Draft Thoughts (#15-30)

#15. Juan Hernangomez (Nuggets) -- Any guy the Spurs like is a guy worth getting to know. This draft is turning into a foreign affair (and that's counting Simmons and Sabonis as Americans). Those players hard to predict, how to get to know, and the draft itself is unknowable, could be a classic draft, could be the worst class in eons. If Hernangomez scores the way I think he can, he'll play right away and fit right in to the Nuggets motif. Or perhaps he's a stash and we'll see him in 2017-18.

#16. Gerschon Yabusele (Celtics) -- I had Yabusele going #43, either there a lot of reaches tonight or the mock drafts I look at are way out of the know. Don't know much about Yabusele, my guess is he's a stash job, we'll probably see him when it comes time to decide what to do with Marcus Smart or Avery Bradley.

#17 Wade Baldwin (Grizzlies) -- Great pick. I think Baldwin is one of the more underappreciated (American) players in this draft. He'll score and play hard, exactly what the Grizzlies need. Grizzlies might be a grease fire next year or they might have that old timey Grizzlies grit to 'em, we'll see. Either way I think Baldwin is a great pick here.

#18 Henry Ellenson (Pistons) -- He'll fit well with their offense. With Drummond down low and Jackson dominating the ball, he fill the swing spot opposite Tobias Harris nicely. Could even play some minutes at the C in small ball lineup. Not an ROY candidate but I think he'll put a solid part of their rotation by year's end.

#19 Malik Beasley (Nuggets) -- The Nuggets are really adding a lot of young scoring tonight, huh? I wonder if Beasley slips ahead of Hernangomez on the depth chart (or if this pushes Hernangomez for one more year of Europe). Murray and Beasley are in a fight to supplant Gary Harris or it could be that three of them form a great platoon. (Hmmm, trade rumors were swirling about Kenneth Faried wonder if Beasley or Harris or Hernangomez gets moved soon? Telling ya, man, tonight is a night of subterfuge, everybody's dealing tonight)

#20 Caris LaVert (Nets) -- Brooklyn needs anything and everything but LaVert seems like a bit of a reach. Oh well, if he can play, he will play, so not a bad pick. He'll get a chance to play so if the Nets excede expectations in the least, LaVert could get some ROY consideration.

#21 Deandre Bembry (Hawks) -- Hmm, Hawks are going for a squad of Bazemore replacements. I dunno, could work. Hard working small forward, he'll be learning alongside Taurean Prince, if they lose Horford, they might both get time as the Hawks revamp.

(Forkan Korkmaz, Deyonta Davis, Timothe Luwawu and Dejounte Murray still on the board)

#22 Malachi Richardson (Kings) -- Kinda feel like the Kings should've kept the foreign vibe going with this pick. Richardson had a nice run in the NCAA Tourney this year but I still felt like he was too young to really discern his game yet. The Kings need finished products, not experiments, but his size and ball handling skill makes him worth it I guess.

#23 Ante Zizic (Celtics) -- Not sure if the Celtics bring him over sooner or later, but they need help down low.

#24 Timothe Luwawu (Sixers) -- Raw talent but kinda Antetokounpo-ish and the Sixers need everything, I think this is a good pick. He and Simmons might be great together. (If they take Zimmerman at #26, could mean Nerlens and Okafor are both on the move)

#25 Brice Johnson (Clippers) -- Great pick. Johnson has the ability to be the perfect contributor for a good team and Chris Paul is just the guy to keep the discipline on him. I think this is a great fit, think Johnson is going to be a solid player off the Clipper bench all year long.

#26 Furkan Korkmaz (Sixers) -- With Dario Saric on his way to Philly, Korkmaz might get another year in Turkey but I kinda thought he was ready play right away. Maybe he is, Philly has been featuring mostly rookies for the last coupla years, this year the rookies will actually be highly touted. I love a youth movement and I can tell I'll be watching a lot of the Sixers next year.

#27 Pascal Siakam (Raptors) -- Raptors are really stocking up on big guys tonight, not planning on getting Biyombo back, I guess. Don't know much about Siakam, not sure how he fits in for the Raptors.

#28 Skal Labissiere (Kings) -- Honestly, after watching him for a season at UK, I don't think he's worth the #28 pick but I do think this is a more realistic spot for him than the lottery where most mocks projected him. I think Skal will be a better scorer than defender, so perhaps he gets attention when he does get some playing time. I suspect we won't see much of him next year, he's a long term project.

#29 Dejounte Murray (Spurs) -- Murray was routinely projected as a lottery pick, so was he overrated (like Skal) or is he gift from God to the Spurs? It's the Spurs, man, you know its gift from god time! I don't know much about Murray but he's bigger PG than the Spurs have been used to. If he can swing the ball around and knock down an occasional 3, he'll fit in perfectly. And with Pop's rotations, he'll probably get regular playing time (perhaps a lot if Tony Parker gets nicked up). No idea what kind of player he is but he's a Spur now, so he's probably really good.

#30 Damian Jones (Warriors) -- A center from Vandy...guess the post-Ezeli era will be a smooth transition. When it comes to starting pitchers, Vandy has been great lately but if you're looking low post scoring, not sure Vandy is the basketball Wal-Mart. If indeed they do let Ezeli go (I think they ought to), then Jones will get some time. If he can score down low, he might be a neat little toy for Draymond and Curry and if he's a hard nosed defender he could be a real asset for them. We'll see.