NBA Draft 2018 Lottery: Combo "Best Choice" and Mock

After a year hiatus (new job, new baby), I have returned to spending too much time thinking about the draft! This year, I've decided to do two parallel drafts. One, which I am calling "Best choice", is what I would do if I were the GM for each team. The Mock takes into account what teams seem likely to do based on expectations for how they might behave given the context (past decisions, off court considerations, etc.).

Enjoy!

Pick	Team	Pick (best choice)	Best choice comment	Pick (mock)	Mock comment
1	Phoenix Suns	Luka Doncic	What Doncic has accomplished at age 19 is amazing. His anticipation and speed reading the game are upper echelon, and if he gets his body into peak form with NBA diet/training/sleeping, he has the chance to be the engine behind a top 5 offense. To me, that's the highest ceiling in this draft.	DeAndre Ayton	On the Monday before Thursday's draft, all signs point to Phoenix taking Ayton. He's clearly an impressive run/jump athlete with good skill, motor, and feel. If he can value winning over stats, he could have an outstanding career.
2	Sacramento Kings	DeAndre Ayton	This is a farily easy choice for the Kings, who almost immediately get a replacement for DeMarcus Cousins as a dominant offensive cente.	Luka Doncic	There is plenty of smoke to suggest that the Kings won't pick Luka, possibly out of fears that he would stay in Madrid. However, with Vlade and Peja involved in the franchise, I am dubious that they would pass on his talent. They could also probably get a nice haul trading this pick if Luka is on the board.
3	Atlanta Hawks	Mohammed Bamba	The Hawks are nowhere, and need upside. I think Porter's injury concerns are just too much here, and Bagley is too limited defensively to ever be a true star.	Michael Porter Jr.	The allure of a 6'11" forward who can shoot on the move might prove too much for Atlanta to pass up.
4	Memphis Grizzlies	Jaren Jackson Jr.	This is a tough spot, as Porter has more upside but I have him in a Tier below due to concerns that he won't make his teammates better. Jackson is a versatile piece who can learn alongside Gasol and eventually take over.	Jaren Jackson Jr.	Ditto
5	Dallas Mavericks	Michael Porter Jr.	This feels like a good fit for Porter. With Barnes on the team, he won't have to be the go-to wing scorer from day 1, but with both guys alongside Dennis Smith Jr., they have a good amount of spacing and athleticism.	Mohammed Bamba	The Mavs don't have much at center, so this is a safe pick at this point.
6	Orlando Magic	Trae Young	Orlando desperately needs a point guard, playmaking, and shooting. Trae can be all three. Or he might be unplayably unathletic. But it will be interesting to watch.	Marvin Bagley III	Based on his college production and sheer athleticism, it might be a surprise to see Bagley slip this far. If he is on the board, he might be too hard for Orlando to pass on.
7	Chicago Bulls	Miles Bridges	A bit of a forgotten man in the lead up to the draft (none of the web sites or podcasts I follow seem to be talking about where he will get drafted), he has the size, athleticism, skill, and shooting to toggle between the forward positions. This type of versatility is something Chicago has repeatedly emphasized.	Kevin Knox	For some reason I have the feeling that the Bulls will jump on the Knox bandwagon. He is young and versatile, but may not have enough pop to his game to be more than a good role player.
8	Cleveland Cavaliers	Marvin Bagley III	This is a turning point into a large next tier. Bagley is a big name, and could be useful in a trade for a veteran to entice LeBron to stay. He's not a good fit next to Nance, as they are very similar players.	Trae Young	Another big name, in this scenario he falls and becomes a value pick. He may not be able to play in the Finals, but he'd get plenty of open looks next to LeBron or plenty of bad ones if the Cavs need to rebuild.
9	New York Knicks	Wendell Carter	With KP's knee injury and general lack of durability across the season, having another high quality center option is important for the future of this franchise.	Wendell Carter	Ditto
10	Philadelphia 76ers	Mikal Bridges	Everyone and his mother have this pick set already, with the Philly ties and fit alongside starts already in place.	Mikal Bridges	Ditto
11	Charlotte Hornets	Kevin Knox	This team has so many questions. Taking a high riser like Knox is an easy call.	Miles Bridges	In this scenario, Knox and Bridges are just swapped. The logic is similar
12	LA Clippers	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	Lead ballhandler is up for grabs on this team, and the Clippers have two interesting options here with Gilgeous-Alexander. I like G-A's defensive upside and length over Sexton, but it's a tough call.	Colin Sexton	Giving myself two flips of the coin here, but Sexton reminds some of Eric Bledsoe in his relentless energy which fits the Doc Rivers team philosophy rather well.
13	LA Clippers	Robert Williams	The comparison to a young DeAndre Joran is uncanny, right down to the terrible free throw shooting. They could draft him and simply let DeAndre walk in free agency, rather than tying down a huge cap number for a team which is rebuilding on the fly.	Robert Williams	Ditto
14	Denver Nuggets	Josh Okogie	I love Okogie's combitation of length, youth, leaping ability, shooting, and creation potential. He was on a bad team and asked to do too much, so his efficiency wasn't great. But look at his highlights; I think he's the best dunker in the class, and his 3pt volume and FT% indicate he should be an adequate shooter. His lack of defensive IQ is troubling, but he has the physical tools to make up for it and maybe someday be very good on that end.	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	I love his fit next to Jamal Murray. He's got the length to cover both guard positions, and can free Murray up to be his better actualized self as a lethal secondary playmaker, rather than an average primary one.

NBA Mock Draft 2016: Lottery

#	Team	Pick	Notes
1	Philadelphia 76ers	Ben Simmons	Grab that talent! With new leadership running the team, the Sixers can feel at ease drafting the player most likely to become a superstar. Simmons' game has some considerable flaws, but he is so young and produced at such a high level in college that Brett Brown should have no trouble molding him into a high quality player fast.
2	LA Lakers	Brandon Ingram	This is one of those comfy draft slots where you sit back and snap up the player the other team leaves at your doorstep. Ingram has teriffic potential as a scorer hybrid forward and fits in with the core group of recent Laker lottery picks.
3	Boston Celtics	Dragan Bender	None of the remaining players on the board have the upside of Bender. His size, length, and ball skills should translate well as a mismatch-inducing headache for the opposition. Boston is shrewd about asset collection, but this pick also fits a need. I'm not sure there's as much intruigue here as people like to think.
4	Phoenix Suns	Marquese Chriss	The Suns need this pick to pan out. Their guard rotation is a messy logjam, they have a new coach, and their future is very murky. Picking Chriss not only gives them an exciting athlete in the Antonio McDyess model, it buys them some time.
5	Minnesota Timberwolves	Kris Dunn	With the youngest foundational player in the league, the Wolves are officially on the clock to build around KAT. The good news is that they have lots of other young talent on this roster and can expect to compete for a playoff spot as early as next year. Tom Thibodeau is in charge now, and he will find a kindred spirit (and excellent talent) in Dunn, who showed great commitment to improving his game in his four years at Providence.
6	New Orleans Pelicans	Jamal Murray	The Pelicans need somone to dribble and pass: their two main creaters (Holiday and Evans) can't stay health. If Dunn is off the board though, there aren't any true fasciliatators left in this tier. Murray is the closest, a splashy scoring guard who should at least be a productive sixth man in short order.
7	Denver Nuggets	Furkan Korkmaz	Weirdly deep despite their poor play, the Nuggets don't have any pressing positional needs. Given their propensity (and success) with European players (Jokic, Gallo, Lauvergne, Nurkic, Fournier...), it makes sense to target Korkmaz. His combination of athleticism, shooting, and length will allow him to play multiple positions and get time to develop with this young team.
8	Sacramento Kings	Buddy Hield	Another team with lots of guys but not enough overall talent, the Kings must look for steady players with NBA skills. Hield has the shooting range to get on the floor immediately and compete with the teetering Ben McLemore for SG minutes.
9	Toronto Raptors	Jaylen Brown	Coming off a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Raptors can be content grabbing Brown who could easily go much higher than this. Similar to current star DeMarr DeRozan, Brown has the look of a prototypical NBA wing at an early age. Developing an outside shot and learning to play high level defense will be top on the agenda.
10	Milwaukee Bucks	Jakob Poeltl	This seems to be a consensus and obvious pick, so of course it won't happen. His size, quickness, and skill level are all assets for him, and Milwaukee needs some help up front after losing Zaza Pachulia before last season.
11	Orlando Magic	Skal Labissiere	Why not? The Magic already have too many young players, so drafting Skal and having him develop in the D-League
12	Utah Jazz	Timothe Luwawu	The Jazz will be re-integrating Dante Exum into an already young team. It's hard to imagine a rookie cracking the roation this year, so Luwawu - the best international prospect on the board - makes sense as a draft-and-stash.
13	Phoenix Suns	Wade Baldwin IV	Ideally the Suns could find a player strong and quick enough to guard both wing positions and play off the ball with range out past the 3 point line. Alas, no such players remain on the board. Baldwin may be the closest. He projects as a versatile defender, guarding points and all but the largest wings.
14	Chicago Bulls	Henry Ellenson	The Bulls hardly need another power forward, but this roster could look far different very soon. Ellenson is a highly regarded and versatile prospect who is off the board by this pick in 10/12 mock drafts analyzed by NBA.com. That's good value, similar to last year's unsexy Bobby Portis pick which continues to seem smart.

NBA Draft 2015: Final Mock draft (lottery only)

Well, being a parent and having a real job means not nearly as much time to putz around working on mock drafts. For 2015, I'm just going to post my final lottery mock, screenshot-ed off of ESPN's Mock Draft Machine to save time. 

Analysis:

1. Towns is an easy top pick, it will be fun to League Pass him and Wiggins learning to play together.
2. The Lakers are trying to be up to stuff, but are probably smart to just grab the big fella and hope his defense develops.
3. The Magic desperately need floor spacing, and having Porzingis could really open up their offense. They'll have to give up at least one good asset to get him.
4. The Knicks are just praying for Russel or Okafor to fall to them, and here they get their guard.
5. I'm sold on the conspiracy theory that the 76ers have targeted Mudiay all along and are happy to squeeze an asset out of Orlando if they can move down and still get their #2 target.
6. Hezonja is perfectly imperfect for the messed-up Kings.
7. Winslow to Denver is basically 2015 draft canon at this point. It just feels like an awesome fit.
8. Apparently Frank is running up the boards at the last minute, and with Greg Monroe one foot out the door he'd be an ideal fit next to Drummond in SVG's front court.
9. The Hornets (I love that the logo on the ESPN Mock Machine is still the Bobcats!) desperately need shooting and Hunter is the best overall basketball player left who is a good shooter.
10. Miami is in serious flux with Wade possibly leaving and Dragic a free agent. It's either going to be a total re-build or a situation where rookies won't be playing too much during a playoff push, so Pat Riley has the luxury of swinging for the fences. Turner would do very well to learn from Chris Bosh, they have some similarities in their physique, game, and early experience.
11. The Pacers have had no luck whenever George Hill is off the floor, so the heady Payne makes sense in a back-up/insurance/future PG perspective.
12. WCS has too much raw defensive talent to fall too much farther than this.
13. The local product happens to be the best player available, so why not? They have a sneaky need at the wing, as Marcus Morris and PJ Tucker don't really seem like long term starters.
14. The Thunder would do very well to pick up the multi-talented Dekker here. Playing on a team where all eyes are on Durant/Westbrook would give him an amazing opportunity to get the ball with space, where he is extremely dangerous.

That's it, there's no way I could say anything of value outside the lottery because I haven't had time to do my homework. Enjoy the draft!

2015 NBA Draft Top 5 Preview and Mock

The Minnesota Timberwolves will feature three consecutive #1 overall picks next season, an unprecedented youth movement coinciding with the likely retirement of the team's best ever player.

The Lakers and Knicks have questionable leadership and mostly barren rosters beyond their aging and injured superstars.

The 76ers and Magic want to win the Eastern Conference. In about four years or so.

These are the undercurrents behind the top 5 picks in this year's NBA Draft; divergent paths and opposite histories headed in all directions. Should be another fascinating lead-up. Here's my first look at how the picks will go down:

1. Minnesota Timberwolves
Reigning Rookie of the Year Andrew Wiggins is about the only for-sure keeper on this team, though they have some other interesting young players around him. I'm not sold on Rubio being the long-term solution at point guard, though he tends to be undervalued because his excellent defense has been wasted on bad teams. They will go with whoever they think is the best player, which I believe is a difficult decision between Towns and Russell. Towns would be the conventional pick, but a backcourt of Wiggins and Russell could be among the most dangerous in the league in just a few years. Ultimately, if they feel they can find trade partners for Rubio or Kevin Martin, Russell might be the best option. In the end though, Towns is the safer pick by far.

PREDICTION: Karl-Anthony Towns, 6'11" C, University of Kentucky
Pros: Towns projects as a solid 2-way big. He should be able to protect the rim and provide average offense, which is a rare and hugely valuable archetype.
Cons: His offense may not ever develop, which would limit his ceiling to a shorter Tyson Chandler type.

2. Los Angeles Lakers
With Kobe taking up 2/3 of the teams payroll as of July 1, this is a very lopsided team. Last year's lottery pick Julius Randle played in only one game before breaking his leg and missing his rookie season, so we don't know if he'll be any good. Jordan Clarkson was a nice story in the second half of the year, but most of his success happened long after the games stopped mattering. I feel pretty strongly that they should take Towns or Russell, whoever falls to them. If they are both on the board, I'd take Russell. The league is now dominated by Harden, Curry, Westbrook, Wall, Rose... you name it. Having a star lead guard is the 21st century equivalent of a low-post center in the 70s-80s. With that said, the Lakers have been center obsessed since George Mikan, and because Okafor anchored a team that won an NCAA title for Coach K, he has the pedigree they have always chased. Basically, I don't trust Dr. Buss' children to make the right move and take Russell.

PREDICTION: Jahlil Okafor, 6'11" PF, Duke University
Pros: Possesses skilled post footwork and excellent touch around the basket.
Cons: Lacks defensive chops, meaning that he will need to be paired with a defensive big. That means he's really more of a power forward than center.

3. Philadelphia 76ers
The tank job appears to be working. This seems to be an obvious landing spot for Russell, who would become literally the only PG on the team. If that happens, they may well end up with the best player in three consecutive drafts while picking no higher than 3 (#HinkieForPresident). If he is unavailable, they will take Towns or Okafor off the board and play him in an embarrassment of riches young big-man rotation with Embiid and Noel. One of those three would need to be traded eventually to balance the roster, but they all have plenty of value around the league.

PREDICTION: D'Angelo Russell, 6'5" PG, the Ohio State University
Pros: Can score in many ways, excelled in nearly every way as a 19-year old freshman.
Cons: Has had some trouble against elite wing defenders.

4. New York Knicks
Bad news Knicks fans: still the Knicks. Why did they trade JR and Shump for nothing? Why? I am still mad and confused. Melo, Calderon, Hardaway Jr., and Early are now the only guys on this team. Period. Melo's contract runs through 2018/19, when he will be making $27.9M. I don't care how much the cap is jumping, that's an awful contract. This is easily the most depressing team state in the league. There's basically only one scenario for success: Marc Gasol signs as a FA, Melo gets healthy, they grab a wing or two (Danny Green?), and nail the draft. That's probably a top 5 team in the East. As for the draft, Mudiay makes sense here. They need to swing for the fences, and while he's a very high risk the upside is there.

PREDICTION: Emmanuel Mudiay, 6'5" PG, Republic of the Congo
Pros: Has rare size and athleticism for a point guard.
Cons: Has never played against peers in a meaningful game, so it is impossible to assess his true ability level.

5. Orlando Magic
The Magic have been slowly building a talented team, with a young core of versatile individuals in Vucevic, Oladipo, Tobias Harris, Aaron Gordon and Elfrid Payton. But when you fit the pieces together, there are major holes on both sides of the floor. Offensively, none of those guys can shoot threes at a high level. That's a problem. Defensively, they seem to be headed towards rim protector + 4 switchers defense, similar to the lead-leading Warriors and Bucks. The smalls can all guard multiple positions, but Vucevic is not a good enough defender to execute the scheme. So what they really need is an elite rim protector who can shoot threes (possibly relevant side-note: there has never been a player like that). With all that said, the Magic will probably continue with a best available approach. Porzingis is a versatile talent who can learn the trade under Channing Frye.

PREDICTION: Kristaps Porzingis, 6'11" PF, Latvia
Pros: Is a skilled big who played well against adult competition in Europe. He fits well with the modern NBA concept of bigs who can move, shoot, and defend all over the floor.
Cons: Won't be able to bang inside in his first years in the league.

The east: It really isn't so bad any more

The balance of power has shifted again in the NBA. Some of the changes are more subtle than the conference's two best players coming back home (James from Miami and Rose from the surgeon's table). Paul Pierce and Lance Stephenson switching teams, the return of Al Horford, and the growth of all those Canadians should have a serious impact. Overall, I think the conference is much stronger now that in was in 2013-14. There are clearly 8 playoff teams now, listed below. None of the top five teams would shock me if they were to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals in 2015.

1. Cleveland Cavaliers
The best basketball player in the world plays for this team, if you haven't heard. LeBron with 7 average players has a chance to make the finals every year. With any luck, one or several of Irving, Waiters, Thompson, Wiggins, Varejao, and Bennett will prove above average. Also, Kevin Love.

2. Chicago Bulls
Even if Derrick Rose isn't a major factor, this is a dangerous team. Defense will always be a strength under Thibs, and they may have the best front court in the league. Adding a two-time champion in Gasol (who was awesome offensively last year), the best player in Europe, and the NCAA national college player of the year give this team incredible depth. This team looks like a title contender, at least on paper.

3. Washington Wizards
Stealing Paul Pierce is an underrated off-season move. In addition to adding gravitas and championship experience, he can play small-ball 4 with Gortat when Nene is out. Their soon-to-be-epic back court should only improve, and last year's lottery pick Otto Porter looks to have gained major confidence headed into this season as Ariza's replacement.

4. Toronto Raptors
Without making any serious changes to the rotation, the Raps are betting that another year together and more development from young studs DeRozan and Valanciunas will be enough to contend in the East. I tend to agree.

5. Charlotte Hornets
No longer the Bobcats, no longer a Joke. While power forward is a position of weakness, this team is suddenly loaded with talent. Getting Al Jefferson and Lance Stephenson in consecutive summers is a major coup for this franchise. They now have two creative ball-handlers (Lance and Kemba), the league's best post-up center offensively, a terrific coach, and good role players. Nobody will want to play the Hornets. If lottery pick Noah Vonleh can step in and provide floor spacing and rim protection by season's end, this team could make a very deep run.

6. Indiana Pacers
The Pacers trajectory has tailed off dramatically, to the point where I don't think Frank Vogel is guaranteed to make it through the season with his job. They will likely sport a top 5 defense and get into the playoffs without any trouble. But there is no end in sight for the offensive woes of this team.

7. Atlanta Hawks
Similar to Chicago, the Hawks were without their best player last season and still looked like a real playoff team. Having Horford back will make the Hawks far more competitive at both ends. Their depth isn't great, especially on the wings, but they play an interchangeable style and have a good coach so I think they are on the fringe of truly competing for a spot in the East Finals.

8. Miami Heat
LeBron left, dropping the Heat out of Finals contention. But they rebounded nicely by signing Bosh and Deng. Wade is clearly on his last legs and can't carry the team for long stretches, but look for Eric Spoelstra to prove his worth as a coach this year; he really is one of the best. Their ceiling is probably a tough first-round battle, but we're talking about the 8th best team in the East here, so that's a dramatic improvement over previous sub-500 East playoff squads.

Fighting for that 8 spot:
Nets: despite Brook Lopez returning, the loss of Pierce is just too much for Brooklyn.
Knicks: sorry Melo, I just don't think there's enough talent around you in Manhattan. Love the Cleanthony Early pick though.
Pistons: I have no clue what Stan Van Gundy is up to, and neither do you. Maybe there's some voodoo magic out there and he can flip Josh Smith and Gregg Monroe into some better fitting pieces around the terrifying Andre Drummond.

The other teams in the East are all terrible. Terrible. You might see some inflated win totals among the teams listed above because of the competitive imbalance.

2014 NBA Mock Draft v2

The 2014 NBA Draft is only a few days away, so here's my final mock draft.

#	Team	Player
1	Cleveland Cavaliers	Andrew Wiggins	It’s time for Cleveland to not overthink things. Wiggins has looked like a #1 for a solid year, and has the rare athletic talent and size to be a dominant wing player. I think his detractors are forgetting how young he is. Like all prospects, development will be key for him.
2	Milwaukee Bucks	Jabari Parker	This seems like an increasingly good fit for both sides. Parker can start his career in the anonymity of Milwaukee and work on his craft.
3	Philadelphia 76ers	Noah Vonleh	The Sixers are as disappointed as any team about Embiid’s injury, because it means Wiggins is less likely to fall to 3. I think they should pair Vonleh with Nerlens Noel and create a dynamic inside tandem with great complementary skills.
4	Orlando Magic	Dante Exum	They’ll be tempted by Embiid, but ultimately the risk is too high with Exum sitting on the board.
5	Utah Jazz	Marcus Smart	The back court of Smart and Burke would be non-traditional for sure, but a smart coach could make it work (see Hornacek, J.)
6	Boston Celtics	Joel Embiid	Danny Ainge knows a rare asset when he sees one, and will likely grab Embiid if available, if for no other reason than to strengthen their bid for Kevin Love.
7	LA Lakers	Julius Randle	Believe it or not, the Lakers are rebuilding. Randle is a forgotten man in this draft, but could easily average a double-double as a rookie and remind everyone why he was considered a top 5 prospect for most of the year.
8	Sacramento Kings	Aaron Gordon	He’s the best player available and fills a need. Clean score for the Kings, who should be getting better soon… right?
9	Charlotte Hornets	Gary Harris	Coach Steve Clifford is smart enough to know that he can’t get away with playing subpar defenders on the wing with Big Al manning the center position. Yes, they need shooters, but those shooters have to be able to stay on the floor defensively. That’s why I like Harris here.
10	Philadelphia 76ers	Nik Stauskas	The best shooter in the draft is a great fit here.
11	Denver Nuggets	Doug McDermott	Nobody knows what type of team Brian Shaw wants to build, but the legacy (and atmosphere) of the team always shifts towards fast-paced offence. Doug has a million tricks up his sleeve and should pair nicely with Ty Lawson.
12	Orlando Magic	James Young	With Aaron Afflalo being shopped, wing depth is a key need. Young is a nice upside pick here.
13	Minnesota T’Wolves	Rodney Hood	The best shooter on the board, Hood can space the floor for Flip Saunder’s offense.
14	Phoenix Suns	Dario Saric	Saric will spend the next 2-3 years in Turkey, which is OK with the Suns.
15	Atlanta Hawks	Elfrid Payton	There are rumors of Payton going much higher than this, but this is probably his floor. The Hawks have never been sold on Jeff Teague as the long-term solution at point guard, so it’s a good fit.
16	Chicago Bulls	Clint Capela	As I mentioned in a previous post, the Bulls are more focused on Melo than this draft. Using this pick on an international “stasher” can help save cap space now. Capela has out of this world length and projected stats, the makings of a future defensive anchor.
17	Boston Celtics	Zach LaVine	Briefly considered a top-10 prospect, LaVine has athleticism in spades but has no idea how to play basketball. Trust me, I’m a UCLA fan. I like the idea of Celtics “royal jelly” working its magic on this kid.
18	Phoenix Suns	Tyler Ennis	Rumors are going around that the Suns are looking for a point guard. Who knows if that’s true or why, but Ennis is a good value here anyways.
19	Chicago Bulls	Adreian Payne	Falling on draft boards due to his age (he’s 6 months older than Kawhi Leonard), Payne could fill a role as a backup big immediately because of his length, rebounding, and shooting ability.
20	Toronto Raptors	Jarnell Stokes	This bruising forward has been charging up draft boards due to his similar stats and measurables to Julius Randle. The Raptors are a good team, so they can develop this talented but raw young big man.
21	OKC Thunder	PJ Hairston	Hairston shot around leave average from 3pt range in the D-League, but was an 87% free throw shooter. This shooting potential, along with his NBA-ready frame, could make him a solid role-player for a shallow Thunder squad.
22	Memphis Grizzlies	Kyle Anderson	Something tells me the Grizz can figure out a way to incorporate Slo-Mo. He’d probably be better than Tayshaun Prince on opening night 2014-15.
23	Utah Jazz	Jusuf Nurkic	Seven footers who can score with their back to the basket used to get drafted in the top 5. This young man from Bosnia could be a terrific scoring big off the bench in a few years.
24	Charlotte Hornets	Shabazz Napier	Napier is a very similar prospect to the dynamic Kemba Walker. What a luxury it would be for Clifford to have a Kemba clone on the bench!
25	Houston Rockets	KJ McDaniels	The perimeter defense on the Rockets is flat horrible. Who guards Durant? Nobody. McDaniels doesn’t have a strong offensive game, but is a fantastic athlete and defender.
26	Miami Heat	Jordan Clarkson	Chalmers likely won’t get an invitation back, so Norris Cole needs a backup. Clarkson may be underrated in this draft due to a challenging junior season and being 22 years old.
27	Phoenix Suns	Cleanthony Early	Early is a great fit with what their building in the desert.
28	LA Clippers	Mitch McGary	The Clippers desperately need another big, and McGary has more skills than the competition at this point.
29	OKC Thunder	TJ Warren	I actually like Warren at #21 for them, so if he falls here he might be hard to pass up.
30	San Antonio Spurs	Jordan Adams	The metrics say Adams is one of the best prospects in this whole draft, and the Spurs certainly know how to get the best out of players passed on by other teams due to perceived limitations.