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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Cleveland Cavaliers need a power forward above all else. Jalen Johnson’s sample size is not what you want but the talent is too good to pass up for a Cavs team hoping this is their last chance at a high lottery pick. He canned 44 percent of his 3-point shots last season (albeit only 18 attempts). He is dynamic in transition and would pair amazingly with Darius Garland.
For the Golden State Warriors with their first pick in the NBA draft (sorry Minnesota Timberwolves fans), Scottie Barnes is a perfect fit. He is an elite defensive playmaker who would be learning from the prototype for what his absolute ceiling looks like in Draymond Green. He cannot shoot but will have more than enough time to develop that with as few attempts as he would be asked to take.
If Kyle Lowry is going to leave in free agency (he is) adding a point guard of the future makes plenty of sense for the Toronto Raptors. Josh Giddey is 6’8” and an elite passer and would unlock the ball movement that made the Raptors special when they were clicking. Fred VanVleet would cover some of his current defensive holes and the organization has a history of helping players realize their potential on both ends of the court.
With their second pick in the NBA draft, the Magic take a swing for more potential after taking the safe (and elite) Cade Cunningham at the top of the draft. He is a great wing defender and has the shooting touch teams dream of. This would be the second perimeter defender the Magic adding, setting them up well to succeed. This is the type of draft that would change their franchise.
For the rest of the NBA draft, the Sacramento Kings are something of an inflection point. They could go in a myriad of directions because the fit amongst their current players is murkier than mt teams. Ziaire Williams has hit a growth spurt since the end of his college season He is raw but for the Kings they need another prospect ready to pop alongside De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton.
The New Orleans Pelicans offensive gameplan needs shooting to give some breathing room to Zion Williamson. Corey Kispert hit 44.4 percent of his 3-point shots last season and also has the potential to be an elite wing defender. He brings everything the Pelicans need to take the next step (beyond a coach that understands the locker room). For a team in desperate need of starting to get things right, Kispert checks a lot of boxes.
It has been no secret all season that the Charlotte Hornets’ biggest need for their future is a big man. Kai Jones is the best center prospect on the board and would get a chance to develop with the young core of P.J. Washington, Miles Bridges and LaMelo Ball. Like Washington, he has the potential to stretch the floor, opening the lane for Bridges and Ball. He would be the rim protector they sorely lacked. Jones is the easy pick here.
Pegging exactly what the San Antonio Spurs need is always something of a crapshoot and this season is no different. Keon Johnson is the best player available and plays a brand of basketball the Spurs love. He has op of the draft athleticism and has strong defensive instincts. His shot is not there, but the Spurs have fixed that for countless prospects and for Johnson it is not broken. It just needs work and time to improve.
With their second lottery pick, the Warriors add a prototypical go-to bench scorer to a team who could use someone to give Steph Curry the occasional break. He is a dynamite slasher and gets to the rim with ease. His passes are smooth but he needs to improve his decision-making. Going to the Warriors gives him plenty of mentors to learn from.
Jaden Springer has all the tools to be an elite defender from the guard position, which would be a fresh change of pace for the Washington Wizards (despite Russell Westbrook getting some votes for Second Team All-Defense). He was able to find his niche in college while playing with a number of elite talents, showing that he is more than prepared to find his spots alongside Westbrook and Bradley Beal.
The Thunder just picked up this pick a week ago in the swap of Al Horford and Kemba Walker and it gives them a chance to immediately replace Horford and Moses Brown with Alperen Sengun. Sengun is a lottery-level talent who put together an unbelievable season overseas. He is a brilliant passer and has a dominant low-post game. If anyone wanted to follow the path of the current league MVP, Sengun is the closest style comparison.
The Memphis Grizzlies have a type. Adding as many wings as possible who can defend and shoot from long range. Franz Wagner is an elite defensive prospect who would add even more dynamism to the Grizzlies on that end of the court. Add in that he was a 38.4 percent shooter from distance and the choice is an easy one.
This may be lower than most would have Davion Mitchell but falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder may be a blessing in disguise for one of the heroes of March Madness. In his final season in college, he took a major step forward as a shooter and is already a defensive standout. Imagining reserve backcourts being hounded by Mitchell and Lu Dort is the stuff of nightmares.
Anyone who watched the playoffs quickly saw how desperately the New York Knicks needed someone to step up on the offensive end of the floor. Cameron Thomas is the iso-scoring threat that can develop into someone who can takeover a playoff game in a way that Julius Randle struggled to. He needs to learn to become a little more consistent on defense. Enter Tom Thibodeau.
The Atlanta Hawks are one of the most fun stories of the postseason and get a chance to add another dynamic talent to improve their stock next season. Jared Butler is ready to contribute on the next level and is a proven winner. Fitting him into the Lou Williams role off the bench fits the timeline and allows Butler to thrive off the bench early in his career.
With their second pick in the draft, the Knicks look to add a big man who provides insurance should Nerlens Noel leave in free agency and Mitchell Robinson cannot remain healthy. Usman Garuba is undersized to play down low alone but he has the mass to body them when needed. He is also a smart passer, with the ability to find RJ Barrett and Julius Randle in perfect spots.
For the Los Angeles Lakers, adding young talent is an absolute must for an aging team with little financial flexibility to improve their roster. If Tre Mann slides to them here they should make the call immediately. He is a blazing shooter and is still not done growing. He is a good playmaker and scorer whose defensive flaws will be masked by the best defense in the league.
Back on the board for consecutive picks, the Rockets need to take as many swings as possible to build a talent base. Sharife Cooper would be able to set up for the floor for all of his new teammates while he continues to work on his shot. He would need to be paired with someone who can score to start but the potential is real.
Josh Christopher is the chance the Rockets should take to add a scorer next to Sharife Cooper. The two would be a given ample time to grow together (along with previous draft selection Evan Mobley). This would be a raw start to the rebuild but there is not rush for the Rockets to turn it around considering their collection of draft capital.
The LA Clippers need to add ball-handling for the future of their team to not be so dependent on Reggie Jackson turning into Mr. June. Daishen Nix hype died a little following the G-League bubble but he is an elite prospect for a team this late in the draft to take a chance on and would benefit greatly from being coached up by Tyronn Lue.
Isaiah Jackson is the type of big man the Denver Nuggets were looking for off the bench when they brought in JaVale McGee at the trade deadline. He should be elite in transition as a finisher but needs time to develop the rest of his game. The Nuggets developmental system is well-known at this point, so Jackson would be able to be brought along in due time.
All season the Brooklyn Nets were in need of an interior big man that they could groom to step up in big moments. Day’Ron Sharpe has the tools to be everything they were asking for and would not need to do too much on a loaded offensive force. He is quick and will never stop working to get better.
It has become very clear that every shooter you can bring in to play around Joel Embiid (and Ben Simmons if he is inexplicably still on the roster next season). Chris Duarte should not last this long but last draft showed that sometimes older players just slide far more than they should. He is ready to contribute from day one and is a knockdown shooter (42.4 percent last season). Defense on the perimeter is not a problem either and this is one of the spots where his age is a plus.
The Phoenix Suns’ depth makes it so that taking anyone with a later pick is tough to make the case for them. Adding a playmaker after not selecting Tyrese Haliburton last season would be a nice change of pace. Ayo Dosunmu would slide right in and set the tone off the bench as a playmaker, allowing someone like Cam Payne to continue to be a solid scorer.
If the Utah Jazz start making changes this offseason they could go a number of directions to end the first round of the NBA draft. However, given their current makeup, Kessler Edwards is a great fit. He can guard wing players at a high level (a glaring weakness for the Jazz in the postseason) and is a solid shooter as well. He checks the boxes for their biggest need.