Create Your Lotto Mock Draft (with trades)

[SkyHook]

Spoiler:

More fun to have some trades, so I tried to think about how the board could break that would cause them.

1. Dallas Mavericks: Cooper Flagg
Great fit, fantastic prospect.

2. San Antonio Spurs: Dylan Harper
Strong signals that they are happy here. Always a chance it is for leverage, but I don't think so.

3. Philadelphia 76ers: Ace Bailey
They don't need a guard, Bailey gives them shooting and he has been a disruptive defender at times in college. I don't think he is the third best prospect.

4. Charlotte Hornets: Try Johnson
Charlotte fans seem to want VJ, but I think Johnson is clearly a top 4, if not top 3 prospect in this draft.

5. NOP (UTA) ---> VJ Edgecomb
I don't really think VJ has enough upside for me to not want to capture the added value of moving down, but YMMV. New Orleans gets a defense first two-guard with lots of athleticism. In the trade, Utah gets a future first and a look at a "second draft" player who I think is better than he has shown.
(5, Svi Mykhailiuk and Johnny Juzang to NOP for 7, 2026 IND 1st, Jordan Hawkins)

6. Washington Wizards: Kon Kneuppel
Washington gets secondary playmaking and shooting. I really like Kon and think he's a nice fit for the Wizards as a long-term piece, even if he projects as a good starter and not a star.

7. UTA (NOP) ---> Jeremiah Fears
I think Fears has a lot of upside and is clearly a better prospect than any player currently on the Jazz roster. I have he and VJ neck-and-neck, so I'll take the lead guard who is over a year younger + some added value. Again, YMMV.
(5, Svi Mykhailiuk and Johnny Juzang to NOP for 7, 2026 IND 1st, Jordan Hawkins)

8. Brooklyn Nets: Khaman Maluach
I think there is a fall-off after the first 7 guys off the board. One of Brooklyn's trade assets is Claxton, I like the idea of them moving him and I think Maluach is a reasonable bet. He is big, young, and mobile.

9. Toronto Raptors: Kasparas Jakucionis
I think Kasparas is a nice fit here as someone who can play the 1 or 2, is very nice in PnR, and a fantastic shooter. He had a bad month in the middle of the season after missing two games with an arm injury and I'm pretty willing to trust his shooting prior to that, especially given that his freethrow percentage remained high.

10. Houston Rockets: Noa Essengue
I'm not really enamored with him, but he hypothetically will be able to shoot, dribble, pass, and defend. A team that is already good or has a clear role for him to go into to develop makes a lot of sense, so I like him in Houston or San Antonio.

11. Portland Trail Blazers: Carter Bryant
Bryant fits the MO of this front office. He has the body and movements of an NBA player and he can shoot. If he develops more than that he might be awesome, if he doesn't, he is merely useful.

12. Chicago Bulls: Egor Demin
Already rumblings about this. I think Chicago could use a nice prospect at small forward. Demin is a fantastic passer, but I think he gets unlocked more if he can not always be the primary initiator. This lets him escape some ball pressure and gives him off-ball reps. If, after a time, he looks like he is better at PG you can move Giddey.

13. WAS (from SAC via ATL) ---> Derrick Queen
The board has broken badly for Atlanta, Queen is probably the consensus BPA but he is a terrible fit and this is a center-deep draft. Lots of players in this range aren't great defensively and the ones that are will probably be available at 19. For Washington, I think Queen is a fantastic fit with Sarr and again gives them some secondary playmaking. It gives them kind of a weird-bodied non-traditional front-court, but it is unique and could work really well.
(13 for 18, 2026 OKC/HOU/LAC 1st [lowest conveyed], 2027 BRK/DAL 2nd [more favorable])

14. PHX (from ATL via SAS) ---> Thomas Sorber
I think there is a lot to like from Sorber who is very mobile, has a massive wingspan, is fantastic defensively, and has some nice passing instincts. I also think there is a chance the jumper projects out to three in a few years, but that is really bonus value. For San Antonio, since they are taking Harper it could be nice to mitigate the small backcourt a bit + be able to get better without detrimentally affecting their future salary structure. I don't think what is available at 14 + Vassell are enough to make you balk at getting Durant (but ... could be wrong...).
(14, Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson for Kevin Durant, 29)

Bonus, since I have later picks going ...

15. OKC: Cedric Coward
16. ORL: Jase Richardson
17. MIN: Nolan Traore
18. ATL (see 13): Rasheer Flemming
19. BRK: Will Riley
20. MIA: Ben Saraf
21. UTA: Drake Powell
22. ATL: Joan Beringer
23. IND: Danny Wolf
24. OKC: Collin Murray-Broyles
25. ORL: Walter Clayton Jr.
26. BRK: Asa Newell
27. BRK: Hugo Gonzales
28. BOS: Maxime Raynaud
29. SAS (see 14): Liam McNeeley
30. LAC: Adou Thiero

Love the detail, love the idea of the Jazz moving down for value.

Not picking on babyjax13 here by making a second post about his Utah deal, but do you think it's enough to justify moving down, even if Fears is the guy? Indiana seems very likely to still be good next year, and Hawkins may not be an NBA player. When Atlanta moved the Luka pick for Trae, they got a much higher-variance extra pick in the deal, which indeed ended up being #10 overall. Could Utah do better, or is the difference here that there is no Luka on the board?

Even though I expect the Pacers to sign still be really good, having an additional unprotected pick next year holds real value to me. Hawkins had an up-and-down year, but I saw enough from him that I thought he still had untapped potential. To me it's worth the risk.

[JRoy]

Spoiler:

1. DAL - Cooper Flagg
2. SAS - Dylan Harper
3. PHI - Ace Bailey
4. CHA - VJ Edgecombe
5. UTA - Tre Johnson
6. BKN (f/WAS)* - Jeremiah Fears
7. NOP - Kasparas Jakucionis
8. WAS (f/BKN)* - Derik Queen
9. TOR - Khaman Maluach
10. SAS (f/HOU)** - Carter Bryant
11. POR - Kon Knueppel
12. CHI - Noa Essengue
13. ATL - Egor Demin
14. BKN (f/SAS)** - Collin Murray-Boyles

* #6 for #8 and 3 2nd round picks
** Cam Johnson + #27 to Houston, #10 to SAS, #14 + future 1st (from SAS) to BKN

Pass on KK for POR. Some other team can waste a lotto pick on him.

1. As soon as I saw this mock I was eagerly awaiting your response, knowing your admiration for Kon.
2. Draft season is fun because we are treated to you passing on proposed draft picks as well as every trade offered to Portland.

I’m a people person.

Not to quibble, but I do not decline every trade. Just every bad trade.

[babyjax13]

Love the detail, love the idea of the Jazz moving down for value.

Not picking on babyjax13 here by making a second post about his Utah deal, but do you think it's enough to justify moving down, even if Fears is the guy? Indiana seems very likely to still be good next year, and Hawkins may not be an NBA player. When Atlanta moved the Luka pick for Trae, they got a much higher-variance extra pick in the deal, which indeed ended up being #10 overall. Could Utah do better, or is the difference here that there is no Luka on the board?

Even though I expect the Pacers to sign still be really good, having an additional unprotected pick next year holds real value to me. Hawkins had an up-and-down year, but I saw enough from him that I thought he still had untapped potential. To me it's worth the risk.

It is 1-4 protected, so not unpr. I just didn't put the protections since it was a big post (should have).

[Tim Lehrbach]

Not picking on babyjax13 here by making a second post about his Utah deal, but do you think it's enough to justify moving down, even if Fears is the guy? Indiana seems very likely to still be good next year, and Hawkins may not be an NBA player. When Atlanta moved the Luka pick for Trae, they got a much higher-variance extra pick in the deal, which indeed ended up being #10 overall. Could Utah do better, or is the difference here that there is no Luka on the board?

I really debated about what the value would/could/should be. A swap? A top-1 protected swap and the Indiana pick? Just the Indiana pick? The Indiana pick and a prospect?

I do think no Luka on the board is a meaningful difference. I thought he was the best prospect since LeBron at the time and when Phoenix passed on him for Ayton I kind of understood (but disagreed) but when Sacramento passed on him AND Atlanta traded him it felt like a bit of a joke. But, who knows if teams felt how I did, and I've been wrong more than right!

And I don't have the answer, either. I would just hope, sitting on #5, to extort a little more out of the team picking 7th. When the price gets low enough, it's no longer worth moving down two spots, unable to control what happens at 6.

[babyjax13]

Not picking on babyjax13 here by making a second post about his Utah deal, but do you think it's enough to justify moving down, even if Fears is the guy? Indiana seems very likely to still be good next year, and Hawkins may not be an NBA player. When Atlanta moved the Luka pick for Trae, they got a much higher-variance extra pick in the deal, which indeed ended up being #10 overall. Could Utah do better, or is the difference here that there is no Luka on the board?

I really debated about what the value would/could/should be. A swap? A top-1 protected swap and the Indiana pick? Just the Indiana pick? The Indiana pick and a prospect?

I do think no Luka on the board is a meaningful difference. I thought he was the best prospect since LeBron at the time and when Phoenix passed on him for Ayton I kind of understood (but disagreed) but when Sacramento passed on him AND Atlanta traded him it felt like a bit of a joke. But, who knows if teams felt how I did, and I've been wrong more than right!

And I don't have the answer, either. I would just hope, sitting on #5, to extort a little more out of the team picking 7th. When the price gets low enough, it's no longer worth moving down two spots, unable to control what happens at 6.

I'd honestly be perfectly fine with Kon at 7 in a move down. VJ has some really fun attributes but he scares me a lot.

[SkyHook]

I Love the detail, love the idea of the Jazz moving down for value.

I started doing one of these and I had Utah moving up with Philly (no Paul George make it too big stuff). I think Utah will have a clear favorite sitting there and its time for them to go start putting a core together. Philly doesn't seem to love anybody after Flagg and Harper so the opportunity appears to be there.

Utah needs no more low level prospects. They need someone to start building around. They don't have a single one of those guys on the roster right now. Oh sure they probably are kinda stuck with Lauri and will probably pay Kessler and call them core guys, but that's not a serious start to anything. But it could be a serious complement to something if they could find a guy.

I'm certain that you're right in that the Jazz will have their big board settled in terms of preference, but it's the strength of the preference that will likely determine their direction. Of the non Flagg + Harper candidates I have a clear preference, Johnson, but it's not an overwhelmingly strong one. No idea what the Ainge & Co think here. I'd rather they not trade up; Harper doesn't make sense in Utah and I think that Bailey is the most likely bust in the top-5 or so. If Bailey drops to 5 I'd definitely want to see what he can bring back in trade.

[SkyHook]

Not picking on babyjax13 here by making a second post about his Utah deal, but do you think it's enough to justify moving down, even if Fears is the guy? Indiana seems very likely to still be good next year, and Hawkins may not be an NBA player. When Atlanta moved the Luka pick for Trae, they got a much higher-variance extra pick in the deal, which indeed ended up being #10 overall. Could Utah do better, or is the difference here that there is no Luka on the board?

Even though I expect the Pacers to sign still be really good, having an additional unprotected pick next year holds real value to me. Hawkins had an up-and-down year, but I saw enough from him that I thought he still had untapped potential. To me it's worth the risk.

It is 1-4 protected, so not unpr. I just didn't put the protections since it was a big post (should have).

Ah. Still worth it to me.

[Texas Chuck]

Oh I will say I am super glad Dallas got 1(duh Chuck) because if they got 2-4 or kept 11 or dropped down a spot or two, I feel super confident I would only be looking at trades. I look at prospects and mostly see flaws....and heck even with Flagg an obvious choice I am far more skeptical about his star quality than most. I'd still be open to trading the pick if the right deal was there(a veteran, not Castle or future picks).

[SkyHook]

Oh I will say I am super glad Dallas got 1(duh Chuck) because if they got 2-4 or kept 11 or dropped down a spot or two, I feel super confident I would only be looking at trades. I look at prospects and mostly see flaws....and heck even with Flagg an obvious choice I am far more skeptical about his star quality than most. I'd still be open to trading the pick if the right deal was there(a veteran, not Castle or future picks).

I know that you've got John Collins on your mind here.

[JRoy]

Oh I will say I am super glad Dallas got 1(duh Chuck) because if they got 2-4 or kept 11 or dropped down a spot or two, I feel super confident I would only be looking at trades. I look at prospects and mostly see flaws....and heck even with Flagg an obvious choice I am far more skeptical about his star quality than most. I'd still be open to trading the pick if the right deal was there(a veteran, not Castle or future picks).

I suppose you would want more than Avdija, 11 and the MIL pick and swaps?

[Astaluego]

1 Flag MAVS
2 Harper SPURS
3 Bailey WIZARDS
4 Edgecombe HORNETS
5 Johnson JAZZ
6 Knueppel 76ers
7 Fears NETS
8 Essengue NOP
9 Maluach BULLS
10 Jakucionis HOUSTON
11 Queen BLAZERS
12 CMB RAPTORS
13 C.Bryant HAWKS
14 Newell SPURS
15 Coward THUNDER
16 Mcneeley MAGIC
17 Sorber WOLVES
18 Fleming 76ers
19 Yan NETS
20 Traore HEAT

[the_process]

1 Flag MAVS
2 Harper SPURS
3 Bailey WIZARDS
4 Edgecombe HORNETS
5 Johnson JAZZ
6 Knueppel 76ers
7 Fears NETS
8 Essengue NOP
9 Maluach BULLS
10 Jakucionis HOUSTON
11 Queen BLAZERS
12 CMB RAPTORS
13 C.Bryant HAWKS
14 Newell SPURS
15 Coward THUNDER
16 Mcneeley MAGIC
17 Sorber WOLVES
18 Fleming 76ers
19 Yan NETS
20 Traore HEAT

What are the Wiz giving to come up to 3 besides 18?

[Kiss of Death]

1. DAL - Cooper Flagg
2. SAS - Dylan Harper
3. PHI - Ace Bailey
4. CHA - VJ Edgecombe
5. UTA - Tre Johnson
6. BKN (f/WAS)* - Jeremiah Fears
7. NOP - Kasparas Jakucionis
8. WAS (f/BKN)* - Derik Queen
9. TOR - Khaman Maluach
10. SAS (f/HOU)** - Carter Bryant
11. POR - Kon Knueppel
12. CHI - Noa Essengue
13. ATL - Egor Demin
14. BKN (f/SAS)** - Collin Murray-Boyles

* #6 for #8 and 3 2nd round picks
** Cam Johnson + #27 to Houston, #10 to SAS, #14 + future 1st (from SAS) to BKN

Unfortunately, Cam Johnson’s contract would have to be matched by Houston.
If his numbers lined up with say Landale/Holiday, there might be a chance.
But as it is, there Rockets would have to trade Brooks straight up or add Jabari/Reed to Landale to make the money work.
Then the trade no longer makes sense for Houston.

I think the Rockets end up just doing a #10 pick to the Nets for multiple later picks trade if they do anything at all.

[brackdan70]

There are always a couple guys that slip several spots based on the “consensus” I feel like this year too 14-15 is pretty clear…interesting to see a couple of you with Coward at 15 though. Will be interesting to see how high he goes.
Who are slippers?
For me I wonder about some of the bigs. Maluach, Queen, Sorber. I don’t think Maluach will slip out of the lotto, but maybe go lower than many expect. I could see Queen in the late teens.

[aguiar95]

1. Dallas Mavericks - FLAGG
2. San Antonio Spurs - HARPER
3. Philadelphia 76ers - BAYLEY
4. Charlotte Hornets - EDGECOMBE
5. Utah Jazz - JOHNSON
6. Washington Wizards - QUEEN
7. New Orleans Pelicans - MALUACH
8. Brooklyn Nets - FEARS
9. Toronto Raptors - BRYANT
10. Houston Rockets - KNUEPPEL
11. Portland Trail Blazers - JAKUCIONIS
12. Chicago Bulls - MURRAY-BOYLES
13. Atlanta Hawks - BERINGER
14. San Antonio Spurs - ESSENGUE

IMO it's very uncommon to have big trades involving top6-8 picks, if there's action, I expect to be in the 10-14 range (obviously after that it's mayhem).

Possible trade:

- TOR moves an assett (Dick, Agbaji, pick) to swap with Washington and grab Maluach before NOP, WAS probably gets Queen at #9

[gswhoops]

1. DAL - Cooper Flagg
2. SAS - Dylan Harper
3. PHI - Ace Bailey
4. CHA - VJ Edgecombe
5. UTA - Tre Johnson
6. BKN (f/WAS)* - Jeremiah Fears
7. NOP - Kasparas Jakucionis
8. WAS (f/BKN)* - Derik Queen
9. TOR - Khaman Maluach
10. SAS (f/HOU)** - Carter Bryant
11. POR - Kon Knueppel
12. CHI - Noa Essengue
13. ATL - Egor Demin
14. BKN (f/SAS)** - Collin Murray-Boyles

* #6 for #8 and 3 2nd round picks
** Cam Johnson + #27 to Houston, #10 to SAS, #14 + future 1st (from SAS) to BKN

Unfortunately, Cam Johnson’s contract would have to be matched by Houston.
If his numbers lined up with say Landale/Holiday, there might be a chance.
But as it is, there Rockets would have to trade Brooks straight up or add Jabari/Reed to Landale to make the money work.
Then the trade no longer makes sense for Houston.

I think the Rockets end up just doing a #10 pick to the Nets for multiple later picks trade if they do anything at all.

There’s ways around that. For example, they could just wait until FA starts and S&T Jeff Green for however much they need to make it legal. Has to be 3 years but only the first one has to be guaranteed.

[SkyHook]

1. DAL - Cooper Flagg
2. SAS - Dylan Harper
3. PHI - Ace Bailey
4. CHA - VJ Edgecombe
5. UTA - Tre Johnson
6. BKN (f/WAS)* - Jeremiah Fears
7. NOP - Kasparas Jakucionis
8. WAS (f/BKN)* - Derik Queen
9. TOR - Khaman Maluach
10. SAS (f/HOU)** - Carter Bryant
11. POR - Kon Knueppel
12. CHI - Noa Essengue
13. ATL - Egor Demin
14. BKN (f/SAS)** - Collin Murray-Boyles

* #6 for #8 and 3 2nd round picks
** Cam Johnson + #27 to Houston, #10 to SAS, #14 + future 1st (from SAS) to BKN

Unfortunately, Cam Johnson’s contract would have to be matched by Houston.
If his numbers lined up with say Landale/Holiday, there might be a chance.
But as it is, there Rockets would have to trade Brooks straight up or add Jabari/Reed to Landale to make the money work.
Then the trade no longer makes sense for Houston.

I think the Rockets end up just doing a #10 pick to the Nets for multiple later picks trade if they do anything at all.

There’s ways around that. For example, they could just wait until FA starts and S&T Jeff Green for however much they need to make it legal. Has to be 3 years but only the first one has to be guaranteed.

Uncle Jeff makes for excellent cap fodder.

[Mr Swagtastic]

1 Flag MAVS
2 Harper SPURS
3 Bailey WIZARDS
4 Edgecombe HORNETS
5 Johnson JAZZ
6 Knueppel 76ers
7 Fears NETS
8 Essengue NOP
9 Maluach BULLS
10 Jakucionis HOUSTON
11 Queen BLAZERS
12 CMB RAPTORS
13 C.Bryant HAWKS
14 Newell SPURS
15 Coward THUNDER
16 Mcneeley MAGIC
17 Sorber WOLVES
18 Fleming 76ers
19 Yan NETS
20 Traore HEAT

What's the incentive for Toronto to trade down? Murray-Boyles isn't a great fit next to Barnes. If Maluach is available Toronto takes him

[DNP-Old]

1. Dallas Mavericks - Flagg
2. San Antonio Spurs - Harper
3. Philadelphia 76ers - Edgecombe
4. Charlotte Hornets - Fears
5. Utah Jazz - Bailey
6. Washington Wizards - Johnson
7. New Orleans Pelicans - Knueppel
8. Brooklyn Nets - Traore
9. Toronto Raptors - Maluach
10. Houston Rockets - Demin
11. Portland Trail Blazers - Essengue
12. Chicago Bulls - Sorber
13. Atlanta Hawks - Clifford
14. San Antonio Spurs - Raynaud