2021 DBR Mock Draft - that's a wrap!

[JasonEvans]

Time for an update on where we stand. Feels like we are a couple/few days from being done, which is great!

2021 FIRST ROUND

1. Detroit - scottdude8 - Cade Cunningham, Guard, Oklahoma State
2. Houston - kAzE - Evan Mobley, Center, USC
3. Cleveland - House P - Jalen Green, Guard, G-League
4. Toronto - scottdude8 - Jalen Suggs, Guard, Gonzaga
5. Orlando - roywhite - Scottie Barnes, Guard, Florida State
6. Oklahoma City - pfrduke - Jonathan Kuminga, F, G League Ignite
7. Golden State - jacone21 - Davion Mitchell, G, Baylor
8. Orlando - roywhite - Alperen Sengun, PF/C, Turkey
9. Sacramento - flyingdutchdevil - Ziaire Williams, F, Stanford
10. New Orleans - brevity - Moses Moody, SG, Arkansas
11. Charlotte - JasonEvans - Corey Kispert, SF, Gonzaga
12. San Antonio - Billy Dat - Luka Garza, C, Iowa.
13. Indiana - FerryFor50 - Jalen Johnson, F, Duke
14. Golden State - jacone21 - Franz Wagner, G, Michigan
15. Washington - Truth&Justise - James Bouknight, G, UConn
16. Oklahoma City - pfrduke - Keon Johnson, G, Tennessee
17. Memphis - powellhill1981 - Ayo Dosunmu, G, Illinois
18. Oklahoma City - pfrduke - Kai Jones, F/C, Texas
19. New York - accfanfrom1970 - Chris Duarte, G/F, Oregon
20. Atlanta - JasonEvans - Josh Giddy, G/F, Australia
21. New York - accfanfrom1970 - Usman Garuba, F, Spain
22. Los Angeles Lakers - theschwartz - Jared Butler, G, Baylor
23. Houston - kAzE - Sharife Cooper, PG, Auburn
24. Houston - kAzE - Trey Murphy, SF, Virginia
25. LA Clippers - Kdogg - Miles "Deuce" McBride, G, WVU
26. Denver - MrPoon - Jaden Springer, G, Tenn
27. Brooklyn - Billy Dat - Isaiah Jackson, F, Kentucky
28. Philadelphia - Gooch - Nah’Shon Hyland, G, VCU
29. Phoenix - roywhite - Day'Ron Sharpe, C, unc
30. Utah - coldriver10 - JT Thor, F, Auburn

2021 SECOND ROUND

31. Milwaukee - phaedrus - Joel Ayayi, G, Gonzaga
32. New York - accfanfrom1970 - Quentin Grimes, SG, Houston
33. Orlando - roywhite - Tre Mann, G, Florida
34. Oklahoma City - pfrduke - Cameron Thomas, G, LSU
35. New Orleans - brevity - Joe Wieskamp, G/F, Iowa.
36. Oklahoma City - pfrduke - Joshua Primo, G, Alabama
37. Detroit - scottdude8 - Josh Christopher, G, Arizona St
38. Chicago - CDu - BJ Boston, F, Kentucky
39. Sacramento - flyingdutchdevil
40. New Orleans - brevity
41. San Antonio - Billy Dat
42. Detroit - scottdude8
43. New Orleans - brevity
44. Brooklyn - Billy Dat
45. Boston - flyingdutchdevil
46. Toronto - scottdude8
47. Toronto - scottdude8
48. Atlanta - JasonEvans
49. Brooklyn - Billy Dat
50. Philadelphia - Gooch
51. Memphis - powellhill1981
52. Detroit - scottdude8
53. New Orleans - brevity
54. Indiana - FerryFor50
55. Oklahoma City - pfrduke
56. Charlotte - JasonEvans
57. Charlotte - JasonEvans
58. New York - accfanfrom1970
59. Brooklyn - Billy Dat
60. Indiana - FerryFor50

[JasonEvans]

There is still at least one guy on the board who has a chance at being a lottery pick, and is generally mocked in the teens or 20s by everyone. Someone is about to get a steal. If I was a real GM, I would be trading up with pfrduke/OKC to get their pick right now to take this guy.

[pfrduke]

We think our 36th pick is primo - Joshua Primo, G, Alabama, to be specific. Primo has a rep as a lights-out shooter with potential upside in terms of his ability to make plays on and off the ball. He's seen his stock rise in combine season, and his talent combined with the fact that he's the youngest prospect in the draft gives this patient franchise with draft picks to burn another shot at taking a developmental pick who may not be ready next year but could develop into a key contributor once the Thunder are ready to be back in contention. Once again, we're getting first-round talent here in the second round, and we couldn't be happier.

[scottdude8]

Josh Christopher, guard, Arizona State.

I'm guessing this is the guy Jason mentioned as slipping in our mock draft, and not necessarily without reason: Christopher, and indeed the entire ASU team, massively underperformed expectations this year (maybe he would've been better off going to Michigan, as he was expected to do before his surprise announcement... but after the Wolverines' last season I think things ended up working out for my interests, haha). Christopher was a consensus 5* recruit and around the Top 10 in most recruiting rankings for the Class of 2021. Christopher's high athleticism means he's a high-ceiling guy, but his inconsistent shooting and worse than anticipated results in college also make him low-floor.

If I'm the Pistons, come the second round I'm drafting the best available player that also fits the timeline of my young core. Ideally this would be a big considering there is less young depth on the Pistons roster downlow, but I still think they prioritize best available over positional fit. From this perspective Christopher fits the bill perfectly: he likely needs some development before he makes an impact at the NBA level, but given you can't teach his athleticism he could become a nice rotation piece in a couple of years. He could be the type of guy that could come off the bench and play off the ball with either Cunningham or Hayes running the point, and potentially even play the point a bit himself.

I highly doubt Christopher falls to the second round given how much the NBA values potential and athleticism. But if he does, the Pistons would probably take him in a heartbeat.

Side note: I've got a sneaky suspicion the Pistons won't be picking here (we all know second round picks move like hot potatoes). With three second round picks and a couple of pieces that might be of interest to contenders (a prime example is Josh Jackson, who averaged 13 ppg for the Pistons last season and only has one, quite cheap year remaining on his deal), I would expect the Pistons to try to sneak back into the late first round if there's a guy they have their eye on. Honestly, Christopher could be that guy towards the tail end of the first round, or one of the sharpshooters in the draft like Chris Duarte or Trey Murphy.

[CDu]

So, the Bulls are a mess (and water is wet). We have a burgeoning star in Zach LaVine entering his prime, but we don't have much else. We made an "all in" trade in sending Wendell Carter plus 2 draft picks to the Magic for Nikola Vucevic, only to realize that Vucevic has the same limitations that LaVine has (all offense, no defense). Our first round picks the last few years (Markkanen, Carter, White) have plateaued or are gone. Our first round pick last year (Williams) is very young and probably a year or two away. But we've traded our pick for this year and 2023 (top-4 protected), and we're basically capped out, so it feels complicated as to how we get to where we want to get.

Team needs include a shotblocking PF/C, a PG, and a wing scorer. There are a few options at PF/C that might be interesting, and the PG options are mostly gone. So we're going to take a big swing on upside here and draft the highly-talented player who disappointed as a freshman: Brandon "BJ" Boston, 6'7" SF, Kentucky. Boston has an easily projectable NBA frame (6'7" with a 6'11" wingspan) and a great high school pedigree. He was a top-5 recruit coming out of high school last year, and with good reason. As a scoring wing, he drew comps to Brandon Ingram and even Durant (although that one was always overly optimistic). Smoother than explosive, but able to score at all 3 levels in high school.

So, why is he available now? Well, simply put, he stunk last year. His frame, skill set, and freshman season reminds a bit of a recent Duke phenom-turned-struggler: Cam Reddish. Boston shot poorly from 3, poorly from 2, and just wasn't overly effective on a UK team that went 9-16.

So why are we taking Boston here? Well, he's a top-5 high school kid still in his teens, and it's not often you can get that type of talent in the second round. In many ways, Boston feels like virtually the same thing Reddish was two years ago, and Reddish went in the top-10 in his draft. So we're getting a lottery-level talent near pick #40. There is a good chance he doesn't pan out, but there just aren't that many guys with his talent profile available this late in drafts.

The hope is that Boston's struggles were due to a combination of the pandemic (which was really tough on young teams), the lack of talent around him, and just getting used to the college game. Boston showed flashes of his talent, but it just didn't click with any sort of consistency. So we hope that over the next couple of years he grows into his frame and gets more comfortable playing against higher level competition. If so, the pairing of Williams and Boston could be a great core for the future.

[JasonEvans]

Josh Christopher, guard, Arizona State.

I'm guessing this is the guy Jason mentioned as slipping in our mock draft

Yup... lots of folks super high on this kid.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Okay. We need big men after drafting a solid high. Sacramento selects Isaiah Todd, G-League.

Incredible upside, solid build, good but not great stats in the G-League. Excellent 3pt and FT shooter for a big man.

Sacramento is swinging for the fences. Why not? We’re the laughing stock of the NBA already.

[brevity]

The Pelicans could use a versatile backup at the point, and so we're drafting Jason Preston, PG, Ohio University. At Ohio he averaged 7.3 assists and 7.3 rebounds for the Bobcats, and registered two triple-doubles in MAC conference play. You might remember him as the guy who helped put an end to the 2-year defending champs, when Ohio beat Virginia in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. He had 11 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists.

He was a late bloomer, growing from a 6-foot, 140-pound high school freshman to the 6-foot-4 (6-foot-8 wingspan), 180 pound prospect he is now. He handles the ball well, varies his pace, and is a gifted passer. He hit a decent 39% from long range but can shoot comfortably from any distance; he can drive to the rim or keep defenders guessing with a mid-range floater. Like fellow Pelican draftee Joe Wieskamp, his free throw shooting took a significant dip between his sophomore and junior years (73% to 60%).

Fun fact: he's a huge Detroit Pistons fan, frequently contributing to a fan website while in high school. It would be a great story if the real Pistons drafted him, but this is a mock draft and I'm not here to help the mock Pistons.

[Billy Dat]

With center-of-the-future, Luka Garza, firmly in hand, the Spurs are looking for some role playing glue guys to support their flashy perimeter of DeRozan, White, Walker Jr, Murray and Olympic stud Keldon Johnson.

There's something in the water in suburban Philly and the NBA has taken notice...Lowry, Hart, DiVincenzo, Brunson, Bridges, Paschall, Bey...

I have taken notice, too. These kids are smart, the play hard, the understand TEAM, they are winners. Pop's been spending a lot of time with Jay Wright with Team USA.

With the 41st pick in the 2021 DBR Mock NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs select Jeremiah Robinson-Earl of Villanova.

[scottdude8]

Well… my target for the Pistons here got snatched up a pick before me! That’s a bummer.

So the Pistons have to pivot. At this stage I view their needs as either depth down low or shooting. Robinson Earl would’ve addressed the former, but the latter is arguably a bigger need. So I’m going to reach a bit here to get arguably the best shooter remaining, and a major sleeper…

With the 42nd pick, the Pistons select Isaiah Livers from Michigan.

Call me a homer for this pick if you want, but if he hadn’t gotten injured I think Livers would’ve played himself into the first round. He’s a deadeye shooter, who can defend wings and stretch 4s, and a very underrated athlete. He’s a prototypical NBA 3 and D. Obviously health is a question, which is why I would’ve preferred to get him with the Pistons next pick. But with no one else jumping out on the board I’m taking him now. He has the potential to be a very solid rotation player sooner rather than later.

[Gooch]

With the 42nd pick, the Pistons select Isaiah Livers from Michigan.

Call me a homer for this pick if you want, but if he hadn’t gotten injured I think Livers would’ve played himself into the first round. He’s a deadeye shooter, who can defend wings and stretch 4s, and a very underrated athlete. He’s a prototypical NBA 3 and D. Obviously health is a question, which is why I would’ve preferred to get him with the Pistons next pick. But with no one else jumping out on the board I’m taking him now. He has the potential to be a very solid rotation player sooner rather than later.

You’re definitely a homer, but I think Livers is going to have a long, productive NBA career.

[brevity]

There aren't many true centers left, and even fewer who are built to play at the NBA level. But we have confidence in Neemias Queta, C, Utah State, one of the top rebounders and shot blockers in college basketball. He was the tallest player at the combine (over 6-foot-11 without shoes, over 7 feet with shoes) and had the biggest wingspan (7-foot-4) and tallest standing reach (over 9-foot-4). So says retroactive draft expert Chad Ford, who once predicted every Knight of the Round Table. Queta also had the second biggest set of hands among those measured, behind (if you can believe this) Duke's Jalen Johnson.

He can catch and finish, is adept with the pump fake, can switch on defense, has good court vision and passing ability, and is mobile enough to force a steal and make a transition basket. He has limited shooting range and is an okay free throw shooter (70%). No player born in Portugal has ever been drafted or has played in the regular season. Queta could become the first.

I was very close to picking Charles Bassey here. He puts up similar stats as Queta, plus he has an outside jumper. But he also had a leg fracture in 2019 and isn't as quick or fluid in his movement.

So it took a few years, but New Orleans fans are finally getting the Block Party they were promised when the Pelicans drafted Nerlens Noel to play alongside Anthony Davis. (They traded Noel's draft rights a few minutes later.) Rim protection? Queta will combine forces with Zion Williamson and Jaxson Hayes to form a vacuum seal around the rim.

[Billy Dat]

The Nets have a ton of veteran talent, and you can't balance those old heads with too many teenagers because the vets aint having it. Even the rookie class needs some maturity.

While I am not into their brash young coach's personality, I like the style of play that Nate Oats has brought to Tuscaloosa...lots of switchy long wings pressuring all over the court, getting out in transition and letting it fly.

This dude is a 4 year player who was his conference's player of the year, defensive player of the year, a third team All American and an academic honor roll student for the SEC. He does everything but shoot, but that's what KD, Kyrie, Harden and Joe Harris are for.

Plus, he's got an All American name.

With the 44th pick in the 2021 DBR NBA Mock Draft, the Brooklyn Nets select wing Herb Jones of Alabama.

[JasonEvans]

Want a cheat sheet? An account that tweets about gambling sent this out a short time ago --

[flyingdutchdevil]

The incompetent GM from Sacramento has turned into the competent GM for the Celtics.

After 8 years of stealing the 76ers, Nets, and Grizzlies picks, the Celtics only have a second round pick.

What do the Celtics need? Guards galore, with maybe some big man help. They do not need wings, with Tatum, Brown, and Fournier in the mix.

So, the Celtics select Austin Reaves from Oklahoma. Flashy playmaking guard with a wonderful FT rate (86.5%). We hope this translates to a strong 3pt showing in the NBA (he was not good in college at this).

Love this pick. Celtics need to swing for the fences and not play it safe with this pick.

[scottdude8]

After securing their backcourt for the forseeable future with the Suggs selection, I anticipate the Raptors will take some swings at shoring up their primary weakness (the frontcourt) in the second round. Given the devaluation of the center position, decent rotation pieces are more easily found up front than in the backcourt at this position of the draft, which works out very well for Toronto. I had been targetting Neemias Queta here, but he was snatched up three picks earlier. Luka Garza also would've been an option here had he not been a surprise first round pick.

Given the Raptors tendency for international picks and their proficiency at developing them, I'm going to take two swings at finding a serviceable NBA center through those venues here. So with picks 46 and 47, the Raptors select Usman Garuba from Spain and Filip Petrusev from Serbia. Garuba is more of a developmental pick and potential pick and stash in Europe, but his athleticism means he could be a serviceable, albeit likely offensively limited, NBA center. Petrusev is a player who could contribute more immediately given his experience at Gonzaga, and his 6'11'', 235 frame is NBA ready.

I could see the Raptors slotting Petrusev in immediately as a backup 5, and trying to find a "bridge" center (i.e. a vet on a 1/2 year deal) in free agency. All of this is posited on them not finding a way to get Evan Mobley in the first round, which again I think they will try very hard to do.

[flyingdutchdevil]

After securing their backcourt for the forseeable future with the Suggs selection, I anticipate the Raptors will take some swings at shoring up their primary weakness (the frontcourt) in the second round. Given the devaluation of the center position, decent rotation pieces are more easily found up front than in the backcourt at this position of the draft, which works out very well for Toronto. I had been targetting Neemias Queta here, but he was snatched up three picks earlier. Luka Garza also would've been an option here had he not been a surprise first round pick.

Given the Raptors tendency for international picks and their proficiency at developing them, I'm going to take two swings at finding a serviceable NBA center through those venues here. So with picks 46 and 47, the Raptors select Usman Garuba from Spain and Filip Petrusev from Serbia. Garuba is more of a developmental pick and potential pick and stash in Europe, but his athleticism means he could be a serviceable, albeit likely offensively limited, NBA center. Petrusev is a player who could contribute more immediately given his experience at Gonzaga, and his 6'11'', 235 frame is NBA ready.

I could see the Raptors slotting Petrusev in immediately as a backup 5, and trying to find a "bridge" center (i.e. a vet on a 1/2 year deal) in free agency. All of this is posited on them not finding a way to get Evan Mobley in the first round, which again I think they will try very hard to do.

Garuba already selected. Can’t get first round talent this far in the second round.

Is there a Michigan walk-on who is available? Sorry, I had to…

[scottdude8]

Garuba already selected. Can’t get first round talent this far in the second round.

Is there a Michigan walk-on who is available? Sorry, I had to…

Shoot, my bad! Ironically I did check that and just somehow forgot as I was writing up my pick.

Let's go with another big with an NBA ready body and an international background, who was nearly taken a few picks ago, Charles Bassey of Western Kentucky.

[JasonEvans]

I came thiiiiis close to taking Texas freshman Greg Brown here. I suspect he will be off the board well before this pick and could easily go in the first round. He looked like a lottery pick midway through the season, but then his poor decision-making on offense and lack of defense led to Shaka Smart playing him less and less. In his final 13 games Brown averaged just 18.9 minutes, 6.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 0.7 blocks and 0.7 assists per game for Texas. Still, I expect a NBA team to take him well before the the 48th pick in the draft. If our job was to draft the guy we expect to be most highly valued by the NBA with each pick then I'd be all over Brown.

But our job is to take the guy we like best and who we expect to have the best NBA career. It is not about winning in a week when we compare our picks to the NBA's real thing, it is about winning in 3 years when we look up and see that someone you took in the late 2nd round turned into a solid NBA contributor.

So, I'm taking... Matthew Hurt, F, Duke University. I don't need to tell all of you very much about Hurt. You saw it in action last season. He's one of the best shooters in this draft with a high release that makes it very hard to defend him. Speaking of defend, he's going to really struggle to do that in the NBA, but there are plenty of guys in the league who can shoot and don't really defend. I suspect the Hawks will stash him in the G-League for a year on a 2-way contract that will allow him to come up and play some with the big club if they need him. One reason I really like Hurt in this spot is that he has shown the willingness and ability to change his game and his body to fit what is needed. He put on significant weight and remade his shot/release in his 2 years at Duke. A kid who can do that can figure out how to be impactful in the NBA. It may take him a year or two, but I expect him to be a rotation player... probably right around the time that Gallinari's contract with the Hawks runs out.

[Billy Dat]

Great call on Matthew Hurt, I was saving my last pick for him had he not come off the board, but then was wondering if he'd be better off being free to pick his own best fit situation. Since this is all make believe, none of it matters!

But make believe is fun, so what else do the Nets need? I have gone with a few rangy wing/front court players in Isaiah Jackson and Herb Jones. I could try and appease KD by bringing in a fellow Longhorn and Greg Brown, Jericho Sims and Matt Coleman are all on the board. I could look for a guard or a big man since I already have so many wings but between Kyrie and Harden, who else is going to handle the ball? And, Durant is a modern NBA 5. So, I am just going to keep loading up on wings. My previous two picks are A-level defenders who need to add scoring punch. Well, I am going to add scoring punch, and no lack of confidence, by bringing in a kid who played his high school ball right in Brooklyn, at Bishop Loughlin. Besides, if Blake sticks around, they can trade Capel stories and Coach Jeff can make the Nets the NBA godfather of his Panthers.

With the 49th pick in the DBR 2021 Mock NBA Draft, the Brooklyn Nets select Pitt Panther F Justin Champagnie!