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Note: Team needs have NOT been taken into account.
Round 1
1 | Milwaukee Bucks | Joel Embiid (-) C, Kansas (7’0”/250 lbs)
The first pick is still very much up in the air. For now I do believe Embiid is the favorite to be picked because of his insanely high ceiling, but he’s not a lock by any means. After having a four game stretch where he was only averaging 7 points a game, Embiid played huge Tuesday for the Jayhawks by scoring 18 points and collecting eight rebounds in a nail-biting win over Texas Tech.
2 | Philadelphia 76ers | Andrew Wiggins (+1) SF, Kansas (6’8”/200 lbs)
Here’s a bit of a change. In both of my first two mocks I had Jabari Parker slotted ahead of Andrew Wiggins, but not anymore. Wiggins has been playing excellent basketball of late, through his last nine contests he’s averaging 18.3 points a game and really beginning to step-up as the catalyst we all expected him to be, and making his best case yet that he is worth the number one pick.
3 | Orlando Magic | Jabari Parker (-1) SF, Duke (6’8”/235 lbs)
After sliding to second in my previous mock draft, Parker falls back another spot. He hasn’t played poorly, but Parker has been slumping with his outside shots of late. Out of his last 20 three point shot attempts, Parker has only made four. We know he can shoot, he’s shown it before, but it would be nice to see some consistency. Aside of that, Parker is a bully in the paint. Despite his struggles on outside shooting, Parker has scored and rebounded efficiently in the past few weeks.
4 | Sacramento Kings | Dante Exum (-) PG/SG, Australia (6’6”/190 lbs)
This is when things will begin to open up a bit. The first three are likely locks for those spots but dynamics change from this point. There will be plenty of teams out there that believe Dante Exum has what it takes to be a star in the league, and for good reason. Exum features great size and tremendous athleticism, and I’m fairly confident right now that he’s going to go in the top five.
5 | Utah Jazz | Julius Randle (-) PF, Kentucky (6’9”/250 lbs)
There’s so much to like in Julius Randle’s game, he’s so impressive at a young age. Randle is a monster in the paint, he knows how to bully his way to the rim and he’s a vacuum cleaner on the glass. At this point Randle is probably considered Kentucky’s go-to player, he’s come away with a double-double in each of his last three contests. At very worst I see Randle as a great second option on a really good team, and I believe he can anchor a contender with the proper talent around him.
6 | Boston Celtics | Noah Vonleh (+3) PF/C, Indiana (6’10”/240 lbs)
This looks like a huge reach, but Vonleh has all the potential in the world and a really high ceiling. He’s a unique prospect, but with proper coaching he could be something special. Boston (or whoever selects him) will have to be patient.
7 | Cleveland Cavaliers | Marcus Smart (-1) PG, Oklahoma State (6’4”/200 lbs)
Marcus Smart’s decision to push that Texas Tech fan certainly won’t help his draft stock, but that’s not the sole reason he’s fallen a bit on my list. Oklahoma State has been slumping big time recently, and at this point they’re viewed as a bubble team. Smart is one of the sole reasons his team’s play has faltered, as he has run into a bit of a wall. However, Smart is still averaging 17 points a game over his last five. For me he’s still comfortably in the top-10 because at this point he is the best player left on the board.
8 | Los Angeles Lakers | Tyler Ennis (+10) PG, Syracuse (6’2”/180 lbs)
No player is taking as big of a leap as Tyler Ennis, and there is good reason to be absolutely enamored with Ennis. When it comes to running an offense he’s a natural, already showing tremendous leadership qualities at a young age in addition to his unselfish play. Ennis also looks to step up when you call on him; he’s not scared at all to have the ball in his hands in crunch-time.
9 | Denver Nuggets | Gary Harris (-2) SG, Michigan State (6’5”/210 lbs)
Michigan State is another team that has been disappointing as of late, but they seem to do this quite often. I expect them to get it going again come tournament time, but in order to do that they really need to start getting more consistency out Gary Harris. Despite averaging right at 18 points a game on the season, Harris is only shooting 41.6% this year which is a significant drop-off from last year. Still, Harris still has a lot of potential to be a very, very good NBA shooting guard.
10 | Charlotte Bobcats | Doug McDermott (+3) SF/PF, Creighton (6’8”/225 lbs)
It’s widely expected that McDermott will strictly be a one-way player at the next level. With that said, he may have the prettiest shot I’ve seen of a player coming out since Stephen Curry. Add that in with his ability to stretch the floor and he’s going to be a high pick. If you can mix him in with the right lineup to disguise his defensive weaknesses, he could make a huge impact in the NBA.
11 | Philadelphia 76ers | Aaron Gordon (+3) PF, Arizona (6’9″/212 lbs)
One thing that’s been really impressive about Gordon is his consistency, you can expect him to score in double-digits and grab you six to ten rebounds on a nightly basis. He is a raw prospect, but is super athletic and has pretty good size for a PF. I’m still worried about his ability to shoot, and am not convinced yet he’ll ever be a legitimate jump shooter.
12 | Minnesota Timberwolves | James Young (-) SG/SF, Kentucky (6’7”/200 lbs)
I would argue that James Young has as high of a ceiling as any other mid-round prospect. He’s steadily improved over the course of his freshman season and has definitely established himself as one of the best freshmen in the country. While he needs to get more consistent as a shooter, when he heats up he can really turn the tide of games. Improving his passing is also important.
13 | Orlando Magic | Dario Saric (+3) SF/PF, Croatia (6’10”/225 lbs)
It will be interesting to see where Saric ends up as there so many opinions on him. He’s still expected to be a top twenty selection with a good chance of going in the lottery, so this appears to be a decent spot for him. Saric is a very versatile player that has great court vision.
14 | Memphis Grizzlies | Willie Cauley-Stein (-4) C, Kentucky (7’0”/245 lbs)
Cauley-Stein hasn’t done anything to improve his stock, but hasn’t played poorly either. Despite his potential to be elite on the defensive end, I do think teams will turned off by his offensive inefficiencies.
15 | Chicago Bulls | Jerami Grant (+2) SF, Syracuse (6’8”/200 lbs)
The Syracuse forward has all the tools to be an absolute monster on defense, but right now he struggles with his jump shot. Granted he’s still scoring at a high rate because he’s efficient around the rim, but I’d be surprised if a top ten pick was spent on him because he’s shown no signs that he’ll ever be able to shoot effectively from outside the rim.
16 | Atlanta Hawks | Rodney Hood (-6) SF, Duke (6’8”/200 lbs)
This may be too low a spot for Hood, but the draft gets really deep around the middle of the first round. There is no reason to think Hood can’t be a good starting small forward at the next level. He can score in a variety of ways and should be able to be an outstanding defender.
17 | Phoenix Suns | Sam Dekker (-2) SF, Wisconsin (6’7”/200 lbs)
The Wisconsin forward is one of the most polished prospects in the draft, he’ll never be a star but he has what it takes to be a great glue player in the NBA. Dekker’s outside shot has been falling for recently, this is key considering his lack of outside is one of the aspects that holds back his potential. Wisconsin’s good play as of late seems to be directly related to the play of Dekker, so they will be hoping he can keep up his current level of performance.
18 | Chicago Bulls | P.J.Hairston (+1) SG, UNC/Texas Legends (6’5”/225 lbs)
Despite being out of the game for a while it took Hairston very little time to get going in the D-League. He’s one of the best shooters in the draft, but still has some things he needs to improve on on both ends. The interview process at the combine will be a key proving ground for Hairston, he will have to show that he is more mature than his reputation proceeds and that he isn’t the “risk” some front offices think he will be.
19 | Boston Celtics | Josuf Nurkic (+4) C, Bosnia & Herzegovina (6’11”/280 lbs)
The potential seems to be through the roof for Josuf Nurkic. He isn’t a player that will step in and be the rookie of the year in his first season, he’s more of a long-term investment but there is a lot of talent there. Johnathen Givony of Draft Express recently when on a scouting mission and said the following about Nurkic “Very difficult not to go overboard from what we saw from Jusuf Nurkic tonight. 16 points & 15 rebounds in 17 minutes, w/out breaking a sweat. Probably need to move Nurkic into the lottery, and that might still be too low. His talent is simply off the charts.” We are not going to move him into our lottery just yet, but he is certainly one we are going to try and watch a little more of.
20 | Toronto Raptors | K.J. McDaniels (+4) SF, Clemson (6’6”/200 lbs)
Currently fifth in the ACC in scoring at 17 points points a game, McDaniels is more or less keeping Clemson’s season alive with his stellar play. McDaniels is a pretty good athlete and really explosive, he’s also a good rebounder and decent shooter. McDaniel’s size (6ft 6in) hurts him, but he has the chance to be a premier perimeter defender at the next level, he has good speed and athleticism and is already averaging 2.8 bpg along with 1.3spg, McDaniels figures to be one of the sleepers of the 1st round.
21 | Utah Jazz | Jordan Clarkson (+9) PG, Missouri (6’5”/190 lbs)
The Missouri sophomore is now seventh in the SEC in scoring with 18.6 points a game and features great size for a point guard. Thanks to displaying such great size Clarkson is also a good rebounding guard, but he needs to improve his ability to run an offense which can be a difficult trait to learn. He’s definitely a ball-dominant player; he should also focus on becoming a more consistent shooter. Clarkson was not even featured in my last mock draft, but due to his strong play of late I had no choice but to bump him up our mock.
22 | Dallas Mavericks | Nik Stauskas (+7) SG, Michigan (6’6”/205 lbs)
No player in the country has been hotter as of late than Michigan guard Nik Stauskas. The Michigan sophomore is now averaging 17 points a game while shooting 44.6% from behind the arch. Stauskas has also displayed good rebounding and passing abilities for an SG. The knock on Stauskas was he was a one dimensional shooter such as Heslip, or Dawkins, but Stauskas has shown the ability to slash to the basket and successfully run a pick and roll offence.
23 | Phoenix Suns | Adreian Payne (-1) PF, Michigan State (6’9”/240 lbs)
Despite spending a lot of time playing center this year, Payne’s future in the NBA is undoubtedly at power forward. Teams will be high on Payne for his ability to shoot from the outside. He has missed a lot of the year with a sprained ankle, the injury just hit him as he was gathering momentum and moving up the first round, if he can carry on where he left off before the injury he could even find himself in the NBA green room come June.
24 | Houston Rockets | Clint Capela (+6) PF, Switzerland (6’10”/210 lbs)
Scouts say he is one of the best athletes to ever come from Europe, but really needs to improve his basketball I.Q. He seems like the type of player that a high pick could be invested on but will spend another season overseas further developing his game. He is one of the rawest international prospects we have seen for a while, but is certainly ahead of Bismack Biyombo who simply couldn’t catch the ball when he entered the league. He already has a Free Throw percentage of 57% which isn’t great, but is much better than Drummond, Jordan or Biyombo which will give scouts hope he will quickly improve when in an NBA training regime.
25 | Los Angeles Clippers | T.J. Warren (+2) SF, NC State (6’7”/220 lbs)
Warren is now averaging 23.3 points a game, which leads the ACC and is fourth in the entire country. Warren isn’t very athletic or a great shooter, so you can see why he isn’t higher in the draft, he is however a very clever scorer at the college level. The other knock on Warren is he doesn’t do a lot for his team other than score, he also sometimes struggles on the defensive end due to his tweener status. At the next level he isn’t going to be able to come in and dominate the ball getting a play run for him every possession, he will have to adjust his style of play somewhat to find a niche in the NBA.
26 | Charlotte Bobcats | Zach LaVine (-15) PG/SG, UCLA (6’5”/180 lbs)
While he still has a ton of potential, he’s shown in conference play that he’s not ready for the NBA yet and his game has some serious polishing to do. If he declares this year he will be selected within the first round based on talent alone, but in reality he isn’t even an above average college player yet. However, it would be hard for LaVine to turn down guaranteed 1st round money, so I fully expect him to declare for this years draft, even though he isn’t ready.
27 | Miami Heat | Kyle Anderson (+3) SF, UCLA (6’8”/230 lbs)
The UCLA wing can play multiple positions and he’s a very good rebounder. After shooting a mere 41.6% as a true freshman, Anderson is shooting an impressive 49.8% in his second campaign which has been good for 14.9 points a game. He’s also averaging a very respectable 8.6 rebounds a game. Anderson is very hard to project at the next level, the last 6ft 8inc guy with his playmaking skills was Royce White and we all know what happened there. However, Anderson figures to be much more switched on than the emotional White, despite scouts not knowing his exact role at the next level someone is bound to take a chance in the late 1st round.
28 | San Antonio Spurs | Montrezl Harrell (-8) PF/C, Louisville (6’8”/230 lbs)
Harrell is now the owner of a very impressive stat-line of 13 points and 8.2 rebounds a game, despite playing on a struggling Indiana team he has had an impressive season. His size and athleticism will always hurt his draft stock, but you can certainly see that he will fill a niche in the NBA bringing energy, rebounding and shot blocking for 20-25 minutes off the bench, look at someone like Taj Gibson as a ceiling.
29 | Oklahoma City Thunder | Wayne Selden ( -4) SG, Kansas (6’6”/205 lbs)
After entering Kansas with big-time expectations, Selden has put together a very respectable freshman campaign but I think he would really benefit from a second year in Lawrence. Either way if he does elect to come out after just one season he is still loaded with talent and would have a decent shot at getting picked in the first round. Sneldon has simply been so inconsistent and has been able to be passive due to the likes of Embiid, Wiggins and Ellis already being on the roster, if he were to stay another year NBA scouts would be able to see how he would handle a bigger role.
30 | Phoenix Suns | Semaj Christon (-4) PG, Xavier (6’3”/190 lbs)
Christon is super athletic and features decent size, he reminds me of a poor-man’s John Wall. If he waited an extra year, his draft stock could soar for the 2015 NBA Draft.
Dropping Out: Glen Robinson lll, Markel Brown, Vasilije Micic
Please find other consensus mock drafts:
http://walterfootball.com/nbadraftdata.php
http://nbamocks.blogspot.co.uk/p/2014-mock-drafts.html
http://www.dcprosportsreport.com/NBAMocks.htm
http://eatdrinkandsleepfootball.com/draft/mock-draft-database/nba.html
By Brian Emory
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