NBA Mock Draft 4.0: Draft Lottery Night predictions!
By Corey Rausch
Tuesday night is the NBA draft lottery. The regular season culminated more than one month ago and now the teams who missed out on the postseason will find out exactly where their picks fall. Some will begin planning exactly who they are going to take to ostensibly change the future of their franchise. Others will now know the exact value of their trade assets heading into an offseason that has somehow already seen a trade in the midst of the second round of the playoffs.
This is the night that everyone has been waiting for. The draft lottery is here. For Mock NBA Draft 4.0 we did one spin of the lottery and here are the results.
. Wing. Orlando Magic. Cade Cunningham. 1. player. 38
Cade Cunningham is the no-doubt top selection regardless of who ends up with the pick, but for the Orlando Magic this changes everything. They are in dire need of elite talent and Cunningham would be the best prospect the team has drafted since 2004, the last time they had the top pick in the NBA draft. He would be the primary playmaker and would score at ease while fitting in with the potentially elite defensive personnel already in place.
Houston Rockets. Evan Mobley. 2. player. 169. . Big
The Houston Rockets sliding one spot would still leave them thrilled as they would hold on to their top-four protected pick. Evan Mobley has the potential to be an elite rim protector who can also develop to guarding the perimeter based on the fluidity of his hips and footwork. Combined with his shooting touch (still developing) and his adept rim-running, Mobley would fit right in.
100. . Guard. Indiana Pacers. Jalen Suggs. 3. player
This is a boon for the Indiana Pacers, obviously. Jumping 10 spots will allow them to add an elite talent in the draft, even more impressive for a franchise who is never quite bad enough to draft this high. Jalen Suggs has the temperament and talent to be the locker room leader that this organization (and whoever the next coach is) is in desperate need of. Suggs is a clutch performer and an elite floor general.
149. . Wing. Oklahoma City Thunder. Jonathan Kuminga. 4. player
The OKC Thunder need to simply continue to take the youngest, best players available. With 36 picks over the next seven seasons, this is the beginning of the process. Jonathan Kuminga is the youngest player in the NBA draft and has the ceiling of the being the best prospect. He needs to develop but there would be no rush to do that in Oklahoma City.
64. . Guard. Detroit Pistons. Jalen Green. 5. player
This breaks as well for the Detroit Pistons as they could have hoped after sliding three spots. Although they are not yet in a place to draft for need, Jalen Green fits their biggest need and is by far the best player available. He has the best chance of any player in this draft of averaging 25 points per game. He would pair perfectly with the franchises three first-round picks from a season ago.