Since the NBA’s draft lottery took place last month, not a ton has changed in terms of draft projections. As players continue to take part in pre-draft workouts for clubs, few are seeing their stock rise or fall dramatically, and there’ve been fewer smoke screens and less gamesmanship played behind the scenes than in past years. While some teams have clear needs, the lack of NBA-ready prospects in the 2016 class and the handful of playoff-calibre teams picking in the lottery means you can expect to see a number of trades go down between now and Thursday’s draft.
Here’s a look at Sportsnet’s latest mock draft, in which the debate over No. 1 continues and the Raptors overlook positional needs to take the best player available:
| Pick | Team | Player |
| 1 |  |
Ben Simmons, F, LSU |
| You can forget about whether Simmons is a better fit on this Sixers team than Ingram (for the record, he’s not) because it’s irrelevant given the scale of Bryan Colangelo’s rebuild in Philadelphia. Personally, I like Ingram a little better for his makeup and shooting ability, but Simmons is a rare physical specimen with a slightly higher ceiling. With a brand-obsessed circle around him you know he’d much rather be a Laker, setting up a potential (if unlikely) Steve Francis situation, but if you’re starting from scratch and rolling the dice on finding a superstar—as the Sixers most definitely are—Simmons is the pick. | ||
| 2 |  |
Brandon Ingram, SF, Duke |
| The Lakers are in a win-win situation here. Simmons and Ingram are pretty clearly the best prospects in this class and GM Mitch Kupchak will never have to answer questions about choosing the wrong guy should his pick fail to pan out as expected. Ingram would be one hell of a consolation prize. He projects as the perfect small forward for today’s game—at 19, he has size and is still growing (he measured 6’9.5″ at the combine), owns a fluid shooting stroke and range that comfortably extends past the three-point line, and has NBA-level athleticism. Like Simmons, Ingram projects to be a two-way player, though he’ll have to add a ton of size. It’s the biggest knock on him currently, and probably the easiest area for a prospect to improve. Ingram gives Los Angeles a true go-to scorer, something they currently lack in a Kobe-less Lakerland, and he’s ready to fill that role in the very near future.
Click here for an Eastern Conference scout’s exclusive take on the Simmons vs. Ingram debate taking place behind closed doors around the NBA. |
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| 3 |  |
Marquese Chriss, PF, Washington |
| One of many teams looking to move their pick for a veteran, Boston’s choice is where things get interesting. The prospects most able to step in and contribute in some capacity right away (think: Providence PG Kris Dunn or Oklahoma SG Buddy Hield) would be joining a Celtics team with an already crowded backcourt. Hield did impress in pre-draft workouts for Boston, nailing 85 out of 100 threes (surpassing Jamal Murray’s record of 79) but if Boston goes in that direction, they’ll have to move one of Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley or Marcus Smart to find playing time. The team’s most glaring need is at power forward, a position coach Brad Stevens’ offence creates a ton of opportunities for, provided you can stretch the floor. The Celtics aren’t sold on Jared Sullinger and someone like Kelly Olynyk is more suited to the five. But Chriss, a dynamic athlete with good range on his jumper, projects to be a perfect fit. The only problem is he’s nowhere near ready to step in and play major minutes, and the Celtics are in a position to contend in the East right now. It may hurt to draft a project player so high when you have bigger priorities but depending on the trade market, Boston may not have a choice. | ||
| 4 |  |
Kris Dunn, PG, Providence |
| Far and away the best point guard prospect, Dunn projects to be a prototypical floor general. This is going to be an extremely tough call for the Suns: Dunn does not want to work out for any team with an established point guard, so Phoenix will not get to look at him up close—a potential deal-breaker come draft night. But the emergence of Devin Booker last season, coupled with unspectacular, injury-riddled campaigns from Brandon Knight and Eric Bledsoe, mean the best bet may be to rebuild on the fly and turn the team’s existing guards into other assets, setting the stage for a Dunn-Booker backcourt of the future. | ||
| 5 |  |
Buddy Hield, SG, Oklahoma |
| Dunn would be a terrific fit here, backing up Ricky Rubio until he’s ready to take on full-time starting duties for a team with big ambitions in the near future (building your franchise around Karl-Anthony Towns will do that). Hield stood out at the combine and has really impressed in private workouts, leading many to believe that he’s more Steph Curry than Jimmer Fredette when it comes to replicating college success in the pros. | ||
| 6 |  |
Jamal Murray, G, Kentucky |
| The Pelicans desperately need reliable scorers to play around Anthony Davis, and Murray has really opened eyes on the pre-draft workout circuit. With a killer mentality and proven success as a volume scorer, you can bet there’s a GM out there convinced that Murray’s scoring exploits in his lone season at Kentucky are a harbinger of things to come as his game continues to develop. This is just about as far as I expect him to fall. | ||
| 7 |  |
Dragan Bender, F, Israel |
| The 7’1″ 18-year old from Croatia spent the last season playing for Macabbi Tel Aviv and his impressive shooting touch has drawn comparisons to the Knicks’ Kristaps Porzingis. Bender could be in the mix for Boston at No. 3, should they keep the pick and address the frontcourt. If not, a club like the Nuggets, on the tail end of a rebuild, would love to add an asset like Bender, who boasts one of the higher upsides of any player in this draft. The only knock is that Denver has a crowded frontcourt, particularly with the emergence of rookie Nikola Jokic last season, but you can expect the Nuggets to try to move veterans like Kenneth Faried or J.J. Hickson to make room. | ||
| 8 |  |
Deyonta Davis, PF, Michigan St. |
| The Kings and owner Vivek Ranadive actually made a sound decision in hiring Dave Joeger as their new head coach. You get the feeling the Kings would love one of Hield, Murray or Chriss—the prospects with the highest star-potential outside of the top two—but there’s almost no chance any of them fall this far. Which leads the Kings to draft for need, opening the door to the glut of power forwards available. None are ready to contribute today, but Davis is as good a gamble as any, and offers a different enough look than their top pick from last year, Willie Cauley-Stein. | ||
| 9 |  |
Jaylen Brown, SF, California |
| Yes, the Raptors need a power forward more than anything else, and yes there are plenty who will be available here. But what they really need is a veteran power forward—or at least a starting-quality player at the position. You won’t find that at No. 9, where any PFs remaining require more than a bit of seasoning. Which opens the door to simply picking the best player available. In this case, that would be Brown, an elite athlete who projects to be a terrific defender capable of filling the lane on the other end of the floor. Toronto may not be altogether sold on Terrence Ross and GM Masai Ujiri has mentioned wanting to shore up depth at small forward this offseason. Brown gives you depth today with starter-potential down the line. Worth noting: the Raptors would likely prefer to trade this pick. But in a somewhat shallow draft year, it’s hard to imagine the pick carrying a ton of value, which could lead Ujiri & Co. to hang on to it. | ||
| 10 |  |
Domantas Sabonis, F/C, Gonzaga |
| There’ll be a temptation to go for the local kid, Henry Ellenson, another big body and a PF who can stretch the floor as well as any in this draft, but Sabonis projects to have a far more productive career. He doesn’t have that star quality, but he does enough things to keep him on the floor, especially for a Bucks team that could use a big body at the four backing up the slightly undersized Jabari Parker. | ||
| 11 |  |
Skal Labissiere, PF, Kentucky |
| Whoever drafts Labissiere won’t expect him to contribute any time soon, which suits a team still in the collecting assets phase of a rebuild. With the Magic headed in a new direction under Frank Vogel, you know defence will be valued at a premium, and Labissiere, apart from being able to stretch the floor, could prove to be an effective rim protector down the road. | ||
| 12 |  |
Henry Ellenson, PF, Marquette |
| Ellenson could provide depth in the frontcourt and his shooting stroke will be enough to earn him spot minutes with the potential to be an impactful big coming off the bench in the future. The Jazz could desperately use a point guard, but are better off addressing that need in free agency or later in the draft given that whichever PG they’d take here (such as Washington’s Dejounte Murray or Vanderbilt’s Wade Baldwin) will be a relative roll of the dice. | ||
| 13 | |
Taurean Prince, SF, Baylor |
| There are more intriguing prospects out there (Denzel Valentine, Tyler Ulis and Furkan Kormaz to name a few) but Prince is the logical pick here should the Suns draft based on need. They have a backcourt, they have their future star, they’re still committed to Alex Len starting at centre, but there’s no long-term option at small forward on the roster. Prince won’t be a star and may not even be a starter, but he should prove to be a very effective two-way player in the near future. | ||
| 14 |  |
Jakob Poeltl, C, Utah |
| The Bulls would love to trade up, and all-star wing Jimmy Butler’s name has been floated in trade rumours, linked to both the Celtics and Timberwolves for their respective top picks. It’s clear that the franchise is ready to embark on a rebuild, and should they fail to move up, Poeltl, the draft’s top-ranked centre, gives them as solid a prospect as is available this late in the lottery. He also fills a need given the expected departures of Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol. | ||