A pre-combine 2016 NBA Mock Draft to see how things shake out for the Lakers
The 2016 NBA Draft is just over a month away and the excitement is already real. However, every fan of the Los Angeles Lakers is waiting with bated breath for May 17 and the 2016 NBA Draft Lottery as that will ultimately decide whether or not the Lakers have anything invested in the draft.
As we’ve discussed numerous times before, the Lakers will keep their first-round draft pick if it falls in the top-3, but will lose the pick to the Philadelphia 76ers if it falls to No. 4 or lower.
Even with that uncertainty, though, there has been a lot of buzz about the Lakers pick as of late. First, there were rumors that the Lakers would be inclined to trade the No. 1 overall pick if they got it. However, Mitch Kupchak shot that down (seemingly) when speaking to the media at a press conference by saying that he had no idea where those rumors came from.
Regardless of any trades with the pick and even the potential poor outcome of the lottery, though, it’s never too soon to again look at a 2016 NBA Mock Draft to see what the Lakers and the rest of the NBA plan to do if they keep their picks and keep rolling.
Again assuming that the NBA Draft Lottery doesn’t change the finishing order of the teams this season, here’s a look at version 2.0 of our 2016 NBA Mock Draft before the NBA Draft Scouting Combine.
Next: No. 1, 76ers
Next: No. 2, Lakers
Next: No. 3, Celtics
Next: No. 4, Suns
While I maintain that the Suns would be better off completely tearing everything down and trying to start anew after failed experiments, I highly doubt that’s going to be the route that they end up going. In the end, Brown seems like the more obvious option for them and, if you’re high on his potential in the NBA, then it’s definitely a nice fit in Phoenix.
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4
Jaylen Brown
SF, California
In our initial NBA Mock Draft, I had Jaylen Brown slipping a bit for a couple of reasons. For starters, I thought that the Phoenix Suns might be so inclined to really try and blow things up with their roster—including with Eric Bledsoe—and might take a point guard. However, that seems far less likely now. As such, even a player whose upside I question a bit in relation to others like Brown becomes much more intriguing for the Suns.
As far as the Suns roster goes, they really don’t have anyone whose skill set really falls into the mold that Brown does. He’s a versatile player that is antoher guy in need of work on his jump shot. However, he has tremendous ball handling at the position and is going to impress people with his agility and athleticism, even if all of the measurable aren’t as good as they could be.
While I maintain that the Suns would be better off completely tearing everything down and trying to start anew after failed experiments, I highly doubt that’s going to be the route that they end up going. In the end, Brown seems like the more obvious option for them and, if you’re high on his potential in the NBA, then it’s definitely a nice fit in Phoenix.
Next: No. 5, Timberwolves
Next: No. 6, Pelicans
Next: No. 7, Nuggets
Next: No. 8, Kings
Next: No. 9, Raptors
What I love about the Raptors owning a pick in the lottery is that they have the luxury to take on a high upside player or a project and develop them into something special—a better version of Bruno Caboclo. Therefore, a prospect like Labissiere is highly intriguing for Toronto and that’s where I think they should use their pick in this draft.
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9
Skal Labissiere
PF/C, Kentucky
Here comes yet another pick in the lottery that’s staying the same as version 1.0 of our 2016 NBA Mock Draft. There was once a time when Kentucky Wildcats center Skal Labissiere was viewed as a top-5 pick. However, he clearly showed early in his freshman season that he had much more development ahead of him to become an effective big man in an NBA setting than realized.
In fairness to Labissiere, he did show tremendous development from that start of the season until the end of the year. Just looking at his frame, he obviously is still going to need to put on muscle so that he doesn’t just simply get bullied in the NBA. Moreover, it’d be nice to see a player with his tremendous physical gifts in regards to length and size to become sounder as a rim protector and become a better low-post scorer. The latter part, admittedly, would be a bit self-correcting as he gets stronger.
What I love about the Raptors owning a pick in the lottery is that they have the luxury to take on a high upside player or a project and develop them into something special—a better version of Bruno Caboclo. Therefore, a prospect like Labissiere is highly intriguing for Toronto and that’s where I think they should use their pick in this draft.
Next: No. 10, Bucks
Next: No. 11, Magic
Next: No. 12, Jazz
Next: No. 13, Suns
Next: No. 14, Bulls
Valentine’s upside may not be that of other players, but you know the Bulls front office thinks they are closer to contending than not and would thus be more inclined to look for a prospect that can contribute at a moderately high level right from Game 1 in their career. That’s what the MSU star should be able to do and that’s why I have him rounding out the lottery portion of this NBA Mock Draft
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14
Denzel Valentine
SG, Michgian State
When you look at most mocks, they have Michigan State star guard Denzel Valentine falling out of the lottery. However, that just feels so unlikely to me given everything that we know about the draft, the NBA, and how some teams operate. One such team that fits that bill would be the Chicago Bulls and, even if they already have Jimmy Butler as their star player at shooting guard, I have visions of them taking a proven and developed player like Valentine with the last pick of the lottery.
Make no mistake, this wouldn’t be the worst pick for the Bulls by any stretch. Though they have Butler, they have a ridiculous amount of depth in their frontcourt even with Pau Gasol potentially leaving this offseason. The area where they were most deficient this past season, though, was in getting production from their secondary players on the wings. The stretches when Butler was out of the lineup due to injuries were absolutely brutal because of this.
Valentine’s upside may not be that of other players, but you know the Bulls front office thinks they are closer to contending than not and would thus be more inclined to look for a prospect that can contribute at a moderately high level right from Game 1 in their career. That’s what the MSU star should be able to do and that’s why I have him rounding out the lottery portion of this NBA Mock Draft
Next: No. 15-16, Nuggets-Celtics
Next: No. 17-18, Grizzlies-Pistons
Next: No. 19-20, Nuggets-Pacers
Next: No. 21-22, Hawks-Hornets
Next: No. 23-24, Celtics-76ers
This past season in all European competitions for club and country, the big man averaged 14.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. He has a great frame and solid skill to accompany it. So when you again consider the Celtics’ need for frontcourt players, Zizic is a nice option.
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23
Ante Zizic
C, International
There are a slew of international big men that are projected to go at the end of the first round in this draft—or at least likely so. One of the more intriguing and most productive overseason, though, has been Ante Zizic, a 19-year-old prospect that has been playing in the Adriatic League and for Croatia and tearing it up at a young age.
This past season in all European competitions for club and country, the big man averaged 14.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. He has a great frame and solid skill to accompany it. So when you again consider the Celtics’ need for frontcourt players, Zizic is a nice option.
Next: No. 25-26, Clippers-76ers
Next: No. 27-28, Raptors-Suns
Next: No. 29-30, Spurs-Warriors
