Mock Draft 1.0 - Lottery Team Edition

[TheOGJabroni]

1. Cleveland Cavaliers - Andrew Wiggins
Wiggins or Jabari Parker appear to be the pick here. Wiggins is the one with the upside, Parker is the one who is more NBA ready. We have seen before that Cleveland has no problem swinging for the fences when there is no surefire #1 pick. I expect them to take the slightly bigger gamble with Wiggins. He may also be a better fit with Irving and Waiters going forward, even if that is relatively short sighted thinking.

2. Milwaukee Bucks - Jabari Parker
Parker seems to be their guy here, regardless of who else is on the board. He’s a combo forward who will seemingly fit well with Giannis Antetokounmpo. If Larry Sanders can get his head on straight, he will be able to help make up for any of Parker’s defensive shortcomings.

3. Philadelphia 76ers - Dante Exum
The 76ers will have a difficult decision. On one hand, Joel Embiid, who was seen as the best prospect before the discovered foot injury, has fallen right into their laps. On the other, is he worth the risk? Especially after selecting Nerlens Noel, another injured center, in last year’s draft. Philadelphia has made it known they would love Wiggins but it no longer seems possible for him to fall here. They’ve also expressed interest in Exum, despite having Rookier of the Year point guard, Michael Carter-Williams. I think Philadelphia ends up moving this pick, but if not, they take the best, healthy player available in Exum.

4. Orlando Magic - Noah Vonleh
Orlando could go a couple ways here. They have their center of the future in Vucevic and a great guard in Oladipo. With two lottery picks in this draft, they need to put pieces around them. Vonleh seems to be the guy with the most upside and could be a nice fit going forward in the front court. They could also look at Smart here but there seems to be plenty of guards to be had in the draft range for their second pick.

5. Utah Jazz - Marcus Smart
Another spot Embiid could land, but for a team that just let Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap go in order to give Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter more playing time, I think they pass on the risk. Marcus Smart is a combo guard who could fit very nicely in between Trey Burke and restricted free agent, Gordon Hayward.

6. Boston Celtics - Joel Embiid
If the Celtics’ medical staff feels comfortable enough with Embiid’s injury history, this is where the slide stops. Danny Ainge seems to have full support of Celtics ownership to make a high-risk/high-reward type pick like this. Having Embiid could also be a blessing if the Timberwolves are enamored enough with the young center to trade all star, Kevin Love for him.

7. Los Angeles Lakers - Julius Randle
Pau Gasol could be on his way out, leaving the Lakers with an already thin front court in shambles. If Gasol stays, he can play his preferred position at center, allowing Randle to play power forward. Randle seems to be a guy who is NBA ready which is good news for a team with Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash on their last legs.

8. Sacramento Kings - Aaron Gordon
There seems to be reports that Gordon’s stock is on the rise. I think this is the lowest he will go. The Kings seem to be strongly considering trading away the pick, and Gordon is the best player available at this point. If they do keep the pick, he is actually the perfect player to put on a team that is filled with scorers in DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay, and Isaiah Thomas.

9. Charlotte Hornets - Doug McDermott
It’s no secret that Charlotte desperately needed scoring last season. With Al Jefferson in the middle and Kemba Walker at point guard, the Hornets need a guy that can flat out score on the wing. “Dougie McBuckets” can do just that.

10. Philadelphia 76ers - Gary Harris
Another difficult pick to project as the 76ers could go so many different ways with their first pick. Assuming they have MCW or Exum running the point, they will still have a need for a wing player who can shoot the ball. Look at Harris or Gary Stauskas to be the guy here.

11. Denver Nuggets - Dario Saric
Saric appears to have signed a three-year deal overseas, but the Nuggets have a track record of drafting overseas player that can come to the NBA later on. If the Nuggets pass on Saric here, I expect a decent sized fall for the young forward.

12. Orlando Magic - Elfrid Payton
The Magic selected a big man with their first pick. Now they address another need at point guard. Pairing Oladipo with Payton in the backcourt, enables the team to have an incredibly dynamic defensive duo and will allow Oladipo to slide to his natural position at shooting guard.

13. Minnesota Timberwolves - Nik Stauskas
The Timberwolves may look toward the future without Kevin Love. They have a couple big men in Nikola Pekovic and Gorgui Dieng waiting in the wings to assume bigger roles for the team. What they will be losing with Love is outside shooting, an essential need for a team with Ricky Rubio at the loin guard position. Stauskas is arguably the best in that category in this year’s draft.

14. Phoenix Suns - James Young
The Suns have a pretty clear need at small forward. With Young and Rodney Hood on the board, it will be interesting to see who they deem to be a better fit going forward with the team that is essentially run by two point guards in Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic.