#2. Brandon Ingram (Lakers) -- Kobe's replacement. He'll got a lot of run, a lot of opportunities right away, Coach Walton will treat him right. We'll see what moves the Lakers make before opening night, but right now I don't see the Lakers as a playoff team, though they should be sniffing around #8. Ingram will have a good chance at ROY.
#3 Jaylen Brown (Celtics) -- Interesting pick, wouldn't be surprised to see him on another team by the end of the night. Brown is a raw talent but when you've got Coach Stevens, raw is just fine, it means fewer bad habits. Brown is either a replacement for a possible trade (Bradley on the move?) or he is the possible trade (does Brown them Jahlil Okafor?). I think Brown's gonna be good, I think he can be good for the Celtics but for Boston this seems like a reach which makes me think someone else wants him.
#4 Dragan Bender (Suns) -- Good pick. Bender has been an impressive prospect, interesting game, I think he can play with Knight or Bledsoe or Booker (would you be shocked if all three got traded and replaced with three totally different PG's to fight over the ball?). Or he too could be interesting to other teams, the Suns are loaded down with trade bait and Bender might be one of them.
#5 Kris Dunn (Wolves) -- I would've thought Hield or Murray for the Wolves, some young scoring to go with Wiggins' sick defense. The talk of Rubio on the move has been heating up, so Dunn seems like the logical replacement. I know Thibs wants to win now but this team is already young, you sure you're going deep in the playoffs with a rookie PG? Maybe, Dunn looks like he's gonna be really good but even Dunn could use a wing scorer to go with.
#6 Buddy Hield (Pelicans) -- Pelicans need all the perimeter scoring they can get. Hield is a senior, a little older than the others in this draft, I think he'll play right away. He's a one dimensional player but his one dimension is really big in the NBA right now and if he can score, he'll be a big score right away. Hield with Alvin Gentry has ROY potential.
#7 Jamal Murray (Nuggets) -- Murray fits in with the free flowing Nugget offense, he'll score just fine right away. Nuggets are a young team (wouldn't be surprised to see them trade Faried for more draft picks), so the expectations are not high but they have a great home court advantage, so if they come together they can hang around the #8 spot. I think the Nuggets are maybe the best place for Murray: he shoots the ball and the Nuggets love scorers. I think the Nuggets will be too young and sloppy for Murray to get serious ROY consideration but he should score from the gitty and be a solid #2 in this league for a while.
#8 Marquis Chriss (Kings) -- Yeah, the most wildly overrated reach of a pick to a team that desperately needs reliable young talent. Oh well. Hopefully Coach Joerger will get this young man on the right path. I think the Kings will be horrible and I don't have high hopes for Chriss in the near or long term.
#9 Jakob Poetl (Raptors) -- Curious pick. They already have Lucas Noquiera and Bruno Caboclo waiting in the wings, is this an acknowledgement they're ready to move on from the Brazilian duo? Or he is future trade bait? (On a night like tonight, that is a possibility for every single remaining pick before and after the pick is redeemed) I'm not a huge fan of Poetl, I think he can be a solid Zeller-ish presence, which isn't a bad thing but it isn't a great thing and I think there are better players available at #9.
#10 Thon Maker (Bucks) -- BOOM! Bucks dropped a boms on #10. The enigmatic Thon Maker has been all over the place (I've seen as high as #14, as low at late 50s; I had him going #31 to the Celtics) and in the last few hours rumors of lying about his age were heating up of the internet. Seems like damaged goods and he's only 19 (roughly). But the Bucks must've seen something like they liked because they dropped him into the #10 salary slot. Okay, we'll see. I have no idea who he really is or what he's like, no idea what kinda of future he'll have. Is he here to replace Greg Monroe?
#11 Damontis Sabonis (Magic) -- Good pick, I think Sabonis is gonna be a good player (think Josh McRoberts with a scoring touch). I guess a he's a good fit for the Magic.
#12 (If the Hawks traded up to get Skal Labisserie, I'm gonna barf on my shoes) Taurean Prince (Hawks) -- Well, that's better than getting Labisserie but not much. I think they could've gotten Prince with the #21 pick (I had him going #30 to the Warriors), not sure he was worth dumping Jeff Teague for. Oh well. Don't know much about him, I guess he replaces Kent Bazemore?
#13 Georgios Papagiannis (Suns) -- Papagiannis just appeared in the mock draft world in the last coupla weeks, I kinda thought the Bucks would have an eye for him but they took Thon Maker instead (hmmmm, any chance those two picks get swapped?). Don't know anything about Papagiannis except that he is an insane reach at #13, so either he's a trade piece or they're going for an all international flavor in Phoenix?
#14 Denzel Valentine (Bulls) -- Personally I was really impressed with Valentine's game at Michigan State. He's big, a sure ball handler and can do a little bit of everything on the court. If you can't figure out how to work with that then you need to get out of the basketball business. Whispers of health concerns looked to drop Valentine out of the lottery (I had him going #18) but I think he can be a really good PG and, well, the Bulls are suddenly looking for one of those. I don't think he's an ROY candidate (although who know what the Bulls will look like next year?) because I don't think he'll dominate the ball, though a playmaking distributor is probably his best role.
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