamar Odom #4, Ron artest #16, ginobili#57... you could also make an argument for Andre miller #8. All 5 of these players had points in their careers where you could make the argument that they were better than the other 4. In my opiniom, it comes down to Brand or Manu and I can make strong arguments for both.

[GGLC]

FDD in his second year as GM of the Babywolves had success with drafting KAT in the first round and Terry Rozier in the second round.

As we enter a new season, the Babywolves are stacked. PGs, SGs, PFs... We have it all. All we need is time and trade chips.

So... Let's take the best player left on the board.

With the fifth pick of the draft, the Babywolves select... Jamal Murray from the university of NBA. Excellent shooter, good D, good size, huge potential.

This was the guy Jason was talking about.

[brevity]

It's the 45th annual DBR Mock Draft. The New Orleans Pelicans can lay an early claim to the most depressing offseason (http://www.nola.com/pelicans/index.ssf/2016/05/bryce_dejean-jones_shot_dead_w.html) so far, but at least there's a draft and an actual lottery selection to lift fans' spirits. Last year, in the 23rd annual DBR Mock Draft (http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?36084)...

Wait a minute. Let's pause for a moment and compare the math skills of our DBR Commissioner with the two most recent NBA counterparts.

Jason Evans: Yeah, last year was the 23rd mock draft. This year is the 45th. It's, like, new math.

Adam Silver: I don't think that's how new math works. Are you sure you went to Duke?

David Stern: Math? Who cares about math? I just need Patrick Ewing to go to the Knicks. You do the math.

Anyway, the Pelicans need to improve now. Last season had 21 players (!) on the roster (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/stats/_/name/no/year/2016/new-orleans-pelicans) at some point, 20 of whom started at least once, and only two of whom appeared in more than 70 games. Anthony Davis is enjoying, but not really enjoying, his early prime years. The three-headed injury bug of Jrue Holiday, Eric Gordon, and Tyreke Evans is finally breaking up, with Gordon likely gone this summer as an unrestricted free agent (http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12307054/nba-free-agents-2016-2017), and Holiday and Evans under contract for one more season. Also look at the rapidly declining NBA Southwest Division, where Dallas, Houston, and Memphis finished at or around .500 and won't improve without significant free agents. With a few smart moves and some health/luck, the Pelicans could jump into 2nd place.

With Gordon gone (please be gone), the Pelicans need a shooting guard likely to make an immediate impact, and you can see where this is going. Buddy Hield is a do-everything scorer who shoots and finishes well. The NBA Combine (http://stats.nba.com/draftcombine/#!/anthro/) lists him as 6'5" with a wingspan just over 6'9". Not exactly Klay Thompson sized, but better than Gordon. I don't expect him to score 25 per game like he did at Oklahoma, but he doesn't need to do that as the team's 2nd or 3rd offensive option.

The Pelicans need to take a smart step in the right direction. This is it. Then, in the summer of 2017, they can remove more high-priced dead weight and pick wisely in the 67th annual DBR Mock Draft.

[JasonEvans]

It's the 45th annual DBR Mock Draft. The New Orleans Pelicans can lay an early claim to the most depressing offseason (http://www.nola.com/pelicans/index.ssf/2016/05/bryce_dejean-jones_shot_dead_w.html) so far, but at least there's a draft and an actual lottery selection to lift fans' spirits. Last year, in the 23rd annual DBR Mock Draft (http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?36084)...

Wait a minute. Let's pause for a moment and compare the math skills of our DBR Commissioner with the two most recent NBA counterparts.

Jason Evans: Yeah, last year was the 23rd mock draft. This year is the 45th. It's, like, new math.

Adam Silver: I don't think that's how new math works. Are you sure you went to Duke?

David Stern: Math? Who cares about math? I just need Patrick Ewing to go to the Knicks. You do the math.

...Then, in the summer of 2017, they can remove more high-priced dead weight and pick wisely in the 67th annual DBR Mock Draft.

You broke the code!!

Last year was the 23rd DBR Mock Draft to honor Chris Carrawell, Brian Davis, and Shelden Williams.
This year was the 45th annual Mock Draft to honor Clay Buckley, Dan Meagher, and the Pagliuca brothers.
Next year we will find some other players to honor.

-Jason "I'm leaning toward next year being #34, in honor of Mike Dunleavey, Ryan Kelly, Carmen Wallace, and Jim Spanarkel" Evans

[JasonEvans]

With Gordon gone (please be gone), the Pelicans need a shooting guard likely to make an immediate impact, and you can see where this is going. Buddy Hield is a do-everything scorer who shoots and finishes well. The NBA Combine (http://stats.nba.com/draftcombine/#!/anthro/) lists him as 6'5" with a wingspan just over 6'9". Not exactly Klay Thompson sized, but better than Gordon. I don't expect him to score 25 per game like he did at Oklahoma, but he doesn't need to do that as the team's 2nd or 3rd offensive option.

This was the guy that GGLC was talking about.

[GGLC]

Indeed it was. I think Hield has got a really good chance of being a superstar.

[Reddevil]

You guys caught me off guard with the quick start. No worries. The reality is the Nuggets have a lot of young talent and will be trading at least 2 of their 3 first round picks. Any picks they get stuck with will be used to stash foreign players for later, but that is not what this mock is about. More than anything they could use outside shooting and maybe a stud PF. I REALLY like Kris Dunn's prospects, but Mudiay has established himself as their PG and any backup should be a veteran. The Denver Nuggets select Jaylen Brown from Cal. At 6-7' 225 he can play SG and SF. He is alarmingly athletic and fast - a one man fast break,

[johnb]

With the caveat that "Sacramento Kings" and the word "proud" are rarely used in the same sentence, the Sacramento Kings are indeed proud (or are at least feeling lucky) to be addressing their primary need, PG, with the player that we would have taken if we'd had the third pick. Before losing the national spotlight by making our pick, the Kings would like to add that we're not as befuddled as others have said and that we believe we are at the precipice of being great. We have DeMarcus Cousins and a generally terrific front court, but we're troubled in the backcourt--and we are planning to lose Rajon Rondo to FA. We do love Darren Collison at the point and would have also been thrilled to get one of the already-picked SG's. But what we'd most like is a high energy, high effort, elite floor general who we believe will be a defensive stopper.

Welcome to Northern California, Kris Dunn.

[JNort]

Indeed it was. I think Hield has got a really good chance of being a superstar.

Hell must be freezing over because I actually agree with you.

I would take him 3rd overall if I was the Celtics then sign Cousins. Thomas, Hield, Crowder and Cousins would be the team to beat out in the east (other than a Lebron team).

[johnb]

Hell must be freezing over because I actually agree with you.

I would take him 3rd overall if I was the Celtics then sign Cousins. Thomas, Hield, Crowder and Cousins would be the team to beat out in the east (other than a Lebron team).

I'd guess Hield to have a JJ upside rather than a Stephen or Damian Lillard upside, and JJ had to work really hard to become the NBA JJ, but I should emphasize the word "guess."

[JasonEvans]

We are making real good progress everyone! Keep it going!!

Here is where we stand right now:

1. Philly - pfrduke : Brandon Ingram, F, Duke
2. L.A. Lakers - Edouble : Ben Simmons, F, LSU
3. Boston - NashvilleDevil: Marquese Chriss, PF, Washington
4. Phoenix - gurufrisbee: Dragan Bender, PF, Croatia
5. Minnesota - flyingdutchdevil : Jamaal Murray, SG, NBA Prep U
6. New Orleans - brevity : Buddy Hield, G, Oklahoma
7. Denver - Reddevil : Jaylen Brown, SF, Cal
8. Sacramento - johnb : Kris Dunn, PG, Providence
9. Toronto – mattman91 : Jakob Poeltl, C, Utah
10. Milwaukee - KaZe : Wade Baldwin, PG, Vanderbilt
11. Orlando - NSDukeFan : Henry Ellenson, PF, Marquette
12. Utah – FerryFor50 : Denzel Valentine, SG, Michigan St.
13. Phoenix - gurufrisbee : Deyonta Davis, PF/C, Michigan St.
14. Chicago - CDu : Skal Labissiere, PF/C, NBA Prep U
15. Denver - Reddevil : Furkan Korkmaz, SG, Turkey
16. Boston - NashvilleDevil
17. Memphis - jacone21
18. Detroit – DukeTrinity11
19. Denver - Reddevil
20. Indiana - luburch
21. Atlanta - Jason Evans
22. Charlotte - JNort
23. Boston - NashvilleDevil
24. Philadelphia - pfrduke
25. LA Clippers - theschwartz
26. Philadelphia - pfrduke
27. Toronto – mattman91
28. Phoenix - gurufrisbee
29. San Antonio – subzero02
30. Golden State - SilkyJ

[mattman91]

More later on the pick. Don't want to hold up the draft.

[kAzE]

The Milwaukee Bucks select Wade Baldwin, a point guard from Vanderbilt University.

That feeling when the 2 guys you really wanted went #8 and #9 . . . . and you had to do a bunch more research because you had your analysis on Jakob Poeltl all teed up and ready to go.

The Bucks would loved to have drafted Poeltl here, as he is ready to play right away, and fits the team's biggest need, which is a defensive anchor at center, but I believe Baldwin also fits very well with the Bucks' two franchise cornerstone players: Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker. With a pair of offensively gifted forwards in the long term plans, especially a unique talent in the Greek Freak who is capable of handling and passing the ball at such a high level, the Bucks do not necessarily need a ready made floor general who dominates the ball. What they do need is someone who can defend and knock down shots from the perimeter.

Standing at 6'4" with an inhuman 6'11" wingspan (don't believe me? (http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Wade-Baldwin-82826/)), impressive upper body strength, and very solid lateral quickness, I believe Wade has all the tools to become a lock down defender at the next level, capable of guarding either guard spots with no problems. In a lineup with Giannis and Khris Middleton, the length on the perimeter will be suffocating, and is highly valuable against the high scoring perimeter threats of today's NBA.

In addition, Wade is a very good shooter off the catch with NBA range, shooting 42% on 3 point shots over his 2 year career at Vandy. Although not the most explosive athlete, I think his impressive physical measurements will help him become a very good point guard in his own right with time and experience. His decision making in the pick and roll, particularly in his sophomore year at Vandy was very good, and his length and hand size allow him to make many passes at angles that would not be possible for most guards. I like his long term potential quite a bit, and would not be surprised if this is the actual pick that the Bucks end up making in the real draft, because I think Poeltl will be off the board by the 10th pick.

We will just have to acquire our rim protector via trade or free agency. (MCW and Greg Monroe in a sign and trade with Houston for Dwight Howard! - I wish . . .)

[mattman91]

The Milwaukee Bucks select Wade Baldwin, a point guard from Vanderbilt University.

That feeling when the 2 guys you really wanted went #8 and #9 . . . . and you had to do a bunch more research because you had your analysis on Jakob Poeltl all teed up and ready to go.

The Bucks would loved to have drafted Poeltl here, as he is ready to play right away, and fits the team's biggest need, which is a defensive anchor at center, but I believe Baldwin also fits very well with the Bucks' two franchise cornerstone players: Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker. With a pair of offensively gifted forwards in the long term plans, especially a unique talent in the Greek Freak who is capable of handling and passing the ball at such a high level, the Bucks do not necessarily need a ready made floor general who dominates the ball. What they do need is someone who can defend and knock down shots from the perimeter.

Standing at 6'4" with an inhuman 6'11" wingspan (don't believe me? (http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Wade-Baldwin-82826/)), impressive upper body strength, and very solid lateral quickness, I believe Wade has all the tools to become a lock down defender at the next level, capable of guarding either guard spots with no problems. In a lineup with Giannis and Khris Middleton, the length on the perimeter will be suffocating, and is highly valuable against the high scoring perimeter threats of today's NBA.

In addition, Wade is a very good shooter off the catch with NBA range, shooting 42% on 3 point shots over his 2 year career at Vandy. Although not the most explosive athlete, I think his impressive physical measurements will help him become a very good point guard in his own right with time and experience. His decision making in the pick and roll, particularly in his sophomore year at Vandy was very good, and his length and hand size allow him to make many passes at angles that would not be possible for most guards. I like his long term potential quite a bit, and would not be surprised if this is the actual pick that the Bucks end up making in the real draft, because I think Poeltl will be off the board by the 10th pick.

We will just have to acquire our rim protector via trade or free agency. (MCW and Greg Monroe in a sign and trade with Houston for Dwight Howard!)

I ALMOST went with Wade over Poeltl but couldn't leave my top prospect on the board. Incredible wingspan and potential. Great pick!

[JNort]

I'd guess Hield to have a JJ upside rather than a Stephen or Damian Lillard upside, and JJ had to work really hard to become the NBA JJ, but I should emphasize the word "guess."

Well idk about GGLC but I'm thinking much better than JJ. I think Hield will/could be an all star year in and year out and a guy who is the 1st or 2nd best player on a team

[GGLC]

Well idk about GGLC but I'm thinking much better than JJ. I think Hield will/could be an all star year in and year out and a guy who is the 1st or 2nd best player on a team

I agree with this.

If you look at his collegiate trajectory, it's pretty incredible.

[NSDukeFan]

Orlando Magic have some good pieces with their young perimeter of Oladipo, Fournier, Payton, Hezonja and Napier. We have some solid players up front with Vucevic, Ilyasova and Gordon, but could use some more depth up front and perhaps more scoring. We were seriously considering 3 players with this pick, but decided to go with the player who really showed an ability to score and rebound in his one year of college. He appeared to be really well coached at an up and coming school. With the 11th pick of the 2016 NBA Draft the Orlando Magic select Henry Ellenson.

[Li_Duke]

Orlando Magic have some good pieces with their young perimeter of Oladipo, Fournier, Payton, Hezonja and Napier. We have some solid players up front with Vucevic, Ilyasova and Gordon, but could use some more depth up front and perhaps more scoring. We were seriously considering 3 players with this pick, but decided to go with the player who really showed an ability to score and rebound in his one year of college. He appeared to be really well coached at an up and coming school. With the 11th pick of the 2016 NBA Draft the Orlando Magic select Henry Ellenson.

Good pick. He's a steal this late and helps them stretch the floor at PF/center (essential with non-shooter Payton at PG). If the Magic actually ends up with Ellenson at this pick, they will be shouting for joy.

[FerryFor50]

The Utah Jazz has a plethora of solid frontcourt players, as well as wing scoring from Gordon Hayward and Rodney Hood. What the Jazz lack is a true distributing PG, as Trey Burke and Dante Exum just have not panned out yet.

After just barely missing the playoffs this past season, the Utah fans are starved for some winning basketball and having a solid distributor.

That said, with the 12th pick of the draft, the Jazz select Denzel Valentine, Michigan St.

Denzel brings a solid 6'6" frame, the ability to drain threes, rebounding and excellent court vision (7.8 assists per game).

[gurufrisbee]

We have a theme going here in the Phoenix Sun war room. With a trio of young talented guards and a dearth of talent at all in the front court, we're building for the future and we're building with size. We already landed on tall, talented, teen aged guy we have big hopes for, so why not do it again.

The Phoenix Suns continue the run on guys with PTMTSS (post traumatic middle tennessee state syndrome) with Deyonta Davis.

We have dreams of a high octane offense with Booker, Knight, and Bledsoe becoming a dominant backcourt in the West and Bender and Davis running the court and filling it up as the big men.

[Kedsy]

Good pick. He's a steal this late and helps them stretch the floor at PF/center (essential with non-shooter Payton at PG). If the Magic actually ends up with Ellenson at this pick, they will be shouting for joy.

Most of the mocks have him going later (e.g., NBADraftNet = 16; DraftExpress = 15; si = 13). He might be a good pick here, but I don't know about calling it "this late" and "shouting for joy" if he's available at #11.

[CDu]

Well, the Mock Bulls were eyeing a few different players here, some of whom recently came off the board. To be honest, we have needs at almost every position as it is time to rebuild:

C: Noah and Gasol are likely gone this summer in free agency, and to be honest that is probably for the best.
PF: We have a logjam, with Gibson, Mirotic, and Portis. But Mirotic and Portis can't play defense. Gibson is getting older and is a free agent next summer
SF: We have a bunch of not very appetizing pieces here, in McDermott (phenomenal shooter, awful defender), Dunleavy (phenomenal shooter, old and broken body), Snell (good measurables, bad basketball player). And we have Butler, a two-way star who can play either SG or SF.
SG: Butler has been the starter here, and behind him we have just E'twaun Moore - a solid backup - and Jrue Holliday's much-less-talented brother Justin.
PG: We have Derrick Rose's rotting corpse, and nothing else.

Given the status of the team, it's time to start the rebuild. We need to get younger. So with the 14th pick in the 45th Annual DBR Mock Draft, the Mock Bulls select Skal Labissiere, PF/C, Kentucky.

I admit, this pick does not completely thrill me. Labissiere was a major flop as a freshman at UK. He didn't rebound the ball, he committed too many fouls, and just wasn't able to garner consistent playing time from Calipari. But we're hoping that a lot of this was just growing pains as a freshman. He was considered a top-5 pick coming out of high school, and he excelled in the Nike Hoops Summit last Spring. The upside is definitely there - it's a question of getting that out of him.

In terms of fit, Labissiere does one thing that Mirotic and Portis cannot offer: block shots. He blocked 4.2 shots per 40 minutes as a freshman. He also has the athleticism and perimeter jumpshot to fit into Fred Hoiberg's "space and pace" offensive gameplan. He's got plenty of work to do in terms of physical strength and readiness on the court. But this team has enough depth up front to give him time to develop for a year or two. And we don't have championship aspirations in the next year or two anyway, so this pick doesn't need to be a "win now" player. We're hoping that in 2-3 years he'll be our next iteration of Noah/Gibson.

[Reddevil]

Regarding my first pick at #7 - Jaylen Brown, I should have made the obvious comparison to Corey Maggette. He is young with an NBA body. A couple of years of pro coaching and he has the potential to be the steal of the draft.

Now, this is where I would have picked Grayson Allen. Oh well (he said with a devilish grin).:cool:

The Nuggets like their roster and although they are very willing to trade their assets for a stud veteran, they do not want to have to make any cuts to accommodate even more youth. So trying here to make it somewhat realistic, I will draft Furkan Korkmaz, SG, Turkey. He fits the draft location here at #15. He is an outstanding shooter from long range which they will need, and he has very good all around basketball skills including defensive potential. In fact, he is athletic, quick, and skilled enough to create his own offense without relying on picks. He can gain experience on an international roster until he is physically ready (6'-7", but only 175lbs now). Who knows, maybe down the road he becomes a Manu Ginobili type.

[NashvilleDevil]

With the Celtics next pick in the first round we are taking the son of Arvydas, Domantas Sabonis. May be a reach at 16 but we think he is NBA ready and will give us a guy who can rebound and stretch a D at some point in his career. Plus we loved Arvydas and having him around will be fun.

[CDu]

With the Celtics next pick in the first round we are taking the son of Arvydas, Domantas Sabonis. May be a reach at 16 but we think he is NBA ready and will give us a guy who can rebound and stretch a D at some point in his career. Plus we loved Arvydas and having him around will be fun.

He's not (the son of) your Vydas. He's not (the son of) my Vydas. He's (the son of) Arvydas.

[NSDukeFan]

With the Celtics next pick in the first round we are taking the son of Arvydas, Domantas Sabonis. May be a reach at 16 but we think he is NBA ready and will give us a guy who can rebound and stretch a D at some point in his career. Plus we loved Arvydas and having him around will be fun.

I was close to reaching for him at 11. I love watching Arvydas highlights and wondering what might've been if he had been in the NBA while he still had knees. Domanatas sure gathered up a lot of rebounds and scored well in the post. The only reason I didn't take him was because of the way the league has been trending away from post play.

[jacone21]

In Memphis, we have too many old guys and tarheels. If I were the real GM, the first thing I would do is get rid of some of the latter ones. What we really need is a Klay Thompson level shooter, but there isn't one in this draft. So I'm going with potential.

With the 17th pick, the Grizzlies select Timothe Luwawu out of France.

Timothe has a great combination of offensive and defensive skills. He's a good scorer, great in transition, can shoot and attack the rim, and has solid court vision as a passer. He's very long, with a near 7ft wingspan, and plays defense aggressively. If he can turn into a knock down 3 and D guy, he could be a steal at 17. We'll see.

[CDu]

In Memphis, we have too many old guys and tarheels. If I were the real GM, the first thing I would do is get rid of some of the latter ones. What we really need is a Klay Thompson level shooter, but there isn't one in this draft. So I'm going with potential.

With the 17th pick, the Grizzlies select Timothe Luwawu out of France.

Timothe has a great combination of offensive and defensive skills. He's a good scorer, great in transition, can shoot and attack the rim, and has solid court vision as a passer. He's very long, with a near 7ft wingspan, and plays defense aggressively. If he can turn into a knock down 3 and D guy, he could be a steal at 17. We'll see.

Luwawu was, along with Wade Baldwin and Deyonta Davis, one of the guys the Mock Bulls were considering at #14.

[FerryFor50]

Luwawu was, along with Wade Baldwin and Deyonta Davis, one of the guys the Mock Bulls were considering at #14.

Mock Jazz also looked at Luwawu, but he was considered overlap at the position.

[gurufrisbee]

The mock Suns before we started penciled in Davis, Sabonis, and Skal as our three potential targets with the 13th pick and were hoping you all would make it easy and only give us one option when it came time and then we started to question our talent evaluations when all three were there, but seeing the other two go within the next three picks is re-assuring (we still are staring PJ Tucker every night, so we'll always be questioning our talent evaluation skills).

[DukeTrinity11]

With the 18th Pick in the NBA Draft, the Detroit Pistons will be selecting Demetrius Jackson out of Notre Dame. This pick came down to choosing between Jackson and another excellent college PG this season, Tyler Ulis out of Kentucky. The Pistons finally decided on Jackson after heated discussion and debate among our Front Office folks because we believe Jackson has the higher ceiling between these two players given the lack of success point guards shorter than 6 feet have had in the NBA.

At any rate, choosing a PG to back up Reggie Jackson was the Pistons' #1 priority this offseason after seeing how poorly our current backup point guard, veteran Steve Blake, performed in the regular season and playoffs. We were very impressed with how Demetrius played at ND and believe that he has strong ball handling, shooting and leadership skills that will make him an immediate upgrade over Blake. The Detroit Pistons firmly believe that this infusion of youth at the guard position will benefit the organization for years to come as the team makes deeper postseason runs.

[mattman91]

More later on the pick. Don't want to hold up the draft.

Short follow up on the pick. Jakob was easily the number one prospect on the mock Raptors draft board. With Biyombo unlikely to be resigned, we need a quality back up center that is ready to come in ready to play. Being the top ranked center in the draft, this pick was a no-brainer.

[brevity]

At any rate, choosing a PG to back up Reggie Jackson was the Pistons' #1 priority this offseason after seeing how poorly our current backup point guard, veteran Steve Blake, performed in the regular season and playoffs.

I find this surprising. At first I thought Steve Blake might be out of his element in Detroit and longing for a taste of familiarity, but then I did some research and learned there's a Johnny Rockets (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dc-sports-bog/wp/2014/02/13/steve-blake-duke-and-his-johnny-rockets-paper/) restaurant 1.5 miles away from the Pistons' home arena.

[BD80]

I find this surprising. At first I thought Steve Blake might be out of his element in Detroit and longing for a taste of familiarity, but then I did some research and learned there's a Johnny Rockets (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dc-sports-bog/wp/2014/02/13/steve-blake-duke-and-his-johnny-rockets-paper/) restaurant 1.5 miles away from the Pistons' home arena.

You want to talk about "in his element!" Johnny Rockets is in a "destination" shopping mall that has an aquarium featuring a rescued sea turtle (and sharks):

https://www.visitsealife.com/michigan/explore-our-creatures/green-sea-turtle/

[sagegrouse]

At any rate, choosing a PG to back up Reggie Jackson was the Pistons' #1 priority this offseason after seeing how poorly our current backup point guard, veteran Steve Blake, performed in the regular season and playoffs.


I find this surprising. At first I thought Steve Blake might be out of his element in Detroit and longing for a taste of familiarity, but then I did some research and learned there's a Johnny Rockets (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dc-sports-bog/wp/2014/02/13/steve-blake-duke-and-his-johnny-rockets-paper/) restaurant 1.5 miles away from the Pistons' home arena.

Raise your hands, Duke boys and girls, if you thought way back in 2001 that Steve Blake would play 14 years in the NBA.

[Reddevil]

Oh boy (swallows hard and grits teeth), I may take some heat for this one, but so be it. Ya see, I follow the sport reasonably well, but honestly I don't know a great deal about many of these guys. I mean, I haven't seen them play much if at all. That said, I fail to see how many more players can be better than Brice Johnson. Plenty of guys have made long careers out of running the floor, hanging around the rim, collecting rebounds, making putbacks, and blocking shots. Yes, he falls for the pump fake every single time, and needs to develop an outside shot, get stronger, etc., but who knows, with better coaching (i couldn't resist) he may become a very nice piece to the puzzle. This is just for fun of course, but there is something satisfying about putting him on an NBA bench far, far away! You're welcome DBR community, now you don't have to worry about what to do with this guy. He could be a Nugget or he could be fools gold!

[luburch]

It's been an interesting off-season for the Indiana Pacers. The decision to fire Frank Vogel left most people scratching their heads. Frank is an excellent defensive coach who overachieved the past two seasons with the roster he had control over. The hiring of Nate McMillan did little, if any, to move the needle. Unfortunately the coaching change cannot be undone, so it is time to address the roster. It is important to capitalize on the prime of Paul George's career. Myles Turner was a steal with the eleventh pick of last year's draft and will likely be an all-star in the future.

The Pacers do have a need at point guard. George Hill is a phenomenal defensive player and a capable shooter, but lacks in play making ability. Unfortunately, one of our main targets Denzel Valentine is no longer on the board and there were some questions concerning his lack of quickness and defensive capabilities.

The frontcourt is also an area of concern. Ian Mahinmi and Jordan Hill are both free agents. Our plan is to resign Mahinmi and let Hill walk. Henry Ellenson was a player we were hoping may possibly slip down the boards, but he was gone a little earlier then we expected. We considered drafting Thon Maker here, and are extremely intrigued by his long-term potential. Unfortunately, with Paul George in his prime and only locked up until 2019, we do not have the time to let Thon figure out the NBA.

With the 20th overall selection in the 45th annual DBR Mock Draft the Indiana Pacers select Malik Beasley from Florida State University.

As I stated a moment ago the Pacers need help at PG and in the frontcourt, but they also need to drastically improve their bench production. Beasley was impressive at Florida State and showed he is an efficient scorer and a quality athlete. He should be able to immediately slot in with the bench unit and provide scoring, shooting, and rebounding. Long term he has potential to be a starting shooting guard in the league. Improvements to the other areas of concern will have to come through trade or free agency.

[gurufrisbee]

Oh boy (swallows hard and grits teeth), I may take some heat for this one, but so be it. Ya see, I follow the sport reasonably well, but honestly I don't know a great deal about many of these guys. I mean, I haven't seen them play much if at all. That said, I fail to see how many more players can be better than Brice Johnson. Plenty of guys have made long careers out of running the floor, hanging around the rim, collecting rebounds, making putbacks, and blocking shots. Yes, he falls for the pump fake every single time, and needs to develop an outside shot, get stronger, etc., but who knows, with better coaching (i couldn't resist) he may become a very nice piece to the puzzle. This is just for fun of course, but there is something satisfying about putting him on an NBA bench far, far away! You're welcome DBR community, now you don't have to worry about what to do with this guy. He could be a Nugget or he could be fools gold!

Thank you. I was glad to be able to legitimately have better choices with the Suns first two spots, but if he had stuck around to my next turn with them I doubt I could have honestly not gone there and I don't enjoy the taste of swallowing vomit.

[JasonEvans]

So you do not have to keep going back a few pages to keep up...

Here is where we stand right now:

1. Philly - pfrduke : Brandon Ingram, F, Duke
2. L.A. Lakers - Edouble : Ben Simmons, F, LSU
3. Boston - NashvilleDevil: Marquese Chriss, PF, Washington
4. Phoenix - gurufrisbee: Dragan Bender, PF, Croatia
5. Minnesota - flyingdutchdevil : Jamaal Murray, SG, NBA Prep U
6. New Orleans - brevity : Buddy Hield, G, Oklahoma
7. Denver - Reddevil : Jaylen Brown, SF, Cal
8. Sacramento - johnb : Kris Dunn, PG, Providence
9. Toronto – mattman91 : Jakob Poeltl, C, Utah
10. Milwaukee - KaZe : Wade Baldwin, PG, Vanderbilt
11. Orlando - NSDukeFan : Henry Ellenson, PF, Marquette
12. Utah – FerryFor50 : Denzel Valentine, SG, Michigan St.
13. Phoenix - gurufrisbee : Deyonta Davis, PF/C, Michigan St.
14. Chicago - CDu : Skal Labissiere, PF/C, NBA Prep U
15. Denver - Reddevil : Furkan Korkmaz, SG, Turkey
16. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Domantas Sabonis, C, Gonzaga
17. Memphis - jacone21 : Timothe Luwawu, wing, France
18. Detroit – DukeTrinity11 : Demetrius Jackson, PG, Notre Dame
19. Denver - Reddevil : Brice Johnson, PF, UNC
20. Indiana - luburch : Malik Beasley, SG, FSU
21. Atlanta - Jason Evans : Dejounte Murray, PG/SG, Washington
22. Charlotte - JNort
23. Boston - NashvilleDevil
24. Philadelphia - pfrduke
25. LA Clippers - theschwartz
26. Philadelphia - pfrduke
27. Toronto – mattman91
28. Phoenix - gurufrisbee
29. San Antonio – subzero02
30. Golden State - SilkyJ

[johnb]

So you do not have to keep going back a few pages to keep up...

Here is where we stand right now:

1. Philly - pfrduke : Brandon Ingram, F, Duke
2. L.A. Lakers - Edouble : Ben Simmons, F, LSU
3. Boston - NashvilleDevil: Marquese Chriss, PF, Washington
4. Phoenix - gurufrisbee: Dragan Bender, PF, Croatia
5. Minnesota - flyingdutchdevil : Jamaal Murray, SG, NBA Prep U
6. New Orleans - brevity : Buddy Hield, G, Oklahoma
7. Denver - Reddevil : Jaylen Brown, SF, Cal
8. Sacramento - johnb : Kris Dunn, PG, Providence
9. Toronto – mattman91 : Jakob Poeltl, C, Utah
10. Milwaukee - KaZe : Wade Baldwin, PG, Vanderbilt
11. Orlando - NSDukeFan : Henry Ellenson, PF, Marquette
12. Utah – FerryFor50 : Denzel Valentine, SG, Michigan St.
13. Phoenix - gurufrisbee : Deyonta Davis, PF/C, Michigan St.
14. Chicago - CDu : Skal Labissiere, PF/C, NBA Prep U
15. Denver - Reddevil : Furkan Korkmaz, SG, Turkey
16. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Domantas Sabonis, Gonzaga
17. Memphis - jacone21 : Timothe Luwawu, France
18. Detroit – DukeTrinity11 : Demetrius Jackson, Notre Dame
19. Denver - Reddevil : Brice Johnson, UNC
20. Indiana - luburch : Malik Beasley, FSU
21. Atlanta - Jason Evans
22. Charlotte - JNort
23. Boston - NashvilleDevil
24. Philadelphia - pfrduke
25. LA Clippers - theschwartz
26. Philadelphia - pfrduke
27. Toronto – mattman91
28. Phoenix - gurufrisbee
29. San Antonio – subzero02
30. Golden State - SilkyJ

Could the moderator please wake up the Hawks?

[BD80]

Could the moderator please wake up the Hawks?

There's always one GM who fails to pay attention

[JasonEvans]

Let me tell you, I spent a long time on this pick.

At first I looked at a bunch of big men, but I think the Hawks are going to keep Al Horford and they will get Tiago Splitter back next season. Plus, I really believe they are going to deal Teague for a big man (Noel or maybe Okafor). I typically go for the young guy, hoping he will develop, which made me take a long look at Stephen Zimmerman, Chieck Dialo, and Thon Maker. But, I think Zimmerman's motor sucks and Dialo is just so raw. Maker is just too much of a mystery and I don't like that he seems to always drift out to the wing rather than being willing to use his size inside. He's not a good enough shooter to only play outside.

So, then I was checking out the wing type players and I came really close to going with Malachai Richardson. I love his athleticism and length, two really important things in the NBA, but I want a wing who can shoot. Kyle Korver is going to be 73 at the start of next season so I need a shooter. None of the wings available to me really blew me away with their stroke.

Then I realized that with Teague being traded, we will need a backup PG. I came within a hair's breath of taking a guy who will almost certainly go in the 2nd round -- in fact, he may be on the board with my next pick. I just can't jump at him this early. Instead, I am going to take Dejounte Murray out of Washington. Murray is a freak athlete that just took over games at times this season. I think he will probably be off the board by the 20th pick, so he's a steal at this point. I'm worried that he hit less than 30% of his 3 pointers this season and less than 70% of his free throws, but I kid you not when I say he has Westbrook-like potential. Regardless, he will instantly be one of the quickest players on my roster and I love the idea of a PG with a 6-9.5 wingspan.

-Jason "I wonder if folks can guess the PG I wanted to take... the one who most folks project as a mid-2nd rounder" Evans

[JasonEvans]

Could the moderator please wake up the Hawks?

There's always one GM who fails to pay attention

Cut me some slack, I was busy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHg5SJYRHA0)!

[gurufrisbee]

-Jason "I wonder if folks can guess the PG I wanted to take... the one who most folks project as a mid-2nd rounder" Evans

Felder

[luburch]

Let me tell you, I spent a long time on this pick.
-Jason "I wonder if folks can guess the PG I wanted to take... the one who most folks project as a mid-2nd rounder" Evans

Hmmm. LeVert or Payton?

[CDu]

Hmmm. LeVert or Payton?

I was going to guess Payton.

[NashvilleDevil]

I was going to guess Payton.

Marcus Paige?

[Reddevil]

-Jason "I wonder if folks can guess the PG I wanted to take... the one who most folks project as a mid-2nd rounder" Evans

Hmm, Tyler Ulis? Too short. Cat Barber? Doubt it. ISAIAH WHITEHEAD!

[BD80]

Cut me some slack, I was busy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHg5SJYRHA0)!

White men CAN dance!!! Just not Rick :(

You really expect slack? Here? Slack must have a different meaning in ATL.

[subzero02]

White men CAN dance!!! Just not Rick :(



I've never anyone make the 2 step look so difficult...

[JNort]

With the 22nd pick in the NBA draft the Charlotte Hornets select Malachi Richardson!

We are excited to see Malachi fall to the Hornets. He is young and showed a lot of promise for the Orange as the season wound down. He has great size to play the 2 and could even be used at the 3 if needed and provides depth at our sg spot which is in desperate need of depth. He is still young and may take a year or two but his young age shows promise.

[kAzE]

With the 22nd pick in the NBA draft the Charlotte Hornets select Malachi Richardson!

We are excited to see Malachi fall to the Hornets. He is young and showed a lot of promise for the Orange as the season wound down. He has great size to play the 2 and could even be used at the 3 if needed and provides depth at our sg spot which is in desperate need of depth. He is still young and may take a year or two but his young age shows promise.

Is he really that young? He's 20, so he's older than Brandon Ingram . . . who is STILL 18.

[flyingdutchdevil]

With the 22nd pick in the NBA draft the Charlotte Hornets select Malachi Richardson!

We are excited to see Malachi fall to the Hornets. He is young and showed a lot of promise for the Orange as the season wound down. He has great size to play the 2 and could even be used at the 3 if needed and provides depth at our sg spot which is in desperate need of depth. He is still young and may take a year or two but his young age shows promise.

Love this pick. It's a popularity pick right now, but I think Malachi is a stud. He's got great size and a great shot. His body isn't NBA ready, but neither is the number 1/2 pick in the draft.

[NashvilleDevil]

With the 23rd pick of the draft the Boston Celtics select Tyler Ulis. Our goal is to have an under 6' starting backcourt and this does it for us. Seriously we were excited that he dropped this far. We think he can be a difference maker on our team. If he had his college teammate, Jamal Murray's size he would be a top 5 pick. Our other options were Taureen Prince and Chieck Diallo but we like what Ulis can do for the Celtics.

[AtlDuke72]

You guys are missing the best guy available - Malcolm Brogdon is going to be very good.

[mr. synellinden]

You guys are missing the best guy available - Malcolm Brogdon is going to be very good.

Doesn't he have San Antonio written all over him?

[pfrduke]

So you're telling me that at the #24 pick, I can gamble on high upside talent who may blossom into a valuable player in several years but won't interfere with my accumulation of high draft picks in the short term? Sign me up.

The 76ers select ​Cheick Diallo

[JasonEvans]

Updated draft results...

1. Philly - pfrduke : Brandon Ingram, F, Duke
2. L.A. Lakers - Edouble : Ben Simmons, F, LSU
3. Boston - NashvilleDevil: Marquese Chriss, PF, Washington
4. Phoenix - gurufrisbee: Dragan Bender, PF, Croatia
5. Minnesota - flyingdutchdevil : Jamaal Murray, SG, NBA Prep U
6. New Orleans - brevity : Buddy Hield, G, Oklahoma
7. Denver - Reddevil : Jaylen Brown, SF, Cal
8. Sacramento - johnb : Kris Dunn, PG, Providence
9. Toronto – mattman91 : Jakob Poeltl, C, Utah
10. Milwaukee - KaZe : Wade Baldwin, PG, Vanderbilt
11. Orlando - NSDukeFan : Henry Ellenson, PF, Marquette
12. Utah – FerryFor50 : Denzel Valentine, SG, Michigan St.
13. Phoenix - gurufrisbee : Deyonta Davis, PF/C, Michigan St.
14. Chicago - CDu : Skal Labissiere, PF/C, NBA Prep U
15. Denver - Reddevil : Furkan Korkmaz, SG, Turkey
16. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Domantas Sabonis, C, Gonzaga
17. Memphis - jacone21 : Timothe Luwawu, France
18. Detroit – DukeTrinity11 : Demetrius Jackson, PG, Notre Dame
19. Denver - Reddevil : Brice Johnson, F, UNC
20. Indiana - luburch : Malik Beasley, G, FSU
21. Atlanta - Jason Evans : Dejounte Murray, G, Washington
22. Charlotte - JNort : Malachai Richardson, SG/SF, Syracuse
23. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Tyler Ullis, PG, Kentucky
24. Philadelphia - pfrduke : Cheick Dialo, PF, Kansas
25. LA Clippers - theschwartz
26. Philadelphia - pfrduke
27. Toronto – mattman91
28. Phoenix - gurufrisbee
29. San Antonio – subzero02
30. Golden State - SilkyJ

[JasonEvans]

So you're telling me that at the #24 pick, I can gamble on high upside talent who may blossom into a valuable player in several years but won't interfere with my accumulation of high draft picks in the short term? Sign me up.

The 76ers select ​Cheick Diallo

I agree that this seems like the kind of thing the Sixers would do, but I just wonder how long it will take for a kid who could barely get off the bench in Kansas to turn into a player in the NBA. Someone help me out -- has there ever been a kid who played this little in college (not counting kids who were injured or who were held out due to eligibility problems) who turned into even a rotation NBA player? Diallo averaged just 3 ppg in 7.5 minutes per game at Kansas. He was a foul machine, basically biting on every pump fake he saw, so he fouled at a rate of almost 8 fouls per 40 minutes.

I'm not saying he is a bad pick at this point in the draft (heck, I considered him), but we really haven't yet seen any indication he is capable of even being an impactful player at the college level. I suspect he will struggle to even get off the bench in the D-League next season.

-Jason "as an aside, I'm not naming the PG I liked... I think he may be there when I pick next" Evans

[sagegrouse]

I agree that this seems like the kind of thing the Sixers would do, but I just wonder how long it will take for a kid who could barely get off the bench in Kansas to turn into a player in the NBA. Someone help me out -- has there ever been a kid who played this little in college (not counting kids who were injured or who were held out due to eligibility problems) who turned into even a rotation NBA player? Diallo averaged just 3 ppg in 7.5 minutes per game at Kansas. He was a foul machine, basically biting on every pump fake he saw, so he fouled at a rate of almost 8 fouls per 40 minutes.

I'm not saying he is a bad pick at this point in the draft (heck, I considered him), but we really haven't yet seen any indication he is capable of even being an impactful player at the college level. I suspect he will struggle to even get off the bench in the D-League next season.

-Jason "as an aside, I'm not naming the PG I liked... I think he may be there when I pick next" Evans

My answer to this question is always "Swen Nater," Bill Walton's back-up at UCLA from 1971 through 1973. He scored a total of 287 points in two seasons at UCLA (no minutes in the stats), but averaged 1,000 points a year over his first eight years in the ABA and NBA.

[johnb]

My answer to this question is always "Swen Nater," Bill Walton's back-up at UCLA from 1971 through 1973. He scored a total of 287 points in two seasons at UCLA (no minutes in the stats), but averaged 1,000 points a year over his first eight years in the ABA and NBA.

Mark Eaton would be another candidate for underperformance at UCLA. He averaged 1.3 points and 2.0 rebounds for the Bruins in 3.7 minutes per game in his senior year.

Extrapolated to 40 minutes, he'd have averaged closer to 14 points and 22 rpg, but it's still fair to say he wasn't pivotal to the team at only 3.6 mpg.

He got drafted in the 4th rounds, presumably because he was huge, and became the NBA career leader in blocks per game.

[sagegrouse]

Mark Eaton would be another candidate for underperformance at UCLA. He averaged 1.3 points and 2.0 rebounds for the Bruins in 3.7 minutes per game in his senior year. He got drafted in the 4th rounds, presumably because he was huge.

Perhaps even better example that Swen Nater (who did play behind an all-time great). Eaton played 11 years and 875 games, starting 90 percent of the games. He scored 5200 points and grabbed 6900 boards.

[DallasDevil]

Perhaps even better example that Swen Nater (who did play behind an all-time great). Eaton played 11 years and 875 games, starting 90 percent of the games. He scored 5200 points and grabbed 6900 boards.

He's also the NBA's all-time leader in career blocks per game, was a 2 time NBA defensive player of the year, and made an all-star team. Not bad for a guy that worked as an auto mechanic for 3 years after high school with no plans to even play college basketball.

And if we're only counting guys who played as little as Diallo in their first year of college and ended up developing into decent NBA players, there are likely many examples (including Miles Plumlee).

[phaedrus]

Someone help me out -- has there ever been a kid who played this little in college (not counting kids who were injured or who were held out due to eligibility problems) who turned into even a rotation NBA player? Diallo averaged just 3 ppg in 7.5 minutes per game at Kansas. He was a foul machine, basically biting on every pump fake he saw, so he fouled at a rate of almost 8 fouls per 40 minutes.


I suspect if you rephrased the question to ask if anyone has played so little as a freshman in college and turned out to be a rotation NBA player, you'd probably find some. Miles Plumlee comes to mind.

[CDu]

I agree that this seems like the kind of thing the Sixers would do, but I just wonder how long it will take for a kid who could barely get off the bench in Kansas to turn into a player in the NBA. Someone help me out -- has there ever been a kid who played this little in college (not counting kids who were injured or who were held out due to eligibility problems) who turned into even a rotation NBA player? Diallo averaged just 3 ppg in 7.5 minutes per game at Kansas. He was a foul machine, basically biting on every pump fake he saw, so he fouled at a rate of almost 8 fouls per 40 minutes.

I'm not saying he is a bad pick at this point in the draft (heck, I considered him), but we really haven't yet seen any indication he is capable of even being an impactful player at the college level. I suspect he will struggle to even get off the bench in the D-League next season.

-Jason "as an aside, I'm not naming the PG I liked... I think he may be there when I pick next" Evans


He's also the NBA's all-time leader in career blocks per game, was a 2 time NBA defensive player of the year, and made an all-star team. Not bad for a guy that worked as an auto mechanic for 3 years after high school with no plans to even play college basketball.

And if we're only counting guys who played as little as Diallo in their first year of college and ended up developing into decent NBA players, there are likely many examples (including Miles Plumlee).


I suspect if you rephrased the question to ask if anyone has played so little as a freshman in college and turned out to be a rotation NBA player, you'd probably find some. Miles Plumlee comes to mind.

A pretty good recent example besides Plumlee would be Joakim Noah. Noah averaged 9.4 mpg, 3.5 ppg, and 2.5 rpg as a freshman.

[flyingdutchdevil]

A pretty good recent example besides Plumlee would be Joakim Noah. Noah averaged 9.4 mpg, 3.5 ppg, and 2.5 rpg as a freshman.

A future example would be Grayson Allen. :D

[Turk]

So you're telling me that at the #24 pick, I can gamble on high upside talent who may blossom into a valuable player in several years but won't interfere with my accumulation of high draft picks in the short term? Sign me up.

The 76ers select ​Cheick Diallo

Perhaps Sam the Clam Hinkie would have signed up too, but I don't think the new regime will add yet another forward into the mix. Needs to be some sort of guard here.

[theschwartz]

Clippers have a big offseason ahead of them, with a number of free agents and potential roster holes to fill. They've got a strong core, but injuries last season were also a concern, so Clippers will be focused on maintaining, and even adding, depth this offseason. That's why I ultimately don't see the Clippers trying to package their two picks (#25 & #32) to move up in the draft, and will try to find two potential impact players at their existing spots. They've already got a strong core.

I see them taking Taurean Prince at this spot if he's there. He's got great physical tools and a highly versatile offensive game - can hit the 3, good pull-up game, move off the ball, pass to big men (Jordan & Griffin). He'd benefit a lot by playing with a PG like Chris Paul. On the defensive end, Prince has long arms, quick feet, and good anticipation, plus is tough and will crash the glass. If the Clippers can't/don't re-sign Jamal Crawford or Jeff Green, they could really use a guy like Prince, who I think has a chance to be a strong 3-and-D guy in the NBA, or a 4 in a small ball lineup (if the Clippers try to avoid a Hack-a-Jordan scenario or if Blake gets hurt again).

Best of all, Clippers can always roll him out for the post-game press conference to answer any lame questions (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6A2ZgKV6n0).

[pfrduke]

Perhaps Sam the Clam Hinkie would have signed up too, but I don't think the new regime will add yet another forward into the mix. Needs to be some sort of guard here.

And guard you shall receive. The Sixers add some offensive firepower and try to address local goodwill by drafting Deandre Bembry, SG, Temple​.

[gam7]

And guard you shall receive. The Sixers add some offensive firepower and try to address local goodwill by drafting Deandre Bembry, SG, Temple​.

He's from St. Joe's, no?

[JasonEvans]

He's from St. Joe's, no?

Yup. We will still count the pick though ;)

[mattman91]

More on the pick later tonight.

[jacone21]

Taurean Prince .

I was seriously considering Taurean at 17. He's another one of those late bloomer types whose trajectory may be going sharply up for a while. He's just got that je ne sais quoi thing going. Can't exactly describe it, but I know it when I see it.

Draft night must be a nightmare for the folks who have to make these decisions for real.

[pfrduke]

He's from St. Joe's, no?

The Colangelos cannot be expected to keep the Big 5 schools straight.

[gurufrisbee]

We were really hoping for Prince at 28. Super pick.

Taking the kids to the spray park. I'll pick when we get back.

[gurufrisbee]

Taking teenagers in an NBA draft is a risky proposition. Are you getting Kevin Garnett or are you getting Ndubi Edi? But you can't teach height and if you take enough shots, you're bound to hit on a one...or two....or three. So that's the draft philosophy this year for your Phoenix Suns. We've taken two teenage big men which almost guarantees at least one to be a busy - and we're going to make it three for three.

With the 28th pick, the Phoenix Suns take Thon Maker. Between Bender, Davis, and Maker the sky is the limit for the potential of the Suns big men even though this year it will still be a lot of Alex Len and Tyson Chandler while the kiddie giants take some time to learn and develop.

[subzero02]

After having one of the best regular season records in NBA history, the Spurs were bounced in the second round by a surging OKC squad. Two things became very apparent during this series; the Spurs need to be a better rebounding team if they plan to remain amongst the league's elite squads and Tim Duncan has lost several steps since the 2014 championship run. With the 29th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, the Spurs select Ante Zizic from Croatia. Zizic is only 19 years old but has a very solid build at 6' 11" and 254 pounds. He is an athletic center who likes to play above the rim; he is known for finishing strong. He makes it to the free throw line at a high rate due to his aggressive style of play and converts at a 74% clip. With a 7 foot 3 inch wingspan, Zizic is a good rebounder and shot blocker. He has played professional basketball since the age of 16 but needs more experience against world class talent. Playing alongside Aldridge and Duncan should accelerate his learning process.

[awhom111]

I hate to be the spelling person, but there are a couple of transcription errors on the big list. The originals posts seem correct.

It should be Jamal Murray and Malachi Richardson.

[Edouble]

Taking teenagers in an NBA draft is a risky proposition. Are you getting Kevin Garnett or are you getting Ndubi Edi? But you can't teach height and if you take enough shots, you're bound to hit on a one...or two...or three. So that's the draft philosophy this year for your Phoenix Suns. We've taken two teenage big men which almost guarantees at least one to be a busy - and we're going to make it three for three.

With the 28th pick, the Phoenix Suns take Thon Maker. Between Bender, Davis, and Maker the sky is the limit for the potential of the Suns big men even though this year it will still be a lot of Alex Len and Tyson Chandler while the kiddie giants take some time to learn and develop.

If Ndubi Edi had gone to UA for three years, he would have been an All Star.

[subzero02]

If Ndubi Edi had gone to UA for three years, he would have been an All Star.

His name is actually Ndudi Ebi

[awhom111]

I hate to be the spelling person, but there are a couple of transcription errors on the big list. The originals posts seem correct.

It should be Jamal Murray and Malachi Richardson.

Also apparently, the actual official spelling per college bio is DeAndre' Bembry, although I would not expect anyone to figure that out on their own.

[brevity]

Taking teenagers in an NBA draft is a risky proposition. Are you getting Kevin Garnett or are you getting Ndubi Edi?


If Ndubi Edi had gone to UA for three years, he would have been an All Star.


His name is actually Ndudi Ebi

That's an honest mistake. I transpose the letters B and D all the time, especially when I run text through Abode software.


I hate to be the spelling person, but there are a couple of transcription errors on the big list.

Also, it should be Tyler Ulis (remove the extra L) and Cheick Diallo (put that L over here). I was hesitant to pile on, considering that this list has correctly spelled Marquese, Dragan, Hield, Poeltl, Labissiere, Korkmaz, and Luwawu.

[theschwartz]

And guard you shall receive. The Sixers add some offensive firepower and try to address local goodwill by drafting Deandre Bembry, SG, Temple​.


I was seriously considering Taurean at 17. He's another one of those late bloomer types whose trajectory may be going sharply up for a while. He's just got that je ne sais quoi thing going. Can't exactly describe it, but I know it when I see it.

Draft night must be a nightmare for the folks who have to make these decisions for real.


We were really hoping for Prince at 28. Super pick.

Taking the kids to the spray park. I'll pick when we get back.

Thanks. It came down to Prince vs Bembry for me. Just felt like the Clippers were more likely to re-sign Crawford and Bembry felt like more of a duplicate to him. Less likely to re-sign Wes Johnson or Jeff Green, so Prince would fill their shoes.

[Turk]

And guard you shall receive. The Sixers add some offensive firepower and try to address local goodwill by drafting Deandre Bembry, SG, Temple​.


The Colangelos cannot be expected to keep the Big 5 schools straight. (That will need to change. Carpetbaggers.)


Also apparently, the actual official spelling per college bio is DeAndre' Bembry, although I would not expect anyone to figure that out on their own.

Love Bembry; great basketball IQ. If he had come back for his senior year, it would have been a lock that St. Joe's would retire his jersey (and they still might). He carried that team for three years. Not sure I would characterize his game as "offensive firepower"; he is more of an Andre Iguodala type that does a little bit of everything. I also think Brogden or McCaw would fit the Sixers' needs.

[JasonEvans]

Here are our up-to-date draft results (spelling corrected, I hope):

1. Philly - pfrduke : Brandon Ingram, F, Duke
2. L.A. Lakers - Edouble : Ben Simmons, F, LSU
3. Boston - NashvilleDevil: Marquese Chriss, PF, Washington
4. Phoenix - gurufrisbee: Dragan Bender, PF, Croatia
5. Minnesota - flyingdutchdevil : Jamal Murray, SG, NBA Prep U
6. New Orleans - brevity : Buddy Hield, G, Oklahoma
7. Denver - Reddevil : Jaylen Brown, SF, Cal
8. Sacramento - johnb : Kris Dunn, PG, Providence
9. Toronto – mattman91 : Jakob Poeltl, C, Utah
10. Milwaukee - KaZe : Wade Baldwin, PG, Vanderbilt
11. Orlando - NSDukeFan : Henry Ellenson, PF, Marquette
12. Utah – FerryFor50 : Denzel Valentine, SG, Michigan St.
13. Phoenix - gurufrisbee : Deyonta Davis, PF/C, Michigan St.
14. Chicago - CDu : Skal Labissiere, PF/C, NBA Prep U
15. Denver - Reddevil : Furkan Korkmaz, SG, Turkey
16. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Domantas Sabonis, C, Gonzaga
17. Memphis - jacone21 : Timothe Luwawu, France
18. Detroit – DukeTrinity11 : Demetrius Jackson, PG, Notre Dame
19. Denver - Reddevil : Brice Johnson, F, UNC
20. Indiana - luburch : Malik Beasley, G, FSU
21. Atlanta - Jason Evans : Dejounte Murray, G, Washington
22. Charlotte - JNort : Malachi Richardson, SG/SF, Syracuse
23. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Tyler Ullis, PG, Kentucky
24. Philadelphia - pfrduke : Chieck Dialo, PF, Kansas
25. LA Clippers - theschwartz : Taurean Prince, SF, Baylor
26. Philadelphia - pfrduke : DeAndre Bembry, SG, St. Joe's
27. Toronto – mattman91 : Patrick McCaw SG, UNLV
28. Phoenix - gurufrisbee : Thon Maker, F, High School
29. San Antonio – subzero02 : Ante Zizic, PF/C, Croatia
30. Golden State - SilkyJ

Second Round
31. Boston - NashvilleDevil
32. LA Lakers - Edouble
33. LA Clippers - theschwartz
34. Phoenix - gurufrisbee
35. Boston - NashvilleDevil
36. Milwaukee - KaZe
37. Houston - Troublemaker
38. Milwaukee - KaZe
39. New Orleans - brevity
40. New Orleans - brevity

-Jason "hey Silky, you need to hurry up and pick!!" Evans

[mattman91]

More on the pick later tonight.

With the future of Demar DeRozan an uncertainty, the mock Raptors desperately needed to pick up a shooting guard. McCaw was the best available at this position of need.

McCaw has great size, incredible speed and lateral quickness, and is an above average 3 point shooter. He will need to gain some muscle for his 6'7 180lb frame. If he can do this, we see him being a long time rotation player with potential to one day earn a starting spot.

[JasonEvans]

If SilkyJ cannot make his pick by 2pm ET, I have empowered Turk (who wanted a team but did not get one) to make the pick.

[mattman91]

If SilkyJ cannot make his pick by 2pm ET, I have empowered Turk (who wanted a team but did not get one) to make the pick.

Congrats to Turk for being appointed Assistant GM of the mock Warriors by Commissioner Evans :p

[SilkyJ]

And with the 30th and final first round pick in the draft, the greatest NBA team ever waits as long as it wants (especially b/c they are on west coast time ;) and picks Damian Jones, Center, from Vanderbilt. With all our true Centers free agents this summer, we need to add some front court depth and are excited about what Damian brings to the table as a rebounder and defender who can also stretch the floor.

(Notably, and under the radar, the Warriors also traded Harrison Barnes and JMM to the Lakers for a sack of rice to be named later. Now we can all get on board with rooting for this team.)

[JasonEvans]

And with the 30th and final first round pick in the draft, the greatest NBA team ever waits as long as it wants (especially b/c they are on west coast time ;) and picks Damian Jones, Center, from Vanderbilt. With all our true Centers free agents this summer, we need to add some front court depth and are excited about what Damian brings to the table as a rebounder and defender who can also stretch the floor.

(Notably, and under the radar, the Warriors also traded Harrison Barnes and JMM to the Lakers for a sack of rice to be named later. Now we can all get on board with rooting for this team.)

Nice pick. I've seen Jones going a good bit higher than this is many mocks (he's generally being picked around #20) so I think the Warriors would be thrilled if this actually happened.

And I love the trade! Make it happen!!

-Jason "sorry about my East Coast bias regarding your delayed pick" Evans

[flyingdutchdevil]

That's got to be the fastest and most efficient NBA draft in DBR. Excellent timing! Congrats DBR!

[NashvilleDevil]

With the 1st pick of the 2nd round the Boston Celtics select, Malcolm Brogdon from the University of Virginia. A reach at 31? Probably but we are in the 2nd round and I really did not think he would be there at 35. Brogdon can play the type of defense that Stevens likes and he's a leader. He is older but he will have the maturity to learn the system and be patient.

[Turk]

If SilkyJ cannot make his pick by 2pm ET, I have empowered Turk (who wanted a team but did not get one) to make the pick.

The motto on my tombstone will be "A Day Late and a Dollar Short". I saw Jason's offer and was just getting ready to botch the Warriors pick. Oh well, there's always next year.


With the 1st pick of the 2nd round the Boston Celtics select, Malcolm Brogdon from the University of Virginia. A reach at 31? Probably but we are in the 2nd round and I really did not think he would be there at 35. Brogdon can play the type of defense that Stevens likes and he's a leader. He is older but he will have the maturity to learn the system and be patient.

Shout out to Brogdon, whom I think will be a very good pro. He just knows how to win and would be in a great place with Stevens in Boston. I believe guys who stay four years are often penalized unfairly. The earlier discussion of St. Joe's DeAndre' Bembry reminded me of when Jameer Nelson got drafted in 2004. Sebastian Telfair came out of high school (with a shoe contract!) and was drafted 13, while Nelson fell to 20. SJU coach Phil Martelli was in complete disbelief. I can't find the quote, but Martelli went ballistic, saying he couldn't understand what the NBA GMs were thinking, that there wasn't any league on earth where Telfair should go higher than Nelson, let alone Nelson not being chosen as a lottery pick. I think in this case, Phil was right.

(Can the DBR archivists dig up DBR's 2004 mock draft? There must have been one, since this is the "45th" - hah! I bet Nelson would not have fallen so far in ours...)

[kAzE]

Shout out to Brogdon, whom I think will be a very good pro. He just knows how to win and would be in a great place with Stevens in Boston. I believe guys who stay four years are often penalized unfairly. The earlier discussion of St. Joe's DeAndre' Bembry reminded me of when Jameer Nelson got drafted in 2004. Sebastian Telfair came out of high school (with a shoe contract!) and was drafted 13, while Nelson fell to 20. SJU coach Phil Martelli was in complete disbelief. I can't find the quote, but Martelli went ballistic, saying he couldn't understand what the NBA GMs were thinking, that there wasn't any league on earth where Telfair should go higher than Nelson, let alone Nelson not being chosen as a lottery pick. I think in this case, Phil was right.

With the advantage of hindsight, of COURSE we can say Nelson should have gone higher than Telfair, but the NBA draft is largely based on potential. Telfair could have had a better career than Nelson, but we had no way of knowing at the time. Nelson was a pretty good player for most of his career. Back end of the first round is a reasonable place for a 6'0" 1 time All-Star to be drafted.

It was more an overestimation of Telfair's potential than any actual slight against Nelson. Worse players than Telfair have certainly been drafted higher than 13 and better players than Nelson have certainly been drafted later than 20. It's always a crapshoot. You just take your best shot with the information available at the time.

[johnb]

After having one of the best regular season records in NBA history, the Spurs were bounced in the second round by a surging OKC squad. Two things became very apparent during this series; the Spurs need to be a better rebounding team if they plan to remain amongst the league's elite squads and Tim Duncan has lost several steps since the 2014 championship run. With the 29th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, the Spurs select Ante Zizic from Croatia. Zizic is only 19 years old but has a very solid build at 6' 11" and 254 pounds. He is an athletic center who likes to play above the rim; he is known for finishing strong. He makes it to the free throw line at a high rate due to his aggressive style of play and converts at a 74% clip. With a 7 foot 3 inch wingspan, Zizic is a good rebounder and shot blocker. He has played professional basketball since the age of 16 but needs more experience against world class talent. Playing alongside Aldridge and Duncan should accelerate his learning process.



Andrija Zizic is spelled Žižić, not to be confused with the philosopher Slavoj Žižek. The Spurs will be in for a wild and confusing ride if the former can harness the ferocity of the latter, and in so doing, bring some idiosyncratic neo-Marxist, quasi-Lacanian materialism into locker rooms that are often devoid of continental philosophers who are equally comfortable critiquing both the political right and the left-leaning academy.

[BD80]

Andrija Zizic is spelled Žižić, not to be confused with the philosopher Slavoj Žižek. The Spurs will be in for a wild and confusing ride if the former can harness the ferocity of the latter, and in so doing, bring some idiosyncratic neo-Marxist, quasi-Lacanian materialism into locker rooms that are often devoid of continental philosophers who are equally comfortable critiquing both the political right and the left-leaning academy.

Um. I'm pretty sure there is only one philosophy on the Spurs - Pop philosophy.

[awhom111]

Andrija Zizic is spelled Žižić, not to be confused with the philosopher Slavoj Žižek. The Spurs will be in for a wild and confusing ride if the former can harness the ferocity of the latter, and in so doing, bring some idiosyncratic neo-Marxist, quasi-Lacanian materialism into locker rooms that are often devoid of continental philosophers who are equally comfortable critiquing both the political right and the left-leaning academy.

Just so that nobody gets confused, jokes aside, Andrija Zizic and Ante Zizic are both brothers and basketball players, but only one is in this draft. Although the Spurs would probably consider signing the 36 year old too.


Here are our up-to-date draft results (spelling corrected, I hope):

23. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Tyler Ullis, PG, Kentucky
24. Philadelphia - pfrduke : Chieck Dialo, PF, Kansas


-Jason "hey Silky, you need to hurry up and pick!!" Evans

I think you missed brevity's corrections for Tyler Ulis and Cheick Diallo.


And with the 30th and final first round pick in the draft, the greatest NBA team ever waits as long as it wants (especially b/c they are on west coast time ;) and picks Damian Jones, Center, from Vanderbilt. With all our true Centers free agents this summer, we need to add some front court depth and are excited about what Damian brings to the table as a rebounder and defender who can also stretch the floor.

(Notably, and under the radar, the Warriors also traded Harrison Barnes and JMM to the Lakers for a sack of rice to be named later. Now we can all get on board with rooting for this team.)

A good solid pick for us I think. Vanderbilt centers drafted 30th have a reasonable track record.

[brevity]

...That said, I fail to see how many more players can be better than Brice Johnson. Plenty of guys have made long careers out of running the floor, hanging around the rim, collecting rebounds, making putbacks, and blocking shots...

Don't you mean hanging ON the rim?


That's got to be the fastest and most efficient NBA draft in DBR. Excellent timing! Congrats DBR!

You spoke too soon. We were moving at a decent clip, but then only two picks were made Wednesday.

06/04: 1-6
06/05: 7-10
06/06: 11-21
06/07: 22-29
06/08: 30, 31

Stuck at 32. I move for the contraction of the LA Lakers from the league and the elimination of its GM. In the alternative, I propose a strongly worded statement issued to the mock Lakers and its mock GM.

[theschwartz]

Clippers patiently waiting their turn. Got it down to 2 names so ready to make the pick as soon as the Lakers do their thing.

That said, as the 2015 Laker GM, I know exactly who I'd take in this spot if I hadn't moved offices at the Staples Center this year.

[JasonEvans]

We were moving at a decent clip, but then only two picks were made Wednesday.

06/04: 1-6
06/05: 7-10
06/06: 11-21
06/07: 22-29
06/08: 30, 31

Stuck at 32. I move for the contraction of the LA Lakers from the league and the elimination of its GM. In the alternative, I propose a strongly worded statement issued to the mock Lakers and its mock GM.

If the Lakers GM (who is likely on the West Coast) has not picked by noon, our designated backup GM (Turk) will be empowered to make the pick for them.

-Jason "I really find the slowdown frustrating..." Evans

[Edouble]

With the retirement of Kobe Bryant, the Lakers are looking for additional help at the shooting guard position. We are wildly intrigued by another shooting guard who hails from Europe.

With the 32nd pick, the LA Lakers select Isaia Cordinier from France.

Cordinier's stock has dropped a bit in the past month, but we believe he has the physical tools to compete for the Lakers, once he gains a little weight, and gets enough reps against high level competition. His three point shooting, his ability to defend, and his ability to run the floor and play above the rim have Cordinier evaluated as a late first rounder by this organization. We think we are getting a steal here, landing Cordinier with the 32nd pick.

[JasonEvans]

Update on picks...

1. Philly - pfrduke : Brandon Ingram, F, Duke
2. L.A. Lakers - Edouble : Ben Simmons, F, LSU
3. Boston - NashvilleDevil: Marquese Chriss, PF, Washington
4. Phoenix - gurufrisbee: Dragan Bender, PF, Croatia
5. Minnesota - flyingdutchdevil : Jamal Murray, SG, NBA Prep U
6. New Orleans - brevity : Buddy Hield, G, Oklahoma
7. Denver - Reddevil : Jaylen Brown, SF, Cal
8. Sacramento - johnb : Kris Dunn, PG, Providence
9. Toronto – mattman91 : Jakob Poeltl, C, Utah
10. Milwaukee - KaZe : Wade Baldwin, PG, Vanderbilt
11. Orlando - NSDukeFan : Henry Ellenson, PF, Marquette
12. Utah – FerryFor50 : Denzel Valentine, SG, Michigan St.
13. Phoenix - gurufrisbee : Deyonta Davis, PF/C, Michigan St.
14. Chicago - CDu : Skal Labissiere, PF/C, NBA Prep U
15. Denver - Reddevil : Furkan Korkmaz, SG, Turkey
16. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Domantas Sabonis, C, Gonzaga
17. Memphis - jacone21 : Timothe Luwawu, France
18. Detroit – DukeTrinity11 : Demetrius Jackson, PG, Notre Dame
19. Denver - Reddevil : Brice Johnson, F, UNC
20. Indiana - luburch : Malik Beasley, G, FSU
21. Atlanta - Jason Evans : Dejounte Murray, G, Washington
22. Charlotte - JNort : Malachi Richardson, SG/SF, Syracuse
23. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Tyler Ulis, PG, Kentucky
24. Philadelphia - pfrduke : Cheick Dialo, PF, Kansas
25. LA Clippers - theschwartz : Taurean Prince, SF, Baylor
26. Philadelphia - pfrduke : DeAndre Bembry, SG, St. Joe's
27. Toronto – mattman91 : Patrick McCaw SG, UNLV
28. Phoenix - gurufrisbee : Thon Maker, F, High School
29. San Antonio – subzero02 : Ante Zizic, PF/C, Croatia
30. Golden State - SilkyJ : Damian Jones, C, Vanderbilt

Second Round
31. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Malcolm Brogdon, SG, Virginia
32. LA Lakers - Edouble : Isaia Cordinier, G, France
33. LA Clippers - theschwartz
34. Phoenix - gurufrisbee
35. Boston - NashvilleDevil
36. Milwaukee - KaZe
37. Houston - Troublemaker
38. Milwaukee - KaZe
39. New Orleans - brevity
40. New Orleans - brevity

[gurufrisbee]

I had three first round picks, but I'm way more nervous about the one second rounder I have because there has been so much time to build up the stress of screwing it up. I think this is the real reason they have a clock at the real drafts - to not give the GM's too much time to out think themselves.

[kAzE]

I had three first round picks, but I'm way more nervous about the one second rounder I have because there has been so much time to build up the stress of screwing it up. I think this is the real reason they have a clock at the real drafts - to not give the GM's too much time to out think themselves.

Not me, I know exactly who I'm taking, as long as you guys don't screw this up for me :)

[theschwartz]

With the 3rd pick of the 2nd round, the Clippers eagerly scoop up Juan Hernangomez, PF, Estudiantes. He's been moving up on draft boards and the Clippers consider themselves extremely fortunate that he's still around at this point in the draft. He doesn't have a buyout in his contract, so he's eligible to come and play in the NBA immediately, but he's also willing to stay in Europe for another year or two to refine his skills. That gives the Clippers some much-needed flexibility, depending how they do re-signing their free agents.

Hernangomez had a nice little season in the Spanish League, winning the "young player of the year" award, with a 20.6 PER as a 20 year-old, the 2nd-best mark for a player under 21 in the last 10 years. He's a terrific fit in the Clippers offense: a mobile stretch 4, with excellent range from 15-20 feet and the ability to play in the pick and roll. Could use some work on the defensive end, but that'll come. Clippers also looked at taking a point guard here, steeling themselves for the long, graceful denouement of Chris Paul's career, but none of the prospects here--including a certain felinious coiffeur--really stood out as big difference makers.

[gurufrisbee]

Not me, I know exactly who I'm taking, as long as you guys don't screw this up for me :)

Well I went into this and made lists for who I was hoping to get at each of the four spots based on guessing where people would get taken. I got my top guy listed for my first two spots and my number two guy in the third spot. I still have my top option available for the fourth spot - I just question myself a lot more about it with the lots more time that I have had to think about it.

[gurufrisbee]

The Phoenix Suns are happy to wrap up our portion of this NBA draft by continuing with our consistent theme:

TALL TEENAGERS

We're a young team but we believe in our back court and we want to believe in TJ Warren to improve enough so we can stop pretending PJ Tucker is a legitimate starting small forward in the NBA. But Tyson Chandler is old and Alex Len isn't really getting it done (our fault for picking a TwErp) so we need a lot of help in the big men position.

With Bender, Davis, and Maker already on board, we're going to add one to the mix in the hopes that with four promising options we can get a couple to develop and become another western conference super power.

So with that, the Phoenix Suns are taking Stephen Zimmerman from UNLV to complete our baby faced Mount Rushmore of a draft. We love his potential and offensive skills and rebounding and athleticism - much like the skills we see in our other guys too.

[kAzE]

The Phoenix Suns are happy to wrap up our portion of this NBA draft by continuing with our consistent theme:

TALL TEENAGERS

We're a young team but we believe in our back court and we want to believe in TJ Warren to improve enough so we can stop pretending PJ Tucker is a legitimate starting small forward in the NBA. But Tyson Chandler is old and Alex Len isn't really getting it done (our fault for picking a TwErp) so we need a lot of help in the big men position.

With Bender, Davis, and Maker already on board, we're going to add one to the mix in the hopes that with four promising options we can get a couple to develop and become another western conference super power.

So with that, the Phoenix Suns are taking Stephen Zimmerman from UNLV to complete our baby faced Mount Rushmore of a draft. We love his potential and offensive skills and rebounding and athleticism - much like the skills we see in our other guys too.

Man, 4 big men? I dunno . . . Bledsoe's knees are eerily reminiscent of Brandon Roy. I don't think he will be able to play for much longer. Knight will probably be okay long term, but it's been well documented that he's not a true point guard, and he was also out much of last season due to injury. I'd be worried about guard depth in this scenario. Also, Tyson Chandler and Alex Len's agents just called you to demand an immediate trade :p

[NashvilleDevil]

With our 2nd 2nd round pick the Boston Celtics select Caris LeVert from the University of Michigan. We really like his size and with the impact Shaun Livingston has had for the Warriors we hope that we get that impact one day from Caris. Our one concern is if he does become a rotation player that Jalen Rose will not stop talking about him. We are not Jalen fans in the Boston front office.

[kAzE]

The Milwaukee Bucks select Ivica Zubac, a center from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Frankly, I'm quite surprised Zubac fell this far. He's a 19 year old prospect who bloomed late, but has shown tremendous potential. Zubac is 7'1" 260 pounds, with a 7'4" wingspan, very strong, an above average NBA athlete at the center position, plays above the rim, very mobile, runs the floor well, can hit free throws, and has outstanding hands and feet. I'd be shocked if he fell to the 2nd round in the real draft. DraftExpress ranks him as the #20 overall prospect (http://www.draftexpress.com/rankings/Top-100-Prospects/) in this draft.

I see his greatest strength as an NBA player being an interior scorer. He will very difficult to contain rolling to the rim, as he catches everything and is a strong finisher with either hand. He has a fairly advanced post game for a 19 year old, going over either shoulder/direction with a hook or a spin move, and competes on defense very well. Everyone loves their own pick, but I genuinely believe this is the steal of this mock thus far.

[theschwartz]

The Milwaukee Bucks select Ivica Zubac, a center from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Frankly, I'm quite surprised Zubac fell this far. He's a 19 year old prospect who bloomed late, but has shown tremendous potential. Zubac is 7'1" 260 pounds, with a 7'4" wingspan, very strong, an above average NBA athlete at the center position, plays above the rim, very mobile, runs the floor well, can hit free throws, and has outstanding hands and feet. I'd be shocked if he fell to the 2nd round in the real draft. DraftExpress ranks him as the #20 overall prospect (http://www.draftexpress.com/rankings/Top-100-Prospects/) in this draft.

I see his greatest strength as an NBA player being an interior scorer. He will very difficult to contain rolling to the rim, as he catches everything and is a strong finisher with either hand. He has a fairly advanced post game for a 19 year old, going over either shoulder/direction with a hook or a spin move, and competes on defense very well. Everyone loves their own pick, but I genuinely believe this is the steal of this mock thus far.

Nice pick. Zubac would have been my pick for the Lakers at #32 if I'd been their GM -- they need lots of help upfront -- rather than a SG. I was getting Vlade Divac flashbacks watching his tape. He'll be a good draft-and-stash candidate guy, methinks. I gave him a long look for the Clippers too, but they're pretty set up front w/ DJ and need help elsewhere.

[Troublemaker]

Wow, we have really picked up the pace. My writeup will come later.

With the 37th pick, the Houston Rockets select Guerschon Yabusele - PF from France.

I know I made some folks behind me sad with that pick.

[kAzE]

The Milwaukee Bucks select Petr Cornelie, a power forward from France.

Cornelie is a 20 year old prospect who is a legit 7 footer and has a reputation as a very good long range shooter. He's a bouncy athlete who is light on his feet and has shown a tremendous aptitude for grabbing offensive rebounds and getting up and down in transition, where he is a strong above-the-rim finisher. With a few years of development, he could develop into a stretch forward who is also a pretty good and versatile defender.

[JasonEvans]

Looks like the action has picked up enough so that we need a picks update:

1. Philly - pfrduke : Brandon Ingram, F, Duke
2. L.A. Lakers - Edouble : Ben Simmons, F, LSU
3. Boston - NashvilleDevil: Marquese Chriss, PF, Washington
4. Phoenix - gurufrisbee: Dragan Bender, PF, Croatia
5. Minnesota - flyingdutchdevil : Jamal Murray, SG, NBA Prep U
6. New Orleans - brevity : Buddy Hield, G, Oklahoma
7. Denver - Reddevil : Jaylen Brown, SF, Cal
8. Sacramento - johnb : Kris Dunn, PG, Providence
9. Toronto – mattman91 : Jakob Poeltl, C, Utah
10. Milwaukee - KaZe : Wade Baldwin, PG, Vanderbilt
11. Orlando - NSDukeFan : Henry Ellenson, PF, Marquette
12. Utah – FerryFor50 : Denzel Valentine, SG, Michigan St.
13. Phoenix - gurufrisbee : Deyonta Davis, PF/C, Michigan St.
14. Chicago - CDu : Skal Labissiere, PF/C, NBA Prep U
15. Denver - Reddevil : Furkan Korkmaz, SG, Turkey
16. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Domantas Sabonis, C, Gonzaga
17. Memphis - jacone21 : Timothe Luwawu, France
18. Detroit – DukeTrinity11 : Demetrius Jackson, PG, Notre Dame
19. Denver - Reddevil : Brice Johnson, F, UNC
20. Indiana - luburch : Malik Beasley, G, FSU
21. Atlanta - Jason Evans : Dejounte Murray, G, Washington
22. Charlotte - JNort : Malachi Richardson, SG/SF, Syracuse
23. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Tyler Ulis, PG, Kentucky
24. Philadelphia - pfrduke : Cheick Dialo, PF, Kansas
25. LA Clippers - theschwartz : Taurean Prince, SF, Baylor
26. Philadelphia - pfrduke : DeAndre Bembry, SG, St. Joe's
27. Toronto – mattman91 : Patrick McCaw SG, UNLV
28. Phoenix - gurufrisbee : Thon Maker, F, High School
29. San Antonio – subzero02 : Ante Zizic, PF/C, Croatia
30. Golden State - SilkyJ : Damian Jones, C, Vanderbilt

Second Round
31. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Malcolm Brogdon, SG, Virginia
32. LA Lakers - Edouble : Isaia Cordinier, G, France
33. LA Clippers - theschwartz : Juan Hernangomez, PF, Spain
34. Phoenix - gurufrisbee : Stephen Zimmerman, C, UNLV
35. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Caris LeVert, G, Michigan
36. Milwaukee - KaZe : Ivica Zubac, C, Bosnia and Herzegovina
37. Houston - Troublemaker : Guerschon Yabusele, PF, France
38. Milwaukee - KaZe : Petr Cornelie, PF, France
39. New Orleans - brevity : Rade Zagorac, F, Serbia
40. New Orleans - brevity : Gary Payton II, PG, Oregon St.
41. Orlando - NSDukeFan
42. Utah – FerryFor50
43. Houston - Troublemaker
44. Atlanta - Jason Evans
45. Boston - NashvilleDevil
46. Dallas - tfk53
47. Orlando - NSDukeFan
48. Chicago - CDu
49. Detroit – DukeTrinity11
50. Indiana – luburch
51. Boston - NashvilleDevil
52. Utah – FerryFor50
53. Denver - Reddevil
54. Atlanta - Jason Evans
55. Brooklyn - Awhom111
56. Denver - Reddevil
57. Memphis – jacone21
58. Boston - NashvilleDevil
59. Sacramento - johnb
60. Utah – FerryFor50

-Jason "6 of the past 10 picks have been European players... and we've now drafted 4 Frenchmen" Evans

[gurufrisbee]

Man, 4 big men? I dunno . . . Bledsoe's knees are eerily reminiscent of Brandon Roy. I don't think he will be able to play for much longer. Knight will probably be okay long term, but it's been well documented that he's not a true point guard, and he was also out much of last season due to injury. I'd be worried about guard depth in this scenario. Also, Tyson Chandler and Alex Len's agents just called you to demand an immediate trade :p

Fair criticisms. Here is the Phoenix Suns reality - they aren't good. And one draft won't make everything better. What is good there? The three guards. There isn't even much debate - those three guys are the best things on the roster. Is there some injury concerns with Bledsoe and Knight? Sure, but Knight has played in 80% of the games for his career and Bledsoe is only one year removed from having started every game for the season, so on a long list of Suns concerns, those aren't high enough. Is either a great point guard? Not really, but Knight has steadily averaged 5 assists per game and Bledsoe has been up over 6 the last two seasons which would put Bledsoe in the top 20 league wide.

The Suns do need more guard depth, but they also are going to play those three a lot and probably can't take on too much more talent there without risking upsetting what talent they have by not having enough minutes and shots for them all.

The situation at small forward is much worse. However with the recent investment of a 1st round pick in TJ Warren and with PJ Tucker still able to handle it enough that Warren should have to keep improving.

The situation up front is MUCH worse. Chandler is very expensive (13 million a year for the next three years) and provides nothing on offense and mostly distant memories of his defense. Len has had three years already and has proven to be a half decent back up to Chandler. He still has one more year on his rookie deal and if he doesn't show great improvement this season he isn't worth re-signing anyways.

What do you figure the success rate is for teenage big men? 50%? Well, the Suns need two - so draft four!

If nothing else the Suns will be well stocked to send Jordan, Bogut, Howard, etc. to the line a lot in the Hack-a-Whoever craze.

[kAzE]

Fair criticisms. Here is the Phoenix Suns reality - they aren't good. And one draft won't make everything better. What is good there? The three guards. There isn't even much debate - those three guys are the best things on the roster. Is there some injury concerns with Bledsoe and Knight? Sure, but Knight has played in 80% of the games for his career and Bledsoe is only one year removed from having started every game for the season, so on a long list of Suns concerns, those aren't high enough. Is either a great point guard? Not really, but Knight has steadily averaged 5 assists per game and Bledsoe has been up over 6 the last two seasons which would put Bledsoe in the top 20 league wide.

The Suns do need more guard depth, but they also are going to play those three a lot and probably can't take on too much more talent there without risking upsetting what talent they have by not having enough minutes and shots for them all.

The situation at small forward is much worse. However with the recent investment of a 1st round pick in TJ Warren and with PJ Tucker still able to handle it enough that Warren should have to keep improving.

The situation up front is MUCH worse. Chandler is very expensive (13 million a year for the next three years) and provides nothing on offense and mostly distant memories of his defense. Len has had three years already and has proven to be a half decent back up to Chandler. He still has one more year on his rookie deal and if he doesn't show great improvement this season he isn't worth re-signing anyways.

What do you figure the success rate is for teenage big men? 50%? Well, the Suns need two - so draft four!

If nothing else the Suns will be well stocked to send Jordan, Bogut, Howard, etc. to the line a lot in the Hack-a-Whoever craze.

I didn't mean to criticize your picks, I'm just thinking out loud. Your way might be the way to go in the end, as I also don't put much faith in Chandler or Len as a long term solutions. However, as a basketball fan, I am very worried about Bledsoe's knees and their potential degenerative joint disease issues.

Regarding that last bit, I believe the commissioner has already put out a statement saying that he intends to address that particular issue via rule change (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2016/04/21/adam-silver-and-the-nba-are-calling-foul-on-hack-a-shaq/), so there's something to keep in mind.

[brevity]

(It helps to read this aloud in the gravelly voice of an old Hollywood producer.)

In the first round we drafted Buddy Hield, and we think he'll be a star, or at least a featured player, in the years to come. Now we have a unique opportunity to draft back-to-back players, and two special words came to me in a dream: BUDDY MOVIE. Maybe that's what we'll call Hield if he makes the highlight reels, but until then, it's our strategy for the #39 and #40 picks.

Our goals are the same: get players who can contribute now, and try to find a better solution at small forward. (We've been playing SG Tyreke Evans, PF Dante Cunningham, and PF Ryan Anderson out of position.) With that in mind, the Pelicans select Rade Zagorac (SF, Mega Leks, teammate of previously drafted Timothe Luwawu and Ivica Zubac) and Gary Payton II (PG, Oregon State, and a nice option for a backup ballhandler).

It would be Sonic perfection to cast Shawn Kemp Jr. alongside Gary Payton II. I'll have to call in a favor to awhom111 and find out what happened to that guy after graduating from the University of Washington last year. But in the meantime, I can use Zagorac as a Kemp substitute. Because aren't we all Shawn Kemp's children?

[Troublemaker]

Wow, we have really picked up the pace. My writeup will come later.

With the 37th pick, the Houston Rockets select Guerschon Yabusele - PF from France.

I know I made some folks behind me sad with that pick.

Writeup for 6-8" 270-lb Guerschon Yabusele:

First, if you care about so-called "draft value," all 3 major draft sites had Yabusele as a late first-rounder, so the Mockets are happy to pick him up at #37.

Second, Houston hired Mike D'Antoni to be our head coach this offseason, so we need to start giving him some stretch-4 prospects for him to run his offense properly. Motiejunas unfortunately is not a good enough shooter to be that and likely won't be around next season, and the Mockets have no other stretch-4 prospects unless we play Ariza there, but we would rather he stay at SF. Yabusele shot 43% from three and 76.5% from the FT-line last season in his French league.

Third, you may be wondering how a 6'8", 270-lb guy can player PF in today's NBA. Besides the shooting ability, Yabusele is athletic, quick, and very tough for his size on film and in scouting reports. I'd compare him to a French Paul Millsap, although you never expect a 2nd-rounder to produce like Millsap (even though Millsap himself was a 2nd-rounder). But that's his player type. A thick, tough, quick PF who can also shoot from outside.

[gurufrisbee]

I didn't mean to criticize your picks, I'm just thinking out loud. Your way might be the way to go in the end, as I also don't put much faith in Chandler or Len as a long term solutions. However, as a basketball fan, I am very worried about Bledsoe's knees and their potential degenerative joint disease issues.

Regarding that last bit, I believe the commissioner has already put out a statement saying that he intends to address that particular issue via rule change (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2016/04/21/adam-silver-and-the-nba-are-calling-foul-on-hack-a-shaq/), so there's something to keep in mind.

I don't mind the criticism at all - or the out loud thinking. I was just taking the opportunity to explain it a little more. The Suns only have four picks this year - and twice as many sports they should improve.

I did see that Silver had tried to address that. I think they should force players to be stuck in in the D-league until they can prove they can make 70% at FT line. :D

[BD80]

Writeup for 6-8" 270-lb Guerschon Yabusele:

... Yabusele shot 43% from three and 76.5% from the FT-line last season in his French league.

...

Why has everyone been drinking the Perrier?

[NSDukeFan]

With the #41 pick in the 2016 DBR NBA Mock Draft, the Orlando Magic select Diamond Stone. As everyone has already said, we were very surprised to see the ex-Terrapin still available as we had him ranked #18 (completely made-up to make it seem as though we are getting a great pick) on our draft board. He is a very impressive talent with nice size, length, footwork, but perhaps the "not great motor"and "may not always give maximum effort" and chose to go to Maryland may have scared some other GMs away, but we are hoping he reaches his potential as an interior scorer and solid big man. Time will tell.

[FerryFor50]

When the Jazz went to see who was left on the board, they were shocked when they found a backup center prospect that is rated as an early 2nd round talent by DraftExpress.

The Jazz already have a solid starting frontcourt with Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert, but they are adding more size with 7'2" Zhou Qi from China.

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Zhou-Qi-61857/

Qi has one of the longest wingspans of any player at a combine at 7-7 ¾, which proved to be useful in the Chinese league:


Zhou, DraftExpress' No. 26 prospect, led the Chinese Basketball Association in blocks per game and per minute this year, comfortably edging out former NBA players Samuel Dalembert, Greg Oden, Dominic McGuire and Jerome Jordan with 3.2 blocks in 34 minutes per game. He also added 15.8 points and 9.8 rebounds, shooting 60 percent from the field and 76 percent from the free-throw line. His ability to stretch defenses beyond the three-point line, while providing a shot-blocking presence in the paint, is coveted in today's NBA.

[Troublemaker]

With the 43rd pick in the NBA Draft, Houston selects 6'10" 230-lb Pascal Siakam from New Mexico St

Was disappointed Diamond Stone couldn't last a couple more picks. Wanted to take the best big man remaining, which I judged to now be Siakam. More later, maybe.

[JasonEvans]

With the 44th pick, the Hawks are taking another PG. Yes, it is a crazy thing to do, but I swear I almost took this guy with my first rounder. I drafted a guy who was among the quickest guards in college basketball with my first pick and now I take perhaps the guy who is even faster.

Yup, I am talking about Cat Barber of NC State. His improvement while in school has been truly remarkable. He almost doubled his scoring from his soph to his junior season and his shot just keeps on getting better. Look at his FT percentages -- 69% as a freshman, 73% as a soph, and then 87% as a junior. That shows hard work and a continued ability to improve. And anyone who can put down 87% of their FTs can turn into an elite 3-point shooter as well (the stat experts say there is a real correlation between FT shooting and 3-point shooting).

I love the kid's drive and determination. While my 1st round PG may take some time to get to NBA level, I think this kid can be a solid backup NBA PG on day one.

-Jason "so thrilled to have him!!" Evans

[awhom111]

(It helps to read this aloud in the gravelly voice of an old Hollywood producer.)

In the first round we drafted Buddy Hield, and we think he'll be a star, or at least a featured player, in the years to come. Now we have a unique opportunity to draft back-to-back players, and two special words came to me in a dream: BUDDY MOVIE. Maybe that's what we'll call Hield if he makes the highlight reels, but until then, it's our strategy for the #39 and #40 picks.

Our goals are the same: get players who can contribute now, and try to find a better solution at small forward. (We've been playing SG Tyreke Evans, PF Dante Cunningham, and PF Ryan Anderson out of position.) With that in mind, the Pelicans select Rade Zagorac (SF, Mega Leks, teammate of previously drafted Timothe Luwawu and Ivica Zubac) and Gary Payton II (PG, Oregon State, and a nice option for a backup ballhandler).

It would be Sonic perfection to cast Shawn Kemp Jr. alongside Gary Payton II. I'll have to call in a favor to awhom111 and find out what happened to that guy after graduating from the University of Washington last year. But in the meantime, I can use Zagorac as a Kemp substitute. Because aren't we all Shawn Kemp's children?

Was I called?

It looks like he intended to play in the D League this season but never suited up for Reno.

This draft is moving so fast that I better start doing research.

[NashvilleDevil]

With the 45th pick in the 45th DBR Mock Draft the Boston Celtics select Michael Gbinije from Syracuse University. We in Boston have always liked Silent G since he was at Duke. We were glad he excelled at Syracuse and he was one of the key players in Orange's surprising Final Four run this year. We hope he is willing to work on his game and will not see a D-League assignment as a bad thing.

[David Bunkley]

With the 45th pick in the 45th DBR Mock Draft the Boston Celtics select Michael Gbinije from Syracuse University. We in Boston have always liked Silent G since he was at Duke. We were glad he excelled at Syracuse and he was one of the key players in Orange's surprising Final Four run this year. We hope he is willing to work on his game and will not see a D-League assignment as a bad thing.

I hope the commissioner takes a close look at this pick, because Silent G seems to be over the backcourt height limit that Boston has set for itself. :p

[tfk53]

The mock Dallas GM has been twiddling thumbs and practicing his dart throwing while waiting for the opportunity to make the 46th draft pick. Only Brooklyn had less to do in this draft than Dallas. Why no first rounder? It went to Boston for Rajon Rondo – we all know how well that went! Great decision making by the real Dallas folks.:p

Dallas is looking at an aging, middle of the road team with not much chance to move up in the standings next season. Much more likely to be passed by as they probably will fall downwards. Lottery is a distinct possibility next year.

Half the team is 31 or older. Only 2 are younger than 27. Half are big guys -6’10” or taller – including Chandler Parsons at $15 million a year. Distinct lack of midsize guys. Not much depth at 2/3 positions. Expect some moves with free agency – perhaps Harrison Barnes according to some rumors. And, with only the crapshoot 46th pick available, no much help with the draft.

So, with the esteemed and valuable 46th pick, Dallas throws its dart at the board, landing on former VaTech and current Florida product Dorian Finney-Smith (since NashvilleDevil took my first choice of Silent G).

Finney-Smith has been inconsistent with flashes of NBA ready tools. A hair under 6'8'' with wingspan of 6'11.75", he averaged 8.4 RBG while scoring 14.7 PPG. Second round picks are all gambles - isn't the entire NBA draft a gamble besides a few picks? - and this certainly is a roll of the dice for Dallas.

[Troublemaker]

With the 44th pick, the Hawks are taking another PG. Yes, it is a crazy thing to do, but I swear I almost took this guy with my first rounder. I drafted a guy who was among the quickest guards in college basketball with my first pick and now I take perhaps the guy who is even faster.

Yup, I am talking about Cat Barber of NC State. His improvement while in school has been truly remarkable. He almost doubled his scoring from his soph to his junior season and his shot just keeps on getting better. Look at his FT percentages -- 69% as a freshman, 73% as a soph, and then 87% as a junior. That shows hard work and a continued ability to improve. And anyone who can put down 87% of their FTs can turn into an elite 3-point shooter as well (the stat experts say there is a real correlation between FT shooting and 3-point shooting).

I love the kid's drive and determination. While my 1st round PG may take some time to get to NBA level, I think this kid can be a solid backup NBA PG on day one.

-Jason "so thrilled to have him!!" Evans

Cat was my second-choice for the pick before you. I was like, "We're definitely at the part of the draft where it's okay to just draft familiar names." Cat, Silent G, etc.

But I decided to do just a little bit more research and came up with a 20/12 big man in college Pascal Siakam, who's athletic with a 7'3" wingspan and an improving jumpshot.

I view it as a win-win. I'm glad it worked out for the commish to get his player.

[JasonEvans]

the Pelicans select Rade Zagorac (SF, Mega Leks, teammate of previously drafted Timothe Luwawu and Ivica Zubac)

I am fairly sure this is the first time the DBR has selected players bold enough to wear this uniform.

http://ocdn.eu/images/pulscms/ODE7MDMsMzE0LDAsMCwxOzAzLDFkNiwwLDAsMQ__/255ac2fc1106bfb620e8016016c79115.jpg http://www.bcmegabasket.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/kk-megabasket-timothe-luwawu-cabarot-1-400x400.jpg http://www.bcmegabasket.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Ivica-Zubac-500.jpg

-Jason "wow... just wow" Evans

[JasonEvans]

Another updated draft grid...


1. Philly - pfrduke : Brandon Ingram, F, Duke
2. L.A. Lakers - Edouble : Ben Simmons, F, LSU
3. Boston - NashvilleDevil: Marquese Chriss, PF, Washington
4. Phoenix - gurufrisbee: Dragan Bender, PF, Croatia
5. Minnesota - flyingdutchdevil : Jamal Murray, SG, NBA Prep U
6. New Orleans - brevity : Buddy Hield, G, Oklahoma
7. Denver - Reddevil : Jaylen Brown, SF, Cal
8. Sacramento - johnb : Kris Dunn, PG, Providence
9. Toronto – mattman91 : Jakob Poeltl, C, Utah
10. Milwaukee - KaZe : Wade Baldwin, PG, Vanderbilt
11. Orlando - NSDukeFan : Henry Ellenson, PF, Marquette
12. Utah – FerryFor50 : Denzel Valentine, SG, Michigan St.
13. Phoenix - gurufrisbee : Deyonta Davis, PF/C, Michigan St.
14. Chicago - CDu : Skal Labissiere, PF/C, NBA Prep U
15. Denver - Reddevil : Furkan Korkmaz, SG, Turkey
16. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Domantas Sabonis, C, Gonzaga
17. Memphis - jacone21 : Timothe Luwawu, France
18. Detroit – DukeTrinity11 : Demetrius Jackson, PG, Notre Dame
19. Denver - Reddevil : Brice Johnson, F, UNC
20. Indiana - luburch : Malik Beasley, G, FSU
21. Atlanta - Jason Evans : Dejounte Murray, G, Washington
22. Charlotte - JNort : Malachi Richardson, SG/SF, Syracuse
23. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Tyler Ulis, PG, Kentucky
24. Philadelphia - pfrduke : Cheick Dialo, PF, Kansas
25. LA Clippers - theschwartz : Taurean Prince, SF, Baylor
26. Philadelphia - pfrduke : DeAndre Bembry, SG, St. Joe's
27. Toronto – mattman91 : Patrick McCaw SG, UNLV
28. Phoenix - gurufrisbee : Thon Maker, F, High School
29. San Antonio – subzero02 : Ante Zizic, PF/C, Croatia
30. Golden State - SilkyJ : Damian Jones, C, Vanderbilt

Second Round
31. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Malcolm Brogdon, SG, Virginia
32. LA Lakers - Edouble : Isaia Cordinier, G, France
33. LA Clippers - theschwartz : Juan Hernangomez, PF, Spain
34. Phoenix - gurufrisbee : Stephen Zimmerman, C, UNLV
35. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Caris LeVert, G, Michigan
36. Milwaukee - KaZe : Ivica Zubac, C, Bosnia and Herzegovina
37. Houston - Troublemaker : Guerschon Yabusele, PF, France
38. Milwaukee - KaZe : Petr Cornelie, PF, France
39. New Orleans - brevity : Rade Zagorac, F, Serbia
40. New Orleans - brevity : Gary Payton II, PG, Oregon St.
41. Orlando - NSDukeFan : Diamond Stone, C, Maryland
42. Utah – FerryFor50 : Zhou Qi, C, China
43. Houston - Troublemaker : Pascal Siakam, PF, NM State
44. Atlanta - Jason Evans : Cat Barber, PG, NC St
45. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Michael Gbinije, G, Syracuse
46. Dallas - tfk53 : Dorian Finney-Smith, F, Florida
47. Orlando - NSDukeFan : Wayne Selden, F, Kansas
48. Chicago - CDu : AJ Hammonds, C, Purdue
49. Detroit – Jason Evans : Ben Bentil, PF, Providence
50. Indiana – luburch : Chinanu Onuaku, PF/C, Louisville
51. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Jake Layman, F, Maryland
52. Utah – FerryFor50 : Isaiah Whitehead, G, Seton Hall
53. Denver - Reddevil : Perry Ellis, F, Kansas
54. Atlanta - Jason Evans
55. Brooklyn - Awhom111
56. Denver - Reddevil
57. Memphis – jacone21
58. Boston - NashvilleDevil
59. Sacramento - johnb
60. Utah – FerryFor50

[NSDukeFan]

Getting this late in the draft, we are pleased to be able to get someone who athletically is ready to step in and play right away. With the 47th pick of the 45th annual DBR mock NBA draft the Orlando Magic select Wayne Selden.. We have selected a couple of big men already and would ideally have liked more of a floor spacing perimeter player to complement our athletic backcourt, but didn't see an obvious candidate. Fortunately, Wayne showed a much improved ability to hit 3-pointers this year, along with a nice improvement in overall production that makes us believe the wing who looks the most like an NBA player in the draft may be able to play his way into being a solid NBA player that could add depth and even more athleticism to our roster. We are excited to make the next jump to the playoffs next year.

[Reddevil]

I am fairly sure this is the first time the DBR has selected players bold enough to wear this uniform.

It's still better than baby blue.

[kAzE]

I am fairly sure this is the first time the DBR has selected players bold enough to wear this uniform.
-Jason "wow... just wow" Evans

That uniform is freakin awesome! I'd wear that thing. The only thing I'm confused about is why they wear the green shorts with the pink jerseys and vice versa instead of just keeping the colors of the top/bottom consistent.

[CDu]

Sorry all - the Mock Bulls' GM was in a meeting at work and then lunch. He will get this pick in within the hour after another meeting is complete.

[CDu]

With the 48th pick in the 2016 DBR Mock Draft, the Mock Bulls select AJ Hammons, C, Purdue. What we like about Hammons: he's big. Measured at 7'0" and 278 with a 7'3" wingspan... in 2011. He also has a terrific skill set for a 7-footer, including a decent shooting touch, solid post moves, and excellent shotblocking skills. He's not the biggest rebounder around, which is a bit of a concern. But the size and production are hard to pass up. He's also closing in on 24, which raises concerns about his upside. But we've already drafted a guy with upside in Labissiere. Hammons should give us a solid floor and a more immediately-ready big man, having come from a Big 10(ish) school with a coach who has a strong defensive pedigree.

With this pick, we feel like we have versatility up front. The duo of Portis and Mirotic are "stretch 4s", Labissiere is a rangy shotblocking help defender who can defend on the pick and roll, and Hammons provides us the big body to match up with teams that want to go big. It's about the most we could hope for at this point in the draft. We considered going with a PG here, looking at either Payton or Barber. But with both off the board, the decision to take Hammons was much easier. We'll "just" need to try to find a cheap option or two off the scrap heap to fill the backup (and occasional starting) PG role.

[JNort]

I hope the commissioner takes a close look at this pick, because Silent G seems to be over the backcourt height limit that Boston has set for itself. :p
Well he is obviously gonna play at PF or C :rolleyes:

[JasonEvans]

Folks, we are not going to let this get bogged down! It has been 5+ hours during a regular weekday time period and that is too long. So, I am picking on behalf of the Detroit GM.

With the 49th pick of the draft, the Detroit Pistons select Ben Bentil, PF, Providence. Bentil was rated as the #32 pick by NBADraft.net and the #45 pick by DraftExpress, so we are getting him well after the mock experts say we should. At 6-8, he might seem a tad short for a PF, but Bentil is easily strong enough to bang with NBA big men as he has tremendous lower-body strength. He has nice shooting touch that could allow him to develop into a solid a stretch 4. Guy who play legit major college competition and average better than 21 ppg do not grow on trees. I suspect that if Bentil was still around at #49, the Pistons would be quite pleased.

-Jason "ok, luburch, you are up!" Evans

[gurufrisbee]

Folks, we are not going to let this get bogged down! It has been 5+ hours during a regular weekday time period and that is too long. So, I am picking on behalf of the Detroit GM.

With the 49th pick of the draft, the Detroit Pistons select Ben Bentil, PF, Providence. Bentil was rated as the #32 pick by NBADraft.net and the #45 pick by DraftExpress, so we are getting him well after the mock experts say we should. At 6-8, he might seem a tad short for a PF, but Bentil is easily strong enough to bang with NBA big men as he has tremendous lower-body strength. He has nice shooting touch that could allow him to develop into a solid a stretch 4. Guy who play legit major college competition and average better than 21 ppg do not grow on trees. I suspect that if Bentil was still around at #49, the Pistons would be quite pleased.

-Jason "ok, luburch, you are up!" Evans

He was just a tad short and a tad too old for the Mock Suns plan, but we had him rated very highly. Nice shot.

[BD80]

Folks, we are not going to let this get bogged down! It has been 5+ hours during a regular weekday time period and that is too long. So, I am picking on behalf of the Detroit GM.

With the 49th pick of the draft, the Detroit Pistons select Ben Bentil, PF, Providence. Bentil was rated as the #32 pick by NBADraft.net and the #45 pick by DraftExpress, so we are getting him well after the mock experts say we should. At 6-8, he might seem a tad short for a PF, but Bentil is easily strong enough to bang with NBA big men as he has tremendous lower-body strength. He has nice shooting touch that could allow him to develop into a solid a stretch 4. Guy who play legit major college competition and average better than 21 ppg do not grow on trees. I suspect that if Bentil was still around at #49, the Pistons would be quite pleased.

-Jason "ok, luburch, you are up!" Evans

Piston fans approve.

It is troubling that he is an early entrant, SVG does not play youngsters, but he is 21 already. SVG also demands defense from his players, so he may not stick around very long unless he demonstrates a willingness to defend and to make good decisions with the ball (he shot a lot at Providence). But at this stage in the draft, it is a bonus to grab somebody with a special skill (midrange game) that fits into the team vision.

[luburch]

Folks, we are not going to let this get bogged down! It has been 5+ hours during a regular weekday time period and that is too long. So, I am picking on behalf of the Detroit GM.

With the 49th pick of the draft, the Detroit Pistons select Ben Bentil, PF, Providence. Bentil was rated as the #32 pick by NBADraft.net and the #45 pick by DraftExpress, so we are getting him well after the mock experts say we should. At 6-8, he might seem a tad short for a PF, but Bentil is easily strong enough to bang with NBA big men as he has tremendous lower-body strength. He has nice shooting touch that could allow him to develop into a solid a stretch 4. Guy who play legit major college competition and average better than 21 ppg do not grow on trees. I suspect that if Bentil was still around at #49, the Pistons would be quite pleased.

-Jason "ok, luburch, you are up!" Evans

Noooooo! That was going to be my pick!

I can't explain my pick right now, but for the sake of time the Indiana Pacers select Chinanu Onuaku from the University of Louisville.

[sagegrouse]

Noooooo! That was going to be my pick!

I can't explain my pick right now, but for the sake of time the Indiana Pacers select Chinanu Onuaku from the University of Louisville.

I think an acceptable reason for some of these picks -- and I like Onuaku -- is, "I learned how to spell the name, and I am not going to waste the opportunity to prove it."

Kindly,
Sage
'Now if only I could learn how to put all these accents and diacritical marks in my posts'

[NashvilleDevil]

With the 51st pick the Celtics select Jake Layman from the University of Sweat Gary Sweat. Why are we picking him? Look at that head of hair, that's all we are going on right now.

[FerryFor50]

With the 52nd pick, the Utah Jazz liked several of the remaining players. It came down to two guards and the Jazz went with combo guard Isaiah Whitehead out of Seton Hall

http://www.nbadraft.net/players/isaiah-whitehead

Whitehead provides playmaking and good size for the position. The Jazz hope he can continue to learn the PG position.

[JasonEvans]

Noooooo! That was going to be my pick!

I can't explain my pick right now, but for the sake of time the Indiana Pacers select Chinanu Onuaku from the University of Louisville.

I took yours and you took mine. I almost took Onuaku a few picks ago when I went with Cat Barber instead. I was hoping he would last down to my next pick, which is 2 spots away. Oh well...

-Jason "we are all huge losers! The draft is moving faster on a Friday night than it did during business hours" Evans

[johnb]

I think an acceptable reason for some of these picks -- and I like Onuaku -- is, "I learned how to spell the name, and I am not going to waste the opportunity to prove it."

Kindly,
Sage
'Now if only I could learn how to put all these accents and diacritical marks in my posts'

Fixed it for you:

Chinanu Onuaku from þę Üñīvêrßìtÿ øf Łôüįšvìłłê.

þ Is actually a fun extinct letter, since it represented the digraph th. Cmon, bring back the þ.

[Reddevil]

At pick 53 the Denver Pyrite is tempted to draft Breanna Stewart, but chooses draft and stash option Isaia Cordinier, SG, France, a develping talent.

[CDu]

At pick 53 the Denver Pyrite is tempted to draft Breanna Stewart, but chooses draft and stash option Isaia Cordinier, SG, France, a develping talent.

Cordinier was already drafted with the 32nd pick.

[Reddevil]

Cordinier was already drafted with the 32nd pick.

Oops, sorry to be that guy. Denver drafts Perry Ellis, F, Kansas. He is a classic tweener, but could be a useful backup.

[JasonEvans]

Can't tell you how badly I wanted Okuaku to drop to this spot... oh well.

I typed out a reply that said I picked Robert Carter out of Ga Tech/Maryland. Carter has excellent length and good offensive skills. I think he can contribute to a NBA team at some point. But, I'm not seeing any role for him on the Hawks as he is really just a poor man's version of current Hawk Mike Scott.

Instead, I am going young -- the Hawks take 18 year old Georgios Papagiannis from Greece who is 7-2. Papagiannis has good footwork and offensive instincts for a guy his size. He's obviously a rim protector already. I would expect to stash him in Europe for a couple years and then unleash him on the NBA when he gets a little older and stronger. Coordinated 7-2 guys don't come along often. I'm pleased to get one!

-Jason "up next -- Awhom111 finally gets a pick!!!" Evans

[CDu]

Can't tell you how badly I wanted Okuaku to drop to this spot... oh well.

I typed out a reply that said I picked Robert Carter out of Ga Tech/Maryland. Carter has excellent length and good offensive skills. I think he can contribute to a NBA team at some point. But, I'm not seeing any role for him on the Hawks as he is really just a poor man's version of current Hawk Mike Scott.

Instead, I am going young -- the Hawks take 18 year old Georgios Papagiannis from Greece who is 7-2. Papagiannis has good footwork and offensive instincts for a guy his size. He's obviously a rim protector already. I would expect to stash him in Europe for a couple years and then unleash him on the NBA when he gets a little older and stronger. Coordinated 7-2 guys don't come along often. I'm pleased to get one!

-Jason "up next -- Awhom111 finally gets a pick!!!" Evans

Papa Johns!!!

[Edouble]

Papa Johns!!!

Actually, I was struck by how much Georgios Papagiannis sounds like George Papadopolis...

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[awhom111]

The Nets are in a unique position. We mortgaged our future a long time ago to Boston and still have not finishing paying what we owe. That removes any incentives to tank, but also decreases the methods which we can use to become more competitive. After several seasons of hanging around the playoffs with an aging roster, we managed to clear the decks a bit and no longer have Joe Johnson's massive contract on the books and only have some Deron Williams money hitting the cap this year. There are not a lot of roster spots filled up right, with Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young being the pieces to build around.

Since we could use some help right now, an international player is probably not the best option. We are going with Kay Felder, who can provide an immediate spark to the team and develop into the kind of player who can lead a second unit. The competition may be a step up from Oakland and we will not need him to drive the offense as much as he did in college, but he will provide excitement in another season of uncertainty.

[gurufrisbee]

The Nets are in a unique position. We mortgaged our future a long time ago to Boston and still have not finishing paying what we owe. That removes any incentives to tank, but also decreases the methods which we can use to become more competitive. After several seasons of hanging around the playoffs with an aging roster, we managed to clear the decks a bit and no longer have Joe Johnson's massive contract on the books and only have some Deron Williams money hitting the cap this year. There are not a lot of roster spots filled up right, with Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young being the pieces to build around.

Since we could use some help right now, an international player is probably not the best option. We are going with Kay Felder, who can provide an immediate spark to the team and develop into the kind of player who can lead a second unit. The competition may be a step up from Oakland and we will not need him to drive the offense as much as he did in college, but he will provide excitement in another season of uncertainty.

Brilliant pick. Felder is going to be one of the biggest steals in this draft

[Reddevil]

He will probably end up on a D league roster, but could surprise. He is an athletic wing with a nice handle, and a sweet stroke.

[JasonEvans]

And I think we need an update...

1. Philly - pfrduke : Brandon Ingram, F, Duke
2. L.A. Lakers - Edouble : Ben Simmons, F, LSU
3. Boston - NashvilleDevil: Marquese Chriss, PF, Washington
4. Phoenix - gurufrisbee: Dragan Bender, PF, Croatia
5. Minnesota - flyingdutchdevil : Jamal Murray, SG, NBA Prep U
6. New Orleans - brevity : Buddy Hield, G, Oklahoma
7. Denver - Reddevil : Jaylen Brown, SF, Cal
8. Sacramento - johnb : Kris Dunn, PG, Providence
9. Toronto – mattman91 : Jakob Poeltl, C, Utah
10. Milwaukee - KaZe : Wade Baldwin, PG, Vanderbilt
11. Orlando - NSDukeFan : Henry Ellenson, PF, Marquette
12. Utah – FerryFor50 : Denzel Valentine, SG, Michigan St.
13. Phoenix - gurufrisbee : Deyonta Davis, PF/C, Michigan St.
14. Chicago - CDu : Skal Labissiere, PF/C, NBA Prep U
15. Denver - Reddevil : Furkan Korkmaz, SG, Turkey
16. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Domantas Sabonis, C, Gonzaga
17. Memphis - jacone21 : Timothe Luwawu, France
18. Detroit – DukeTrinity11 : Demetrius Jackson, PG, Notre Dame
19. Denver - Reddevil : Brice Johnson, F, UNC
20. Indiana - luburch : Malik Beasley, G, FSU
21. Atlanta - Jason Evans : Dejounte Murray, G, Washington
22. Charlotte - JNort : Malachi Richardson, SG/SF, Syracuse
23. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Tyler Ulis, PG, Kentucky
24. Philadelphia - pfrduke : Cheick Dialo, PF, Kansas
25. LA Clippers - theschwartz : Taurean Prince, SF, Baylor
26. Philadelphia - pfrduke : DeAndre Bembry, SG, St. Joe's
27. Toronto – mattman91 : Patrick McCaw SG, UNLV
28. Phoenix - gurufrisbee : Thon Maker, F, High School
29. San Antonio – subzero02 : Ante Zizic, PF/C, Croatia
30. Golden State - SilkyJ : Damian Jones, C, Vanderbilt

Second Round
31. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Malcolm Brogdon, SG, Virginia
32. LA Lakers - Edouble : Isaia Cordinier, G, France
33. LA Clippers - theschwartz : Juan Hernangomez, PF, Spain
34. Phoenix - gurufrisbee : Stephen Zimmerman, C, UNLV
35. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Caris LeVert, G, Michigan
36. Milwaukee - KaZe : Ivica Zubac, C, Bosnia and Herzegovina
37. Houston - Troublemaker : Guerschon Yabusele, PF, France
38. Milwaukee - KaZe : Petr Cornelie, PF, France
39. New Orleans - brevity : Rade Zagorac, F, Serbia
40. New Orleans - brevity : Gary Payton II, PG, Oregon St.
41. Orlando - NSDukeFan : Diamond Stone, C, Maryland
42. Utah – FerryFor50 : Zhou Qi, C, China
43. Houston - Troublemaker : Pascal Siakam, PF, NM State
44. Atlanta - Jason Evans : Cat Barber, PG, NC St
45. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Michael Gbinije, G, Syracuse
46. Dallas - tfk53 : Dorian Finney-Smith, F, Florida
47. Orlando - NSDukeFan : Wayne Selden, F, Kansas
48. Chicago - CDu : AJ Hammonds, C, Purdue
49. Detroit – Jason Evans : Ben Bentil, PF, Providence
50. Indiana – luburch : Chinanu Onuaku, PF/C, Louisville
51. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Jake Layman, F, Maryland
52. Utah – FerryFor50 : Isaiah Whitehead, G, Seton Hall
53. Denver - Reddevil : Perry Ellis, F, Kansas
54. Atlanta - Jason Evans : Georgios Papagiannis, C, Greece
55. Brooklyn - Awhom111 : Kay Felder, PG, Oakland
56. Denver - Reddevil : Daniel Hamilton, SG/SF, UConn
57. Memphis – jacone21 : Fred VanVleet, PG, Wichita St
58. Boston - NashvilleDevil : Marshall Plumlee, C, Duke
59. Sacramento - johnb : Jarrod Uthoff, F, Iowa
60. Utah – FerryFor50 : Robert Carter, PF/C, Maryland

[BD80]

Actually, I was struck by how much Georgios Papagiannis sounds like George Papadopolis...

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Mongo?

[NashvilleDevil]

Mongo?

He just a pawn

[jacone21]

I was very tempted to pick a certain seven footer out of Duke, who had a great workout for us. But in the end, I decided to go with a point guard. With the 57th pick, the Grizzlies select Fred VanVleet. We can use some back up PG play and he's a mature, experienced kid, who could push for a backup role if given a chance.



Very tempted...

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[NashvilleDevil]

I was very tempted to pick a certain seven footer out of Duke, who had a great workout for us. But in the end, I decided to go with a point guard. With the 57th pick, the Grizzlies select Fred VanVleet. We can use some back up PG play and he's a mature, experienced kid, who could push for a backup role if given a chance.



Very tempted...

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I was going to take that seven footer out of Duke if you did not so the Boston Celtics thank you. With a pick late in the 2nd round the Boston Celtics select Marshall Plumlee from Duke University. We love his leadership, we love his work ethic, and we love that he never misses a 3 pointer.

[JasonEvans]

JohnB sent me his pick... here it is:


With the 59th pick of the draft, the Sacramento FauxRoyals would like to address a need for a stretch 4, a position that didn't exist in our lexicon until the advent of Ryan Kelly.

Here in Sacramento, we learned to not like Bo Ryan when he decided to forbid Jerrod Uthoff from transferring to any of 29 schools. Uthof went to Iowa on his own dime, where he graduated as the country's All Academic player of the year (more impt to his mom than to us) and first team Big Ten (more impt to us). Okay, he's a little slow, but he is a strong perimeter shot blocker and an excellent 3 point shooter, especially for someone who's 6'9" with a 7' wingspan. We're happy to have him.

-Jason "very good pick -- lots of folks think he will go sooner than this" Evans

[JasonEvans]

I was going to take that seven footer out of Duke if you did not so the Boston Celtics thank you. With a pick late in the 2nd round the Boston Celtics select Marshall Plumlee from Duke University. We love his leadership, we love his work ethic, and we love that he never misses a 3 pointer.

Hey, I love me some Marshall and I really hope he finds a spot in the NBA, but he ain't getting drafted. 7-0 with 6-9 wingspan is not a good formula for NBA success... though the shooting he has displayed in some workouts for teams has been surprising. Someone will sign him to a summer league team and he will get a camp invite, I suspect.

Marshall is jokingly called TRex by some Duke fans.

-Jason "And now for some potty humor..." Evans

http://www.rubescartoons.com/images-store/rm4348-t-rex-on-pot1.jpg http://i.imgur.com/t776x.jpg

[FerryFor50]

Sorry for the delay.

Jazz select Robert Carter, PF/C, Maryland with the 60th selection

[Wheat/"/"/"]

I think you guys are sleeping on Marcus Paige when choosing some other PG's ahead of him.

He's a leader and a player with intangibles. I think he will find a way to stick with a team that needs a backup point guard that can distribute and shoot. His defense is better than he gets credit for too.

[awhom111]

We were so fast this year that we beat the official early entry announcement. Hopefully nobody's international players withdraw by tomorrow.

I think that the only outstanding spelling issues are Cheick Diallo and Jarrod Uthoff. As a more minor matter, Van Vleet has a space in the middle and A.J. Hammons has punctuation.


I think you guys are sleeping on Marcus Paige when choosing some other PG's ahead of him.

He's a leader and a player with intangibles. I think he will find a way to stick with a team that needs a backup point guard that can distribute and shoot. His defense is better than he gets credit for too.

Nobody wants to be that guy who picks him here only to see him undrafted in the real thing. That said, we tend to overdraft our own guys and Tarheels.

[JNort]

I think you guys are sleeping on Marcus Paige when choosing some other PG's ahead of him.

He's a leader and a player with intangibles. I think he will find a way to stick with a team that needs a backup point guard that can distribute and shoot. His defense is better than he gets credit for too.

Well I for one wouldn't draft him based on potential, so that leaves how he performed in college and that wasn't anything to wow you either. I would have felt better about him if A) he would have continued improving into his Sr year or B) he was at least 4 inches taller and could play sg.

[JNort]

I think you guys are sleeping on Marcus Paige when choosing some other PG's ahead of him.

He's a leader and a player with intangibles. I think he will find a way to stick with a team that needs a backup point guard that can distribute and shoot. His defense is better than he gets credit for too.

His best qualities are sound decision making and leadership.

His shooting is average

Height is average and he doesn't put on muscle well (hence only gaining 8 lbs in 4 years)

Not a good athlete

Poor finisher around the rim

Has shown little improvement

[Kedsy]

I think you guys are sleeping on Marcus Paige when choosing some other PG's ahead of him.

He's a leader and a player with intangibles. I think he will find a way to stick with a team that needs a backup point guard that can distribute and shoot. His defense is better than he gets credit for too.

You might be right that he'll stick with an NBA team, but he's very unlikely to be drafted.

I don't think he's seen as a PG, I think he's seen as a really small SG, and those types don't get drafted these days. He hasn't shown the ability to get his own shot against taller defenders and he doesn't appear quick enough or strong enough to defend NBA SGs. Or most NBA PGs, for that matter.

[Turk]

Looking forward to the real draft, the plus/minus post-mortem, including the WTF? or "who dat?" picks!

[UrinalCake]

I don't think he's seen as a PG, I think he's seen as a really small SG, and those types don't get drafted these days. He hasn't shown the ability to get his own shot against taller defenders and he doesn't appear quick enough or strong enough to defend NBA SGs. Or most NBA PGs, for that matter.

I think Seth Curry is a pretty good comp for Paige. I think Seth was a better shooter and could create a little more on his own, but it would be fair if our Tar Heel fans disagreed. Anyways, Seth was able to grind it out in the D-league for several years and eventually secure a contract in the League. I imagine Paige could try to do the same if he chooses, but it's also possible he'l take the more guaranteed money overseas.

[Edouble]

I think you guys are sleeping on Marcus Paige when choosing some other PG's ahead of him.

He's a leader and a player with intangibles. I think he will find a way to stick with a team that needs a backup point guard that can distribute and shoot. His defense is better than he gets credit for too.

Remember when he hit that big shot in the championship game? That was awesome.

Then Kris Jenkins hit the next shot. That was awesomer.

[JNort]

Hmm feels like a bummer this is over already.... we should have another thread that grades and critiques all our picks just like irl. Not sure who picked up Brice Johnson but they get an F from me

[FerryFor50]

Hmm feels like a bummer this is over already... we should have another thread that grades and critiques all our picks just like irl. Not sure who picked up Brice Johnson but they get an F from me

In retrospect, I should have drafted Paige with the last pick, just so I could keep him in the DLeague for eternity.

[AtlDuke72]

Remember when he hit that big shot in the championship game? That was awesome.

Then Kris Jenkins hit the next shot. That was awesomer.

Paige hit a ton of big shots in his time at UNC. One of the few Tar Heels that I rooted for. Always seemed like a class act. Injuries messed up his junior year. I hope he makes it in the NBA somewhere.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Paige hit a ton of big shots in his time at UNC. One of the few Tar Heels that I rooted for. Always seemed like a class act. Injuries messed up his junior year. I hope he makes it in the NBA somewhere.

In the totem pole of UNC players, I agree that Paige sits on top or near the top. Please note that most of that totem pole is underground.

[CDu]

The problem for Paige is that he's under 6'2", weighs just 165, and his best position is SG. He doesn't possess great quickness, nor does he possess great creative ability. His best attribute has been as a shooter, but he's not all that great as a shooter.

Maybe he can find a role as a backup PG in the NBA, but I wouldn't be overly optimistic about it.

[elvis14]

Paige hit a ton of big shots in his time at UNC. One of the few Tar Heels that I rooted for. Always seemed like a class act. Injuries messed up his junior year. I hope he makes it in the NBA somewhere.

After thinking about this post and the interviews given my Paige at the end of last season I've come up with a definitive and complete list of UNCheat players that it's OK to root for. That list is below.

Full list:

9F

[FerryFor50]

The problem for Paige is that he's under 6'2", weighs just 165, and his best position is SG. He doesn't possess great quickness, nor does he possess great creative ability. His best attribute has been as a shooter, but he's not all that great as a shooter.

Maybe he can find a role as a backup PG in the NBA, but I wouldn't be overly optimistic about it.

Someone made the comp to Seth Curry, but I think he's only Seth Curry when Seth had his foot issues. The Seth of today looks much quicker and appears to be a better ball handler than Paige, and is definitely a better shooter IMO.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Once again, congrats to Jason Evans and all participants! Arguably the fastest and more efficient draft!

[BD80]

In retrospect, I should have drafted Paige with the last pick, just so I could keep him in the DLeague for eternity.

In all fairness, that DLeague team would win a lot of games.

[NSDukeFan]

So is it official, did I win the draft? Or does everyone feel that way? I guess we'll kind of know in 10-15 years?

[JNort]

Cmon now. I get to draft one guy and the front page article messes it up. It says Malachi Richardson was drafted by Syracuse :/

[awhom111]

Nobody picked an international player who withdrew so we can have a direct comparison unlike last year.
http://www.nba.com/2016/news/06/15/early-entry-candidates-withdraw-2016-draft/index.html

We were prolific with the international players this year, drafting all but one of the early declarations.

Nobody picked an auto-eligible international, with Paul Zipser probably being the standout candidate although I could see someone picking Moussa Diagne in the real thing. There were a few other intriguing names like Wang Zhelin and Wael Arakji with the latter probably making a mistake by not staying in the draft last year.

[JasonEvans]

I want to thank everyone for the speed and smarts. We moved with excellent pace and I don't think any pick was outrageous or made without careful consideration.

-Jason "the NBA could use us in the front office ;) " Evans

[kAzE]

Has anybody else checked out the latest DraftExpress mock (http://www.draftexpress.com/)? Some MAJOR shake ups. Most shocking, they Have Henry Ellenson dropping allllll the way to #21.

My 2nd rounder, Ivica Zubac (#36) is creeping his way towards the lottery, even past my #10 pick, Wade Baldwin. I still view that as a net win :)

Can't wait for the real thing . . .

[luburch]

The Pacers traded away their first round pick, but my slection at #20 was Malik Beasley. DraftExpress currently has him going at 12. I call that a win.

[DukeTrinity11]

Whoa, it looks like Tyler Ulis is finally going to drop out of the 1st round now according to some of the latest mock drafts.

Are people finally realizing that its silly to draft a guard under 6 feet tall in the 1st round or is it because of his hip issues?

[luburch]

So I'm tracking the actual draft and comparing it to the DBR draft. Updating the team selection list with trades as they happened. The "Difference" column on the far right is the difference between where the player was drafted in the actual draft compared to ours. The higher the number, the better. I'll update again at the end of the first round.
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Edit: Anyone know how to increase picture size on here? :)

[mattman91]

So I'm tracking the actual draft and comparing it to the DBR draft. Updating the team selection list with trades as they happened. The "Difference" column on the far right is the difference between where the player was drafted in the actual draft compared to ours. The higher the number, the better. I'll update again at the end of the first round.
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Edit: Anyone know how to increase picture size on here? :)

my pick was spot on!

[Troublemaker]

Wow, we have really picked up the pace. My writeup will come later.

With the 37th pick, the Houston Rockets select Guerschon Yabusele - PF from France.

I know I made some folks behind me sad with that pick.

I knew I got a steal. He just went #16 to the Celtics.

However, I can't beat Pappagiannis (#54 overall, Jason Evans) going #13 in the real draft.

[theschwartz]

So I'm tracking the actual draft and comparing it to the DBR draft. Updating the team selection list with trades as they happened. The "Difference" column on the far right is the difference between where the player was drafted in the actual draft compared to ours. The higher the number, the better. I'll update again at the end of the first round.
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Edit: Anyone know how to increase picture size on here? :)

I would say the best way to look at it is to see how well the draft picks play over some period of time, say 5 years. But for this quick-hit analysis, I gotta say my picks for the Clippers are smelling like roses.

Taurean Prince - DBR draft = 25, real draft = 12, diff = 13
Juan Hernangomez - DBR draft = 33, real draft = 15, diff = 18

[luburch]

I was +1! :) Updated results
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[luburch]

Alright..believe I fixed a few errors I had. If something is off, let me know. Sorry it's so small. Looked into ways of getting the image larger and couldn't figure anything out. No easy way to copy from an excel table to a DBR table that I could find either..

DBR selected 5 players in the first round that have yet to be taken
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[FerryFor50]

Whitehead to the Jazz at #42.

I picked him for the Jazz at 52.

Zhou Qi to Houston at 43. I picked him for the Jazz at 42.

Nailed it?

[awhom111]

Exact picks:
4 Dragan Bender gurufrisbee
6 Buddy Hield brevity
9 Jakob Poeltl mattman91
22 Malachi Richardson JNort
30 Damian Jones SilkyJ
56 Daniel Hamilton Reddevil

Picked lower than actual (difference, our pick, actual pick):
41 54 13 Georgios Papagiannis JasonEvans
21 37 16 Guerschon Yabusele Troublemaker
18 28 10 Thon Maker gurufrisbee
18 33 15 Juan Hernangomez theschwartz
16 43 27 Pascal Siakam Troublemaker
15 35 20 Caris LeVert NashvilleDevil
13 25 12 Taurean Prince theschwartz
13 50 37 Chinanu Onuaku luburch
10 52 42 Isaiah Whitehead FerryFor50
6 29 23 Ante Zizic subzero02
5 16 11 Domantas Sabonis NashvilleDevil
5 26 21 DeAndre' Bembry pfrduke
4 7 3 Jaylen Brown Reddevil
4 36 32 Ivica Zubac kAzE
4 39 35 Rade Zagorac brevity
4 51 47 Jake Layman NashvilleDevil
3 8 5 Kris Dunn johnb
2 48 46 A.J. Hammons CDu
1 2 1 Ben Simmons Edouble
1 20 19 Malik Beasley luburch
1 41 40 Diamond Stone NSDukeFan
1 55 54 Kay Felder awhom111

Picked higher than actual (difference, our pick, actual pick):
-1 1 2 Brandon Ingram pfrduke
-1 42 43 Zhou Qi FerryFor50
-2 5 7 Jamal Murray flyingdutchdevil
-2 12 14 Denzel Valentine FerryFor50
-2 49 51 Ben Bentil DukeTrinity11*JasonEvans
-4 45 49 Michael Gbinije NashvilleDevil
-5 3 8 Marquese Chriss NashvilleDevil
-5 31 36 Malcolm Brogdon NashvilleDevil
-6 19 25 Brice Johnson Reddevil
-7 10 17 Wade Baldwin kAzE
-7 11 18 Henry Ellenson NSDukeFan
-7 17 24 Timothe Luwawu jacone21
-7 34 41 Stephen Zimmerman gurufrisbee
-8 21 29 Dejounte Murray JasonEvans
-9 24 33 Cheick Diallo pfrduke
-11 15 26 Furkan Korkmaz Reddevil
-11 23 34 Tyler Ulis NashvilleDevil
-11 27 38 Patrick McCaw mattman91
-12 32 44 Isaia Cordinier Edouble
-14 14 28 Skal Labissiere CDu
-15 38 53 Petr Cornelie kAzE
-18 13 31 Deyonta Davis gurufrisbee
-27 18 45 Demetrius Jackson DukeTrinity11

We did not pick:
39 David Michineau
48 Paul Zipser
50 Georges Niang
52 Joel Bolomboy
55 Marcus Paige
57 Wang Zhelin
58 Abdel Nader
59 Isaiah Cousins
60 Tyrone Wallace

We picked, but went undrafted:
40 Gary Payton II brevity
44 Cat Barber JasonEvans
46 Dorian Finney-Smith tfk53
47 Wayne Selden NSDukeFan
53 Perry Ellis Reddevil
57 Fred Van Vleet jacone21
58 Marshall Plumlee NashvilleDevil
59 Jarrod Uthoff johnb
60 Robert Carter FerryFor50

[luburch]

Exact picks:
4 Dragan Bender gurufrisbee
6 Buddy Hield brevity
9 Jakob Poeltl mattman91
22 Malachi Richardson JNort
30 Damian Jones SilkyJ
56 Daniel Hamilton Reddevil

Picked lower than actual (difference, our pick, actual pick):
41 54 13 Georgios Papagiannis JasonEvans
21 37 16 Guerschon Yabusele Troublemaker
18 28 10 Thon Maker gurufrisbee
18 33 15 Juan Hernangomez theschwartz
16 43 27 Pascal Siakam Troublemaker
15 35 20 Caris LeVert NashvilleDevil
13 25 12 Taurean Prince theschwartz
13 50 37 Chinanu Onuaku luburch
10 52 42 Isaiah Whitehead FerryFor50
6 29 23 Ante Zizic subzero02
5 16 11 Domantas Sabonis NashvilleDevil
5 26 21 DeAndre' Bembry pfrduke
4 7 3 Jaylen Brown Reddevil
4 36 32 Ivica Zubac kAzE
4 39 35 Rade Zagorac brevity
4 51 47 Jake Layman NashvilleDevil
3 8 5 Kris Dunn johnb
2 48 46 A.J. Hammons CDu
1 2 1 Ben Simmons Edouble
1 20 19 Malik Beasley luburch
1 41 40 Diamond Stone NSDukeFan
1 55 54 Kay Felder awhom111

Picked higher than actual (difference, our pick, actual pick):
-1 1 2 Brandon Ingram pfrduke
-1 42 43 Zhou Qi FerryFor50
-2 5 7 Jamal Murray flyingdutchdevil
-2 12 14 Denzel Valentine FerryFor50
-2 49 51 Ben Bentil DukeTrinity11*JasonEvans
-4 45 49 Michael Gbinije NashvilleDevil
-5 3 8 Marquese Chriss NashvilleDevil
-5 31 36 Malcolm Brogdon NashvilleDevil
-6 19 25 Brice Johnson Reddevil
-7 10 17 Wade Baldwin kAzE
-7 11 18 Henry Ellenson NSDukeFan
-7 17 24 Timothe Luwawu jacone21
-7 34 41 Stephen Zimmerman gurufrisbee
-8 21 29 Dejounte Murray JasonEvans
-9 24 33 Cheick Diallo pfrduke
-11 15 26 Furkan Korkmaz Reddevil
-11 23 34 Tyler Ulis NashvilleDevil
-11 27 38 Patrick McCaw mattman91
-12 32 44 Isaia Cordinier Edouble
-14 14 28 Skal Labissiere CDu
-15 38 53 Petr Cornelie kAzE
-18 13 31 Deyonta Davis gurufrisbee
-27 18 45 Demetrius Jackson DukeTrinity11

We did not pick:
39 David Michineau
48 Paul Zipser
50 Georges Niang
52 Joel Bolomboy
55 Marcus Paige
57 Wang Zhelin
58 Abdel Nader
59 Isaiah Cousins
60 Tyrone Wallace

We picked, but went undrafted:
40 Gary Payton II brevity
44 Cat Barber JasonEvans
46 Dorian Finney-Smith tfk53
47 Wayne Selden NSDukeFan
53 Perry Ellis Reddevil
57 Fred Van Vleet jacone21
58 Marshall Plumlee NashvilleDevil
59 Jarrod Uthoff johnb
60 Robert Carter FerryFor50


Thanks for this awhom. I ended up +14, I'll take it!

[Troublemaker]

Picked lower than actual (difference, our pick, actual pick):
41 54 13 Georgios Papagiannis JasonEvans
21 37 16 Guerschon Yabusele Troublemaker
18 28 10 Thon Maker gurufrisbee
18 33 15 Juan Hernangomez theschwartz
16 43 27 Pascal Siakam Troublemaker
15 35 20 Caris LeVert NashvilleDevil
<snip>

Thanks, awhom.

I must hurt myself patting myself on the back here.

I got two second-rounders for being Mockets GM and I turned both of them into first-round gold, picks #16 and #27 (+37 overall).

Still, I'm very jealous of Jason's Papagiannis pick.