Welcome back to draft season, which is more or less in full effect as the April 24 early-entry deadline approaches and things have begun to churn behind the scenes. It’s going to be a long two months or so, and by nature the draft is a fluid entity, so keep in mind a lot of these projections are going to change. But with college hoops wrapped up and NBA teams seriously planning for the offseason, we’re getting into the fun part of this process, and the level of reported clarity on players, teams and picks will continue to improve as we get deeper into the calendar.
The draft lottery is set for May 17, with the combine taking place shortly afterward. As in past years, this mock draft will increasingly take team fit into account once we know the draft order and tangible information becomes available as to what may happen. For now, the sequence of the mock was determined using the final regular-season standings, and I used the chalk lottery order rather than running a simulation. Keep in mind that the order also hinges on the results of Friday’s play-in games between the Cavs and Hawks and Clippers and Pelicans, respectively: If a nine-seed wins, several ties will also need to be broken by the league office before the lottery, before the order is finalized.
As usual, this mock draft aims to predict what the draft would look like if it took place on a given day. My projections are heavily informed by intel from around the NBA and ongoing conversations with executives, scouts and others, in addition to my own personal evaluations of players, which in many cases date back years. Not that these are *not* player rankings: For that, take a look at our Big Board (which will be due for a major update after the early-entry deadline).
