RealGM

Had a bit of time so I put this mock together today. This is incorporating team needs. Ignore the descriptions on the picks because they got cut off.

http://basketball.realgm.com/nba/draft/draft_simulator/view/182878/

1. Ingram - Philly
2. Simmons - Lakers
3. Bender - Boston
4. Brown - Phoenix
5. Hield - Minny
6. Murray - Pels
7. Luwawu - Denver
8. Dunn - Kings
9. Chriss - Raps
10. Poeltl - Bucks
11. Labissiere - Magic
12. Korkmaz - Jazz
13. Ellenson - Suns
14. Davis - Bulls
15. Baldwin - Denver
16. Jackson - Celtics
17. Valentine - Grizz
18. Ulis - Pistons
19. Sabonis - Nuggets
20. Prince - Pacers
21. Zubac - ATL
22. Jones - Charlotte
23. Zizic - Celtics
24. Beasley - Philly
25. Zimmerman - Clips
26. Bembry - Philly
27. Stone - Raps
28. Diallo - Suns
29. Maker - Spurs
30. Hernangomez - Warriors

Here's the hauls for teams with more than one 1st -

Philly 76er's - Ingram, Beasley, Bembry
Boston Celtics - Bender, Jackson, Zizic
Phoenix Suns - Brown, Ellenson, Diallo
Denver Nuggets - Luwawu, Baldwin, Sabonis
Toronto Raptors - Chriss, Stone

Why Luwawu higher than most others?

MessiahUjiri wrote:Why Luwawu higher than most others?

higher? he is even too low in that mock, he is going to go top6

Fischella wrote:

MessiahUjiri wrote:Why Luwawu higher than most others?

higher? he is even too low in that mock, he is going to go top6

Doubt it...top 12 probable, we'll just have to re-visit this one in 50 days

MessiahUjiri wrote:Why Luwawu higher than most others?

I think Luwawu will rise late. All around player with good size and great length.

If there's any changes I would make to this mock since I make it, it would be Jaylen Brown falling, Korkmaz falling, Ellenson falling, Baldwin rising, Zubac rising and Stone falling.

skywalker33 wrote:

Fischella wrote:

MessiahUjiri wrote:Why Luwawu higher than most others?

higher? he is even too low in that mock, he is going to go top6

Doubt it...top 12 probable, we'll just have to re-visit this one in 50 days

I think 7-8 is pretty likely, though if someone's adventurous higher up in the board then I could see him going Top 6 like Fischella thinks he will. Generally though, that Murray/Hield/Brown/Dunn tier is pretty consolidated, if anything I thought I was adventurous to put Dunn behind him, but that had more to do with Denver already having Mudiay.

Why do you think Ellenson is dropping?

With Mirotic/Portis/Felicio I wouldn't take Davis. I do like Davis a lot. If we were to get Davis I would hope that means no Noah/Gasol.

Management/Fred have come out in support of Bobby a lot this past season I think they really want him to play a lot next season.

Felicio showed me enough to put him in the rotation.

Taj? I would move him.

If we were to take Davis I would want it to be Nikola/Portis/Felicio/Davis. Still might be a little crowded.

Backup PG is such a mess it's hard to not see us grabbing Jackson or Wade if they're there.

At least as far as the Nuggets are concerned, I think you did a nice job. All 3 of those are realistic picks.

JohnnyKILLroy wrote:Why do you think Ellenson is dropping?

With Mirotic/Portis/Felicio I wouldn't take Davis. I do like Davis a lot. If we were to get Davis I would hope that means no Noah/Gasol.

Management/Fred have come out in support of Bobby a lot this past season I think they really want him to play a lot next season.

Felicio showed me enough to put him in the rotation.

Taj? I would move him.

If we were to take Davis I would want it to be Nikola/Portis/Felicio/Davis. Still might be a little crowded.

Backup PG is such a mess it's hard to not see us grabbing Jackson or Wade if they're there.

It's really a toss up - if I was to update it right now, I'd have us taking Baldwin, unless he's taken even higher. I do really like Davis, and I think he's a player the Bulls would be attracted to, but I agree that Baldwin makes more sense. I do think Davis would find a way to get minutes, though. I see him as a 5 man, and if Taj and/or Jo are gone, on top of the assumption that Pau leaves, that leaves significant minutes at C. If not, I appreciate that he'll be bogged down in yet another year with a overloaded front-court, but long term I think finding an impressive C prospect is important, with Jo on the decline and Felicio, as good as he looked at the end of the year, destined to be a career backup.

As for Ellenson, I think teams are really weary in big men that are liabilities defensively. He's a talented offensive player, though I think he needs to continue working on his range and efficiency, and combine that with little things like mediocre athleticism and not showing much as a passer and things, and I think he doesn't match up with the rest of the talent in the Top 10.

nomansland wrote:At least as far as the Nuggets are concerned, I think you did a nice job. All 3 of those are realistic picks.

Thanks. I didn't want to say Luwawu with that first one, because he's my #1 target for the Bulls, but he makes a lot of sense in that range for either yourself or the Kings. His projected range varies a bit, but personally I'm quite high on him so I think that works out well for you guys.

It was quite hard to draft based on any real needs basis based on the Nuggets situation right now, but both Baldwin and Sabonis seemed like guys you'd like and would be able to find a role for themselves sooner rather than later on your team.

GimmeDat wrote:

JohnnyKILLroy wrote:Why do you think Ellenson is dropping?

With Mirotic/Portis/Felicio I wouldn't take Davis. I do like Davis a lot. If we were to get Davis I would hope that means no Noah/Gasol.

Management/Fred have come out in support of Bobby a lot this past season I think they really want him to play a lot next season.

Felicio showed me enough to put him in the rotation.

Taj? I would move him.

If we were to take Davis I would want it to be Nikola/Portis/Felicio/Davis. Still might be a little crowded.

Backup PG is such a mess it's hard to not see us grabbing Jackson or Wade if they're there.

It's really a toss up - if I was to update it right now, I'd have us taking Baldwin, unless he's taken even higher. I do really like Davis, and I think he's a player the Bulls would be attracted to, but I agree that Baldwin makes more sense. I do think Davis would find a way to get minutes, though. I see him as a 5 man, and if Taj and/or Jo are gone, on top of the assumption that Pau leaves, that leaves significant minutes at C. If not, I appreciate that he'll be bogged down in yet another year with a overloaded front-court, but long term I think finding an impressive C prospect is important, with Jo on the decline and Felicio, as good as he looked at the end of the year, destined to be a career backup.

As for Ellenson, I think teams are really weary in big men that are liabilities defensively. He's a talented offensive player, though I think he needs to continue working on his range and efficiency, and combine that with little things like mediocre athleticism and not showing much as a passer and things, and I think he doesn't match up with the rest of the talent in the Top 10.

nomansland wrote:At least as far as the Nuggets are concerned, I think you did a nice job. All 3 of those are realistic picks.

Thanks. I didn't want to say Luwawu with that first one, because he's my #1 target for the Bulls, but he makes a lot of sense in that range for either yourself or the Kings. His projected range varies a bit, but personally I'm quite high on him so I think that works out well for you guys.

It was quite hard to draft based on any real needs basis based on the Nuggets situation right now, but both Baldwin and Sabonis seemed like guys you'd like and would be able to find a role for themselves sooner rather than later on your team.

I think Ellenson coming out of the Combine bigger than expected was very good for him. Whatever athleticism concerns there were with him at the 4 are now positives playing him at the 5.

Our team is such a mess and we can't trust the front office, makes so hard to pick a lane draft wise.

the celts have Rozier, Smart and IT already at the point. prince or Valentin would be a better fit at 16

I've re-done the mock, again. this is taking in to account team need and is a combination of my personal takes on prospects combined with what I think will happen. Of course, it's also based on the premise that they're all locked in to selecting at their pick.

It's very difficult and even as I immediately look back on some of the picks I made, I'm 2nd guessing them.

http://basketball.realgm.com/nba/draft/draft_simulator/view/208101/

Here's some rationale for some of the less obvious picks -

Dunn at 4 - It's a tough spot for Phoenix to pick at, I nearly decided to choose Brown at #4 again but I think they like Dunn next to Booker and want to see what they can get for Bledsoe on the market. It also gives Warren a chance to prove he can work defensively alongside Booker because he's a great young player and makes a lot of sense as an offensive compliment. They also add a shooting PF in Ellenson to provide some extra spacing long term to make up for Dunn and Warren not being prolific outside shooters.

Chriss at 5 - Another difficult spot, but I think this would be a great move for the Wolves. They'd continue the identity of getting super athletic, and Thibs/KG should be able to develop him nicely on defense and hopefully the boards somewhat. It's an all-around great culture there right now and if I'm them I'd be confident in taking a risk on a high upside guy and molding him.

Brown at 6 - They're just in dire need of some NBA talent on the wings. He's not quite ready yet but he's a confident kid and he'll be thrown straight in to the fire at SF for them. NO need to be thinking upside as they try and surround AD with some proper young core pieces before he leaves (a futile attempt but they need to try and keep him).

Skal at 9 - With Chriss gone, they're tossing up between Davis and Skal here, imo. Considering Davis has solid, but not massive range, I think they just look long term and go with upside. Skal's unlikely to contribute too soon but he could be a dynamic compliment to the tough interior presence that is Valanciunas.

Luwawu at 11 - I have yet to see Luwawu mocked to Orlando, but I think it makes sense. with Fournier closing in on FA and the Payton/Oladipo combination a question mark, Luwawu might add some fairly NBA ready insurance to their wing rotation.

Outside of the lottery, there's also Boston, who stock up with Jones and Bembry, on top of Bender whom they take at 3. Jones has been doing well in workouts and is in theory a great compliment to Bender in the front-court, and Bembry provides some NBA-ready versatility to their weakest position.

Korkmaz falls to Denver at 17 here, who conveniently stash him, as they already have 2 rookies on for next year.

Sabonis and Zubac fall in this scenario but are taken as BPA's.

Beasley at 24 provides a nice athletic 3/D option alongside Simmons who can run the floor with him in transition, spot up in the half court and play defense on the other end. At 26, Philly take Ulis, partly because there's not a whole lot of perimeter prospects in this range and they obviously have a glut of bigs, but also because they have an open rotation at PG. Much like Beasley he's great at both 3 and D (hopefully at the next level), but he'll also have an open trial at running the 2nd unit when Simmons is on the bench.

Brice Johnson at 27 gives the Raps a more NBA-ready alternative to Skal to provide front-court minutes.

If there's any other questions fire away.

Skal is fine for raps. We'd be content if BPA was a Pf.

I'd be shocked if the second pick is not a euro stash. Both our gm and coach have hinted we aren't looking to add two rookies this year. We already have a plethora of young guys who will be fighting to join rotation. That or pick gets traded....

S.W.A.N wrote:Skal is fine for raps. We'd be content if BPA was a Pf.

I'd be shocked if the second pick is not a euro stash. Both our gm and coach have hinted we aren't looking to add two rookies this year. We already have a plethora of young guys who will be fighting to join rotation. That or pick gets traded....

Good point - perhaps Hernangomez?

In that scenario, I'd push Johnson out of the 1st round altogether and I think McCaw would land somewhere in the late 1st.

Good picks for the Nuggets.

As a Nuggets fan, I would be ecstatic if the draft plays out this way!


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S.W.A.N wrote:Skal is fine for raps. We'd be content if BPA was a Pf.

Interesting then that the Mock lists him as a centre. We probably shouldn't assume he's a PF just because he currently doesn't have the strength to guard bigger centres in the NBA.

ciueli wrote:

S.W.A.N wrote:Skal is fine for raps. We'd be content if BPA was a Pf.

Interesting then that the Mock lists him as a centre. We probably shouldn't assume he's a PF just because he currently doesn't have the strength to guard bigger centres in the NBA.

You are what you can guard. Skal certainly has the mobility to be PF.

S.W.A.N wrote:

ciueli wrote:

S.W.A.N wrote:Skal is fine for raps. We'd be content if BPA was a Pf.

Interesting then that the Mock lists him as a centre. We probably shouldn't assume he's a PF just because he currently doesn't have the strength to guard bigger centres in the NBA.

You are what you can guard. Skal certainly has the mobility to be PF.

I think eventually he'll be able to play both positions, but that's pretty far down the line, at this point he's definitely a PF. He has potential to be a great mobile C, but with his lack of toughness and rebounding (at this point), I think you'd rather have a C alongside him. Valancuinas is a good compliment because he's a tough interior presence.