NBA Draft Mock: Los Angeles Lakers find Dennis Schroder’s replacement
2021 NBA Draft Mock: Houston Rockets select Ziaire Williams, SG/SF, Stanford
Williams had a poor freshman season at Stanford, shooting only 38% from the field and 29% from three after having a reputation as a shooter coming out of high school.
However, Williams is an excellent athlete with a 39.5-inch vertical and showed flashes of top-end potential in his freshman year, including a triple-double against Washington. He has one of the highest ceilings in the whole draft, and if he reaches his potential, he could be a two-way stud who can operate as a solid secondary playmaker.
As a pro, he projects to play at both forward positions, and his versatility should be an enticing fit on the Houston Rockets.
2021 NBA Draft Mock: Houston Rockets select Cameron Thomas, SG, LSU
The Rockets are on the clock for the second time in as many picks, this time selecting LSU’s Cameron Thomas. As a freshman, Thomas was a walking bucket, averaging a scintillating 23 points per game.
He’s shown a knack for getting to the foul stripe (7.6 attempts per game), and while his shooting percentages are below average, when factoring in the degree of difficulty of his shots, it’s easy to see Thomas hitting better marks in the NBA.
If the Rockets draft Thomas and intend for him to start, questions remain as to whether Kevin Porter Jr can shift over to point guard long-term or whether this mock’s #2 pick Jalen Green can play small forward. However, Houston’s lack of talent means they need to draft the best player available rather than overly stress about roster fit. Thomas is by far the best player remaining and has tremendous upside at this point of the draft.
2021 NBA Draft Mock: Los Angeles Clippers select Sharife Cooper, PG, Auburn
The Clippers did well to make such a deep playoff run without Kawhi Leonard. However, with playoff hero Reggie Jackson likely to leave in free agency, point guard immediately becomes their most glaring position of need.
Furthermore, the Clippers don’t have many picks over the subsequent five drafts, so there’s pressure on the front office to make this pick count.
At 6’1″, Sharife Cooper is undersized but makes up for it by being amongst the best passers in the draft class. One of the pro-player comparisons Cooper draws is Trae Young, very lofty praise. While Cooper isn’t the prolific outside shooter that Young was in college, his playmaking ability, proficiency in the pick and roll, and incredible free throw rate (8.5 attempts per game as a freshman) should encourage teams to take a chance on Cooper.
2021 NBA Draft Mock: Denver Nuggets select Ayo Dosunmu, PG/SG, Illinois
With the unfortunate ACL injury suffered by Jamal Murray ruling him out of next season, the Denver Nuggets are in desperate need of a point guard. Because most of their offense runs through MVP Nikola Jokic, the front office can afford to take more of a score-first point guard here to reprise the Murray role.
Dosunmu’s stock has increased this past year dramatically after putting up outstanding numbers in his junior year (20.1 PPG, 5.3 APG, and .488/.390/.783 shooting splits) for Illinois. A 6’10” wingspan allows him to guard much taller players on defense, and he can thrive both on and off the ball.
With Jokic taking a lot of the playmaking pressure off Dosunmu (3.3 TPG), the Nuggets are the perfect destination for his game to grow and flourish.