Thanks to everyone who participated in our community draft board series, where we essentially ranked the top 18 prospects in this month’s NBA Draft. While it wasn’t exactly a mock draft, it’s nice to see a decent consensus among our readers as to who people think is the surer bet as opposed to others. Here’s what we came up with, through pick 18:
- AJ Dybantsa – BYU
- Darryn Peterson – Kansas
- Cameron Boozer – Duke
- Caleb Wilson – North Carolina
- Keaton Wagler – Illinois
- Darius Acuff – Arkansas
- Kingston Flemings – Houston
- Mikel Brown Jr. – Louisville
- Brayden Burries – Arizona
- Yaxel Lendeborg – Michigan
- Aday Mara – Michigan
- Nate Ament – Tennessee
- Cameron Carr – Baylor
- Labaron Philon Jr. – Alabama
- Morez Johnson Jr. – Michigan
- Hannes Steinbach – Washington
- Karim Lopez – New Zealand (NBL)
- Jayden Quaintance – Kentucky
As mentioned, we stopped at 18 mainly because the Bucks are rumored to be operating as if they’ll have two selections this year. While that rumor never specifically stated first-round selections, if we go with that assumption, it seems plausible they’d have two picks in the top 18. That’s not only because a possible Giannis trade could get them pick 13 from Miami, but also because OKC and Charlotte own two picks in the teens: the Thunder at 12 and 17, and the Hornets at 14 and 18. So if the Bucks traded down with one of them, they’d pick no worse than 18.
But let’s just go with the order we currently have. The way we asked these questions was essentially “who would you draft with pick x?” We removed all names that had previously been drafted. We didn’t specify teams, because even if we think Aday Mara, for example, is the 11th best prospect, Golden State might rather pick someone else at 11. In any case, here’s how a mock would shake out with our board…
- Washington Wizards: AJ Dybantsa
- Utah Jazz: Darryn Peterson
- Memphis Grizzlies: Cameron Boozer
- Chicago Bulls: Caleb Wilson
- LA Clippers: Keaton Wagler
- Brooklyn Nets: Darius Acuff
- Sacramento Kings: Kingston Flemings
- Atlanta Hawks: Mikel Brown Jr.
- Dallas Mavericks: Brayden Burries
- Milwaukee Bucks: Yaxel Lendeborg
- Golden State Warriors: Aday Mara
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Nate Ament
- Miami Heat: Cameron Carr
- Charlotte Hornets: Labaron Philon
- Chicago Bulls: Morez Johnson Jr.
- Memphis Grizzlies: Hannes Steinbach
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Karim Lopez
- Charlotte Hornets: Jayden Quaintance
So what do you think about this? Would these teams make these picks? How about from the Bucks’ perspective? Personally, I’m a big fan of Lendeborg, but I’d only do that at 10 if I knew Giannis was staying. I like Mara in either situation, but I might opt for Carr, since he probably has the most star potential of anyone left on the board. If they also had 13 in that situation, I might take Lendeborg there, but Philon and Johnson appeal to me more with their upside.
If the Bucks traded down from 10, Ament and Lopez wouldn’t make much sense if they had 12 and 17, given the positional overlap and big question marks about each. I’d again go with Carr at 12 and then take Quaintance or Dailyn Swain at 17 over Lopez. Ament would be a good pick at 12 too, and then I’d probably lean more towards Swain or Allen Graves at 17. If Milwaukee had 14 and 18, Philon and Quaintance would be great.
