With the NBA draft just hours away, now’s the time to take a final look at how things might pan out.
We preview who will come number one, who will come from left field – and also take a look at the chances of a few Australian players.
Who’s going first? Karl-Anthony Towns
Towns is a player we haven’t really seen before in the NBA, not at this level of talent anyway. A big man who can play either the centre and power forward positions with an elite ability to protect the rim on defence and play inside or outside on offense.
Towns not only has the highest ceiling in this draft, the fact he is so well rounded with no ‘holes’ in his game, it gives him the highest floor as well.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have put together an exciting young roster with only two spots they need to fill, a rim protector and a stretch big – and Towns is both in the one package.
So by selecting a player with elite talent who is a perfect fit for the Timberwolves roster, this choice is easy right?
Well, not exactly. The Timberwolves have the NBA equivalent of Encino Man making the final decision in Flip Saunders (also the self-appointed coach), so this pick could still go very wrong.
Flip doesn’t care for analytics or the modern style of pace and space and the word is his support staff has been working overtime to convince him that Towns is the right guy.
Saunders favours Jahlil Okafor who has an old-school game that would have made him the ideal no.1 pick 10 years ago, which unfortunately for the Timberwolves is precisely the era Saunders’ view of the game is stuck in.
The Aussies: Mitch McCarron and Hugh Greenwood
McCarron, a combo guard, was the Division II player of the year last season playing for Metro State. He worked out with the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors before the draft and brings shooting and high character to the table.
Greenwood is a point guard from New Mexico Lobos who was named on the All-Mountain West Third Team. He is crafty and scrappy. He worked out for the Utah Jazz who obviously enjoy a strong Aussie connection with players Dante Exum and Joe Ingles.
They are both outside chances to be picked late in the second round, but are more likely to be picked up after the draft like Matthew Dellavedova was by Cleveland. Thanks to Delly’s play in the finals – which inspired the creation of a burger in his honour – Aussies are in vogue right now.
Fingers crossed for both McCarron and Greenwood to find a spot on an NBA roster.
The modern player versus the old-school player: D’Angelo Russell versus Jahlil Okafor
The NBA is a trendy league the results and performances of players in the NBA Finals have a direct effect on the stock of players in the draft.
D’Angelo Russell plays like a Steph Curry/James Harden hybrid with his crazy handles, soft shooting touch from range, passing ability and basketball IQ.
These are all the attributes that are thriving in the NBA right now with the power shift moving from dominant low post scorers to skilled wing players and Russell’s stock has risen as a result.
With his style of play matching perfectly with the modern NBA game, you could very easily be seeing Russell becoming the best player to come out of this draft.
It is for these reasons that Jahlil Okafor will not be the top pick – despite being the most accomplished and dominant player of all the early prospects in both High School and College.
His super power is scoring in the paint and he is probably the best we’ve seen at it since Tim Duncan was drafted way back in 1997, yet unlike Duncan he can’t defend.
When you see Golden State running a starting five in the Finals with nobody taller than 6’8, it makes you wonder if he would be useful in that environment or just taking a seat like Andrew Bogut.
Regardless he is so good at what he does he is still the likely no. 2 pick, and could bring low-post scoring back to the game or might have the Lakers kicking themselves that they didn’t read the tealeaves and draft Russell.
The Euros: Kristaps Porzingis and Mario Herzonja
Americans scouts are still wary of European prospects these days thanks to some high profile busts who fooled them with incredible workouts involving chairs.
This year there are two Euro prospects that will likely go in the top 10 picks.
Firstly, is Porzingis the Latvian, who like many East Euros comes with a haircut you can set your watch too. He stands 7’2 and is your typical European prospect in many ways, in that he despite his height he can really stroke the basketball from the outside.
He also has the usual question marks of toughness, strength and defence.
Still the people in the know say that he has displayed more against top competition than those who failed before him and moves around the floor with amazing fluidity for such a giant man.
Herzonja on the other hand is anything but your typical European prospect, even receiving comparisons to regular NBA sideshow J.R Smith. Super athletic, a sweet shooter and has a penchant for attempting and pulling off the ridiculous sure have him sounding like Mr Smith.
Add in brash, arrogant and someone who gets on his teammates nerves as a result and all he is missing now is body covered in tattoos from head to toe. Already Herzonja must have the shortest odds to be the first Euro player to turn up to an NBA game on a Phunkee Duck.
The Moneyball pick
Tyus Jones has performed on every level he has played including his standout performance in the NCAA Finals where he won Most Outstanding Player. He has a great feel for the game, knows how to run a team from the point guard position, can shoot the ball and all the numbers in analytics love him.
However, he is short and not athletic by NBA standards and as a result is not projected to go high in the draft due to the belief he has outperformed his ability. In most mock drafts he is slated to land at the franchise that has shown the greatest belief in the Moneyball theory – the Houston Rockets. The numbers have helped the Rockets draft some very good players later in the draft and if they get their hands on Jones they might have a real steal.
My mock draft top 10
1 Minnesota – Karl Anthony Towns
2 LA Lakers – Jahlil Okafor
3 Philadelphia 76ers – Emmanuel Mudiay
4 New York Knicks – D’Angelo Russell
5 Orlando Magic – Kristaps Porzingas
6 Sacramento Kings – Willie Cauley-Stein
7 Denver Nuggets – Mario Herzonga
8 Detroit Pistons – Justise Winslow
9 Charlotte Hornets – Frank Kaminsky
10 Miami Heat – Stanley Johnson
Build your own ultimate team! Pick your key players and take a shot at big cash prizes every day with Draftstars. For great odds on NBA games every day head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
A Serbian, a Canadian, a Slovenian and a Greek fellow walked into a bar … Well, they’ve actually walked into the NBA and now…
Nikola Jokic has scored 32 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead defending NBA champions Denver past LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers…
There will undoubtedly be upset results here and there in the NBA playoffs but there’s an overwhelming sense of fait accompli that Boston will…
LeBron James is going back to the Olympics for the first time in 12 years. Steph Curry is headed to the games for the…
The only realistic threat to Boston’s chances of strolling through the Eastern Conference is a team that could still end up in the play-in…
Australian guards Dante Exum and Josh Giddey have both come up big for their NBA clubs in crucial wins in the lead-in to the…
