We’re currently in the midst of an another exciting college basketball season. Let’s take a look at our second Mock Draft of the year.
Since our last Mock Draft, a lot has changed. Some players has emerged as potential first-round picks, one player in particular is now getting top-10 looks, where previously he wasn’t on any mock drafts. Conversely, other players have fallen short of expectations, hence a drop in draft stock.
With Michael Porter Jr. seemingly out for the majority of the season, Marvin Bagley III has a strong foothold on the number one selection. Perhaps his biggest competitor isn’t currently in college basketball, but in Spain — more specifically, playing for Real Madrid. Luka Doncic has set the international scene alight with his fearless, yet flashy style of play.
Still, however, it’s too early to completely judge players as the season isn’t close to over just yet. There’s still games to be played, tournaments to win, and the pre-draft process to take place. Many more players with rise up the draft, and many more will fall before the season reaches it’s climax.
Without further ado, here’s our second Mock Draft of the season. This will take into account team fit and which players are (or aren’t) expected to commit to the 2018 NBA Draft. This early in the season, though, standings are bound to change, so make sure to take them with a grain of salt.
Marvin Bagley III is far and away the most impressive player in college basketball this season. He’s dominated every opponent he’s faced up against. Also, Bagley should still be a high school senior, but opted to reclassify. I’m sure the Atlanta Hawks will pounce at the chance of landing someone of Bagley’s ability, as well as upside.
The Duke star finally gives the Hawks a potential superstar to build around. It may be enough to eventually lift them up from the dreaded grounds of mediocrity. Paired with Dennis Schroder, Bagley will be feasting. The amount of looks Bagley will get when rolling to the basket is insurmountable.
The Hawks will likely have a high draft pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, giving them an opportunity to build a nice nucleus. Good times may finally be on the horizon for Hawks fans. After the impressive 2015-16 season, it’s all been downhill. Bagley will spark some life into the organization.
To say Luka Doncic has been impressive for Real Madrid this season would be a colossal understatement. The Slovenian is arguably having the best season of any international player in recent memory. And he’s just 18-years-old! He shouldn’t be doing what he’s doing, yet, he’s blown every expectation out of the water. He’s a strong candidate for the number one pick.
There’s always a stigma attached to international prospects after a couple of drafts busts — like Darko Milicic and Andrea Bargnani. Critics thinks that Doncic doesn’t have the athleticism to succeed in the NBA. Some people will find any excuse to dismiss an international prospects. Doncic’s athleticism has been better than advertised this season, also his frame is larger than what it was last season.
A high-profile player is what the Bulls need to restart the franchise. They’ve fallen on hard times after the injury woes to Derrick Rose, and after trading Jimmy Butler, Doncic will be a large part to the future of the team.
Despite not getting to see Michael Porter Jr. play in college, the Dallas Mavericks would be fools to pass up on him at pick three. Porter offers an upside much higher than everyone else on the board, he must be the selection here.
You could make the argument that the Mavericks have already invested their future into a player of the same position, Harrison Barnes, but Porter will soon earn that starting job. Perhaps they could play in the same lineup together, either one could play the stretch-four role.
Of course, a back injury will raise concerns as it’s never encouraging to see a teenager suffer such a serious back problem. His longevity may be of question, standing 6-foot-10, it’s likely Porter will suffer from back issues later in his playing career. Additionally, since the high school playoffs earlier this year, Porter had to miss time due to a foot injury. Also, he had to miss time due to a hip injury. Hopefully these aren’t signs of things to come for Porter.
Had it not been for the back issue, Porter would’ve made a great case of being selected with the first pick in the draft.
This pick is providing the fact that Marc Gasol finds his way out of Memphis, which is fairly likely considering how things are currently going. The Memphis Grizzlies have fallen far, far short of expectations. The downfall happened as soon as Mike Conley missed extended time due to an injury, the Grizzlies never adjusted to life with their star guard.
Arizona product, DeAndre Ayton, would bring some excitement back to Bluff City. Ayton has been a dominating force in college basketball so far this season. The big man’s old-school frame turns back the clock.
Ayton has the potential of becoming one of the most offensively dominating players in the league, but his effort is of question. He is often seen coasting when on defense, I guess you could say he has a short attention span when defending. This issues must be fixed if Ayton truly wants to be great in the NBA.
Pairing Trae Young with Devin Booker… could they be the splash-bros 2.0? I think it could happen. Booker is one of the most offensively talented youngsters the league has seen in years, he can almost do it all. Similarly, Young is a lights-out shooter, he also isn’t afraid to pull-up from deep three-point range.
Moreover, Young is a great leader. The point guard is extremely vocal, he’s always taking to his teammates during games. I don’t think the Steph Curry comparison is too far-fetched. It’s unlikely that Young will be as good as Curry, but the play styles are awfully similar.
Adding Young to an already talented core, the Phoenix Suns could be a team to worry about very soon. The Suns have the pieces in place, now it’s just about waiting for the youngster to develop. They’ll be a force in the West soon if they get their hands on the Oklahoma star.
Similarly to many teams across the Association, the Sacramento Kings have a decent core already in place. Over the last few year,s the Kings haven’t been too great, especially after trading multiple time All-Star, DeMarcus Cousins. Despite this, the Kings have manage to build a nice, young roster, including De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield.
The center position still raises some question for the Kings since Willie Cauley-Stein hasn’t been a good as advertised since entering the league in 2015. The big man has improved this season but I’m sure the Kings would opt to select Mohamed Bamba is he’s still on the board at pick six. This would be a great coup for the team.
However, we must remember that it’s the Kings. They always love throwing a curve ball, or two during draft day. Who knows what the Kings could do with a top-10 pick. If they decide to keep it, Mohamed Bamba should be the selection for them.
Thanks to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Philadelphia 76ers could have the opportunity to add yet another top-10 pick to their stacked roster. A roster already consisting of Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz, another premium talent may not be at the top of the list of needs for the 76ers. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this pick packaged in a trade that landed the 76ers a superstar.
If the 76ers do decide to keep the pick, however, Kevin Knox should be the selection. I’ve got a feeling that the Kentucky product will be a player that, in a couple of years, everyone thinks he should have been selected higher, similar to Devin Booker.
Knox may have to come off of the bench early in his career, but will surely eventually find his way into the starting lineup. The potential is brimming off of Knox, it would be silly to pass up on his at this point in the draft. In my opinion, Knox as one of the highest upsides in this class.
The Charlotte Hornets are a team that’s been stuck in mediocrity for years. Fans thought Michael Kidd-Gilchrist would be the prospect to lead the team into the future, unfortunately things didn’t pan out that way. Miles Bridges won’t single-handedly turn the fortunes of a franchise, but he’ll play a big role.
Bridges is an athletic freak, who excels on the defensive side of the ball. Sounds similar to Kidd-Gilchrist, right? Except, Bridges can actually shoot the ball, and he can shoot at a decent rate as well. The forward has been shooting threes at a 34 percent clip this season for the Michigan State Spartans.
I’m not sure how likely it is for the Hornets to sustain this poor run, they’ll likely make a push for the eighth seed. However, if the Hornets do land in the middle of the lottery, they should go for a more proven player, opposed to a high-risk, high-reward player.
For a depleted Los Angeles Clippers team that has lost their leader, Chris Paul, drafting Collin Sexton at nine would be a blessing. The Clippers has been in the shadows of the Lakers ever since they moved to L.A. in 1984. They had chance to make L.A. their city whilst the Lakers were undergoing a rebuild, but they miserably failed.
Collin Sexton would bring some excitement to Los Angeles, and would give fans a legitimate reason to watch the Clippers each night again. If the Clippers opt to move on from DeAndre Jordan, they may decide to embark on a quick rebuild as it’s proven to be very successful for a multitude of teams, such as the Philadelphia 76ers.
It’s unlikely that Sexton falls to pick nine, but due to how the draft order played out, it just kinda happened. Similarly to Dennis Smith Jr., teams may overlook his ability because he played on a sub-par college team.
The Orlando Magic are a very confusing team. One minute, they give their fans false hope that they’re actually about to realise their potential and start winning. Only to then crumble and fall back into the lottery.
Having just missed out on Collin Sexton, the Magic should draft the next best guard prospect — Lonnie Walker IV. Walker is a gifted scorer, highlighted by his 18.1 points per-40 minutes. Additionally, Waker is shooting an impressive 41.9 percent from behind the arc.
With Mario Hezonja almost certainly leaving this summer, it makes drafting a guard imperative for the Magic. Evan Fournier has looked better this season and Jonathon Simmons looks worth every penny, but apart from that, there’s little else going on. Elfrid Payton looks like a knock-off Rajon Rondo. The Magic needs to fix their backcourt if they wan to be successful.
Trevon Duval will get looks from the Magic but he possesses the same, detrimental flaw as Elfrid Payton — horrendous three-point shooting.
Fortunately for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Trevon Duval falls to their laps at pick 11. This would be a solid selection as Duval can use his speed and passing ability to open up the game. With Derrick Rose being an unreliable option, Duval will eventually be able to take the reigns as the starting point guard for the Cavaliers.
In addition to his playmaking ability, Duval is above-average on the defensive side of the ball. After seeing how bad the Cavaliers were defensively to start the season, Duval will be of great help on that side of the ball.
It still remains unclear whether or not LeBron James will actually leave town this summer. If he does, which I think he will, Duval will be a nice building block for the team. More years of tanking will inevitably entail, but the Cavaliers will have a solid backbone due to acquiring this pick from the Boston Celtics, via the Brooklyn Nets, in the Kyrie Irving trade.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have been extremely disappointing to start the season. It’s always going to take time when two ball-dominant All-Stars joins forces with the most ball-dominant player in the league, but they should most definitely be performing better than they are at the moment.
Wendell Carter has been overshadowed by his front court teammate, Marvin Bagley III, but he’s been impressive nonetheless. Carter has quietly put up 12.6 points per game, 8.7 rebounds per game to go along with 1.9 blocks per game.
This selection would give the Thunder a player who has All-Star caliber potential. I’m sure Thunder fans would prefer to win now, and rightly so, but maybe a losing season won’t be all that bad if you end up with a player of Carter’s ability.
This season for the Gonzaga Bulldogs, Rui Hachimura is still yet to show his full ability. The Japanese star has only played an average of 18.4 minutes a night for the Bulldogs. As Hachimura gets more minutes to showcase his talents, his draft stock should take a jump.
So far this season, Hachimura is averaging 9.4 points per game to go along with 4.6 rebounds per game. An impressive development for Hachimura has been the significant improvement of his free-throw percentage — from 54.2 percent last season to 90.5 percent this season.
Hachimura has a very high ceiling, but he is still very raw. I see this as a great pick for the Miami Heat as they are a team who are regularly in the playoff picture, they therefore don’t need the most polished prospect from the get-go. I’m sure the team will take a risk on a player with a high upside like Hachimura.
No one has climbed draft boards more than Villanova star, Mikal Bridges. Heading into the season, no one was really looking at Bridges as a prospect for the 2018 NBA Draft, however, after multiple tremendous showings, Bridges looks to be playing his way into the top-10 conversation. Some believe he’s already warranted a top-10 selection.
The New York Knicks is primarily built on the shoulders of third-year player, Kristaps Porzingis. Also, they drafted French point guard, Frank Ntilikina last year, he offers a fairly high upside. Adding an athletic wing who can do it all is just what the Knicks needs. The Knicks didn’t replace Carmelo Anthony after he was traded, maybe Bridges can be the replacement.
This season, Bridges is averaging 17.1 points per game, 6.1 rebounds per game, 2.1 steals per game and 1.4 blocks per game. This all-around production is what caught the eyes of scouts across the nation. In addition to this, Bridges is shooting lights out from three-point range — he’s knocking down 46.6 percent of his three-point attempts.
Similarly to Mikal Bridges, Nickeil Alexander-Walker has emerged as a bona-fide first-round pick after a string of very impressive performances. To start the season, Alexander-Walker had 24 points against Detroit and 29 points against Citadel. The freshman guard has cooled off a little now as he’s averaging 13.6 points per game.
Despite this, I believe Alexander-Walker has already shown enough to scouts that he warrants a first-round selection in the upcoming NBA Draft. Alexander-Walker has shown his ability to take over game, he just needs to learn how to consistently perform to his best ability, night-in-night-out.
The Utah Jazz could use another point guard on their roster since Dante Exum just can’t stay healthy. In the last three-years, the Australian has suffered a torn ACL and a severe shoulder injury that required surgery.
One area where the New Orleans Pelicans lack production in is three-point shooting and shot-creation. They have decent point guards in Jrue Holiday and Rajon Rondo. The Pelicans are also owners of the most dominating front court the league has seen since Tim Duncan and David Robinson, with DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis.
Allonzo Trier appears to be the perfect player for the Pelicans with this pick — he gives them everything that they’re lacking in. This season for Arizona, Trier is averaging 21.7 points per game, whilst shooting his field goals at an absurd 57 percent, and 44.1 percent from three-point range. Trier has been a dominating force for the Wildcats.
To further prove he’s worth being selected in the first-round, Trier could make a run all the way to the National Championship. The Arizona Wildcats have one of the most talented teams in the nation, anything less than winning it all will be considered a disappointment.
Since Jarred Vanderbilt hasn’t yet played a minute of basketball for Kentucky, drafting him this high could be considered a risk. Despite this, Vanderbilt is an extremely talented player, who if he was playing this season would be considered as a top-10 prospect. There’s a chance that Vanderbilt could return to the court before the end of the season, however.
Vanderbilt is one of those rare players who can do it all: score, pass and rebound. His height and playmaking abilities could make him a big threat in a couple of years time. The one area where Vanderbilt does struggle with, however, is his three-point shooting.
Given how Stanley Johnson has yet to take that next step in his career, the Pistons may want to go in a different direction. Johnson is by far the superior defender, but is abysmal on the offensive side of the ball. I can’t see a lineup where Vanderbilt and Johnson co-exists together.
This would be a dream scenario for the Philadelphia 76ers, as drafting Kevin Knox and Jaren Jackson Jr. would make the fanbase happy to no end. Jackson is also a top-10 talent but due to his performances and how the mock draft played out, he fell into the lap of Bryan Colangelo and the 76ers.
When Joel Embiid has to sit games to due niggling injuries, or because it’s part of a back-to-back, Jackson could provide the 76ers with that intimidating defensive presence in the paint. Amir Johnson is getting too old to perform to a high level consistently. And while Richaun Holmes has been impressive, he’s not too great defensively. Jackson would be a terrific addition.
This season for the Michigan State Spartans, Jackson is averaging 10.2 points per game, 7.8 rebounds per game and 3.3 blocks per game in just 22.4 minutes per game. For reference, that’s 5.8 blocks per-40 minutes. The big man is exactly who the 76ers need.
Some people may see this as a steal for the Washington Wizards, however, my view differs than most. I don’t rate Robert Williams nearly as high as the next guy, I see a lot of bust potential. Also, I think Williams made the wrong choice in going back to school, as he could have been a top-10 pick in last year’s draft.
This season for the Texas A&M Aggies, Williams is averaging eight points per game, 10.4 rebounds per game and 2.6 blocks per game. The rebounds and blocks are most definitely impressive, but the points production is pathetic in my opinion. Williams was meant to be the star for the Aggies, he’s been anything but that.
Additionally, Williams still hasn’t shown any life from three-point range, he’s attempted three all season, making none. More worryingly, Williams’ was already bad from the free-throw line last season as he shot 59 percent. However, this season, it’s taken a nose-dive down to 36.4 percent. Does this not worry you?
Outside of Luka Doncic, Dzanan Musa might be the best international prospect in this draft class. Musa is a talented scorer, averaging 12.6 points per game in all competitions for Cedevita this season. Additionally, Musa his knocking down 38.4 percent of his three-point attempts in all competitions.
The Portland Trail Blazers have their guard positions sorted out — Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum are the future in Portland. Also, Jusuf Nurkic has emerged as the unlikely franchise center for the Trail Blazers. Upon drafting Zach Collins in last year’s draft, he should solidly the power forward spot. That leaves the small forward position up for grabs… Musa would fit perfectly into this lineup.
As we regularly see with international prosects, they tend to pull their names out of the draft at the last possible chance. I, for one, hope that Musa keeps his name in the draft because he is a very talented player.
This would be a terrific pickup for the Denver Nuggets as Hamidou Diallo possesses one of the highest upsides in this class. It just so happens that Diallo is also one of the more raw prospects in this class. At times, Diallo has shown his ability to take over games. The most notable one being when Kevin Knox had an off-night and Diallo exploded for a season-high 23 points.
On the season, Diallo is averaging 15.2 points per game, 4.7 rebounds per game and 2.3 assists per game. Additionally, Diallo is hitting 38.5 percent of his three-point attempts. Shooting was a major question mark for Diallo heading into the season, it’s great that he’s shown he can shoot.
Over the past few years, the Nuggets have drafted a lot of players. These include Jamal Murray, Emmanuel Mudiay and Gary Harris. All of which are guards, however, I believe Diallo can emerge as the cream of the crop and lead the team alongside Nikola Jokic.
The sophomore season for Tyus Battle has been fun to watch. After a decent freshman campaign, nobody could have expected this kind of jump from Battle. Battle’s freshman season saw him produce 11.3 points per game and 1.7 assists per game.
This season, however, Battle is putting up 21.5 points per game and 1.5 assists per game, whilst shooting 37.7 percent from three. Battle has been the much-needed force to lead the Syracuse Oranges to a hot 9-1 start to the season.
Given the fact that the Atlanta Hawks are in the midst of a rebuild, Battle should be given the freedom to score at will — similarly to Donovan Mitchell for the Utah Jazz. If paired with Dennis Schroeder, the pair could form a formidable duo.
Killian Tillie‘s role for the Gonzaga Bulldogs this season has increased by a lot from last season. Tillie averaged just 12.2 minutes per game for the Bulldogs last season. Now, however, Tillie is averaging 24.9 minutes per game. With increased minutes, Tillie’s overall production went up, as expected.
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This season, Tillie is averaging 12.8 points per game, 6.3 rebounds per game and two assists per game. The French native is also shooting decently from three-point range — 34.6 percent. Additionally, Tillie has impressed from the free-throw line as he is making 90.9 percent of his attempts.
The Indiana Pacers have been much better than expected this season. Most expected them to find themselves in the lottery, however, they find themselves at the back end of the first-round. They still, however, manage to land a nice prospect who could develop into a good role player for them in the future.
It feels like this is a match made in heaven. The Milwaukee Bucks love to take a gamble on drafting long, raw prospects. This is evident by them drafting Giannis Antetokounmpo, Thon Maker and D.J Wilson in recent years. Nick Richards of Kentucky perfectly fits the bill of what the Bucks look for in a prospect.
On the offensive side of the ball, Richards is far from what he could become: a dominating force. Richards has had a couple of big games, including a 25-point performance against IPFW, shooting 9-10 from the field that game.
For the season, Richards is averaging 8.7 points per game, 6.6 rebounds per game and 1.6 blocks per game in just 18.1 minutes on the court per game. Due to the talent at Kentucky, Richards was unfortunately never going to get an abundance of playing time. However, Richards has shown the potential to warrant a first-round selection.
What an outcome this would be for the San Antonio Spurs. Bruce Brown showed great promise as a freshman but he hasn’t been able to take his game to that next level like we all had expected. It wouldn’t shock me to see Brown fall this far in the draft.
The Spurs already have their future point guard in place with Dejounte Murray. They also drafted another guard in last year’s draft, Derrick White. However, Brown could be a nice complimentary piece for the Spurs that could replace Jonathon Simmons, after he left for the Orlando Magic last summer.
This season for the Miami Hurricanes, Brown is averaging 10.6 points per game, 7.9 rebounds per game and 4.8 assists per game. Also, Brown has improved his three-point percentage to 36 percent. Scouts will want to see Brown continually improve as the season progresses.
Andrew Jones has been nothing short of amazing for the Texas Longhorns this season. The guard has been the piece that the Longhorns have been able to build around. If Jones continues performing the way he has, his draft stock should rise.
So far this season, Jones is averaging 15.3 points per game, three rebounds per game and 2.4 assists per game. Moreover, Jones is knocking down 44.4 percent of his three-point attempts, whilst attempting 4.5 three per game.
Due to the fact that the Brooklyn Nets have a shortage of draft picks, they have to take high-risk high-reward players. Jones could be that players from the draft class that people wonder how and why he was drafted so late.
Brandon McCoy would be an exceptional pickup for the Cleland Cavalier. As they potentially prepare for life with LeBron James, yet again, the Cavaliers must try to bring in the most talented youngsters in the nation via the draft.
Fortunately for the Cavaliers, McCoy is one of the best big men in college basketball and is still on the board at pick 27. The duo of McCoy and Trevon Duval has the potential of being a dominating force in the league once they learn how to play in the NBA. They will experience a lot of growing pains, but it could pay off in the long run.
For UNLV this season, McCoy is averaging 20.3 points per game, 11.3 rebounds per game and 1.7 blocks per game in 28.2 minutes of actions per game. This sort of production is insane, especially for a college freshman.
I’m sure everyone would hate Grayson Allen even more if this happened. Going from one of, if not, the most most hated player in college basketball, being drafted to the most hated NBA team would only fuel the hatred towards him. However, Allen is a great fit with the Golden State Warriors.
After a disappointing junior season for the Duke Blue Devils, Allen has bounced back and had a strong start to his final campaign in college basketball. This season, Allen is averaging 17.2 points per game, as well as 4.4 rebounds per game. Additionally, Allen is shooting 43 percent from behind the arc this season.
I think it’s fair to say that Allen has saved his draft stock. If Allen had a similar season to last season, he would have been at risk at not getting drafted at all in the summer. Now, he has one mission left: win another National Championship.
The third-year big man is putting together isn impressive season for the USC Trojans. Chimezie Metu came into the season as a ‘one-to-watch’, and he’s not disappointed. We’d all agree in saying that Metu has dominated the collegiate game this season.
For the Trojans, Metu is averaging 17.8 points per game, 8.1 rebounds per game and 1.9 blocks per game. Metu is exactly what the Boston Celtics needs: an inside presence who can also score and grab rebounds. I don’t think there’s a more perfect fit in the draft for either parties.
Metu’s best performance of the year came against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. The big man put up 31 points and hit three of his five three-point attempts. If Metu can continue hitting threes at a consistent level, his draft stock should rise.
It’s unclear whether or not high-schooler Anfernee Simons will actually enter the draft. He graduated from high school last year and will therefore be eligible for the upcoming 2018 NBA Draft.
The 6-3 point guard had originally committed to play for the Louisville Cardinals, but later retracted his commitment following the FBI scandal. Simons will now play this season at IMG Academy and will decide whether he wants to enter the NBA Draft or not at a later date.
If Simons does enter the draft, it will be tough to gauge how highly teams value him. We saw this with Thon Maker in 2016. Draft experts predicted Maker to get drafted in the early-to-mid second-round, but ended being selected 10th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks.
Next: 2018 NBA Draft Big Board 3.0
Don’t be surprised to see a rebuilding team, like the Atlanta Hawks, take a gamble one of of high school’s most talented players.