Mock Drafts
NBA AM: Updated Mock Draft 5-10-16
Alan is an expert gambling writer who works as one of the chief editors for Basketball Insiders. He has been covering online gambling and sports betting for over 8 years, having written for the likes of Sportlens, Compare.bet, The Sports Daily, 90min, and TopRatedCasinos.co.uk. His particular specialisms include US online casinos and gambling regulations, and soccer and basketball betting. Based in London, Alan holds an MA in English Literature and is a passionate supporter of Chelsea FC.
All posts by Alan DraperUpdated2 hours ago on April 26, 2024
With the 2016 NBA Draft Combine set to get underway in Chicago this week, the NBA and its talent evaluators will gather in one spot, which is when the action of the draft season really starts.
Not only will teams be talking with and evaluating draft prospects, the Combine is also where the two remaining coaching jobs likely get filled and where the seeds of draft-day trades begin to be laid.
Basketball Insiders will be on site with a ton of interviews and insight on the 2016 NBA Draft class, including dropping our first weekly Consensus Mock Draft.
In advance of that, it seemed smart to drop an updated Mock Draft and some notes that are starting to flow out of the process:
Steve Kyler - Mock Draft - 5/10/16
| Pk | Team | Player |
|---|---|---|
| $1 |  | Ben Simmons SF/PF 19 years old; 6'10"; 239 lbs. LSU, Freshman |
| $2 |  | Brandon Ingram SF 18 years old; 6'9"; 196 lbs. Duke, Freshman |
| $3 |  | Dragan Bender PF 18 years old; 7'1"; 225 lbs. Maccabi Tel Aviv, International |
| $4 |  | Jaylen Brown SG/SF 19 years old; 6'7"; 222 lbs. California, Freshman |
| $5 |  | Jamal Murray PG/SG 19 years old; 6'5"; 201 lbs. Kentucky, Freshman |
| $6 |  | Kris Dunn PG 22 years old; 6'4"; 205 lbs. Providence, Junior |
| $7 |  | Buddy Hield SG 22 years old; 6'4"; 214 lbs. Oklahoma, Senior |
| $8 |  | Demetrius Jackson PG 21 years old; 6'1"; 194 lbs. Notre Dame, Junior |
| $9 |  | Henry Ellenson PF 19 years old; 6'10"; 231 lbs. Marquette, Freshman |
| $10 |  | Jakob Poeltl C 20 years old; 7'1"; 242 lbs. Utah, Sophomore |
| $11 |  | Deyonta Davis PF/C 19 years old; 6'10"; 230 lbs. Michigan St, Freshman |
| $12 |  | Timothe Luwawu SG/SF 21 years old; 6'7"; 205 lbs. Mega Leks, International |
| $13 | | Marquese Chriss PF 18 years old; 6'9"; 225 lbs. Washington, Freshman |
| $14 |  | Wade Baldwin PG 20 years old; 6'3"; 195 lbs. Vanderbilt, Sophomore |
| $15 | | Furkan Korkmaz SG 18 years old; 6'7"; 185 lbs. Anadolu Efes, International |
| Pk | Team | Player |
|---|---|---|
| $16 | | Skal Labissiere PF/C 20 years old; 7'0"; 216 lbs. Kentucky, Freshman |
| $17 |  | Denzel Valentine SG 22 years old; 6'6"; 223 lbs. Michigan St, Senior |
| $18 |  | Malik Beasley SG 19 years old; 6'4"; 185 lbs. Florida St, Freshman |
| $19 | | Tyler Ulis PG 20 years old; 5'9"; 160 lbs. Kentucky, Sophomore |
| $20 |  | Patrick McCaw SG 20 years old; 6'7"; 185 lbs. UNLV, Sophomore |
| $21 |  | Dejounte Murray PG/SG 19 years old; 6'5"; 170 lbs. Washington, Freshman |
| $22 |  | Diamond Stone C 19 years old; 7'0"; 255 lbs. Maryland, Freshman |
| $23 | | Thon Maker PF 19 years old; 7'0"; 219 lbs. , HS Senior |
| $24 | | Taurean Prince SF 21 years old; 6'7"; 215 lbs. Baylor, Senior |
| $25 |  | Domantas Sabonis PF/C 20 years old; 6'10"; 231 lbs. Gonzaga, Sophomore |
| $26 | | Zhou Qi C 20 years old; 7'2"; 209 lbs. Xinjiang, International |
| $27 | | Damian Jones C 20 years old; 6'11"; 248 lbs. Vanderbilt, Junior |
| $28 | | Ante Zizic C 19 years old; 6'11"; 240 lbs. Cibona Zagreb, International |
| $29 |  | Ivica Zubac C 19 years old; 7'1"; 265 lbs. Mega Leks, International |
| $30 |  | DeAndre Bembry SF 21 years old; 6'6"; 210 lbs. Saint Joseph's, Junior |
| Pk | Team | Player |
|---|---|---|
| $31 | | Brice Johnson PF 21 years old; 6'9"; 230 lbs. North Carolina, Senior |
| $32 | | Stephen Zimmerman C 19 years old; 7'0"; 235 lbs. UNLV, Freshman |
| $33 | | Malik Newman PG/SG 19 years old; 6'4"; 179 lbs. Mississippi St., Freshman |
| $34 | | Cheick Diallo PF/C 19 years old; 6'9"; 220 lbs. Kansas, Freshman |
| $35 | | Juan Hernangomez SF/PF 20 years old; 6'9"; 220 lbs. Estudiantes, International |
| $36 | | Melo Trimble PG 21 years old; 6'3"; 190 lbs. Maryland, Sophomore |
| $37 |  | Wayne Selden SG 21 years old; 6'6"; 223 lbs. Kansas, Junior |
| $38 | | Malcolm Brogdon SG 23 years old; 6'5"; 215 lbs. Virginia, Senior |
| $39 | | Caris LeVert PG/SG 21 years old; 6'7"; 200 lbs. Michigan, Senior |
| $40 | | Gary Payton II PG 23 years old; 6'3"; 175 lbs. Oregon St, Senior |
| $41 | | Cat Barber PG 21 years old; 6'2"; 185 lbs. N.C. State, Junior |
| $42 | | Jake Layman SF 22 years old; 6'9"; 220 lbs. Maryland, Senior |
| $43 | | A.J. Hammons C 23 years old; 7'0"; 278 lbs. Purdue, Senior |
| $44 | | Petr Cornelie PF 20 years old; 6'11"; 220 lbs. Le Mans, International |
| $45 | | Guerschon Yabusele PF 20 years old; 6'8"; 240 lbs. Rouen, International |
| Pk | Team | Player |
|---|---|---|
| $46 |  | Isaia Cordinier SG 19 years old; 6'5"; 190 lbs. Denain, International |
| $47 | | Rade Zagorac SF 20 years old; 6'9"; 205 lbs. Mega Leks, International |
| $48 | | Jarrod Uthoff SF/PF 22 years old; 6'9"; 210 lbs. Iowa, Senior |
| $49 | | Ben Bentil PF 21 years old; 6'9"; 235 lbs. Providence, Sophomore |
| $50 | | Dorian Finney-Smith SF 23 years old; 6'8"; 220 lbs. Florida, Senior |
| $51 | | Georgios Papagiannis C 18 years old; 7'2"; 240 lbs. Panathinaikos, International |
| $52 | | Andrey Desyatnikov C 22 years old; 7'3"; 231 lbs. Zenit St Petersburg, International |
| $53 | | Paul Zipser SF 22 years old; 6'8"; 210 lbs. Bayern Muenchen, International |
| $54 | | Chinanu Onuaku C 19 years old; 6'10"; 246 lbs. Louisville, Sophomore |
| $55 |  | Robert Carter PF 22 years old; 6'8"; 247 lbs. Maryland, Junior |
| $56 | | Aleksandar Vezenkov SF/PF 20 years old; 6'9"; 225 lbs. Barcelona, International |
| $57 | | Justin Jackson SF 21 years old; 6'8"; 201 lbs. North Carolina, Sophomore |
| $58 | | Blaz Mesicek SG 18 years old; 6'6"; 190 lbs. Olimpija Ljubljana, International |
| $59 | | Michael Gbinije SG/SF 23 years old; 6'7"; 200 lbs. Syracuse, Senior |
| $60 | | Josh Hart SG 21 years old; 6'5"; 202 lbs. Villanova, Junior |
Draft Notes:
While opinions at this point vary greatly, there are some things starting to make their way around the NBA that are worth commenting on. Here are a few:
Brandon Ingram
Ingram has turned into the darling of the 2016 NBA Draft class mainly because some teams soured on potential top pick Ben Simmons’ season at LSU. However, while it is popular to bash the top guy at this point in the calendar, few executives who would comment on the concept would admit to taking Ingram over Simmons.
All said basically the same thing: Ingram is a compelling and interesting prospect, but few saw his ceiling as being higher than Simmons’ and that if it we’re their pick (and it wouldn’t be for most), they would have a hard time taking Ingram with the top overall selection.
The upside for Ingram is that almost uniformly everyone who commented said it was doubtful that he wouldn’t go in the top two and almost none of the executives believed there was anyone below Ingram who could unseat him unless something surfaced in his medical review.
Dragan Bender
The talk on Bender is mixed. There are some real Bender fans among talent evaluators, with some believing he could be as very serious NBA player and possible high-level starter. The problem with Bender is sample size. He did not play a huge role for Maccabi and while he has been thoroughly scouted and evaluated, there are many who still don’t feel like they have a real read on Bender yet and are eager to work him out and meet with him.
The prevailing commentary is that, unlike Kristaps Porzingis (who was ready to play in the NBA right away), Bender may need more time. Bender has favorable buyout language in his Maccabi deal, so getting to the NBA next season really will not be a problem. The question becomes how good is he really and how long will it take for him to acclimate to the NBA game?
Kris Dunn
Few talent evaluators see a better point guard in the 2016 NBA Draft class than Dunn. But with that said, almost none of them thought Dunn was a day one starter in the NBA and many wonder if he can become enough of a scorer – more specifically a shooter – to be a high-impact guard.
Dunn’s defense, playmaking and maturity are appealing in a draft class lacking many go-to options. There is little doubt that Dunn will be the first point guard taken in the 2016 NBA Draft, but it’s clear that many of the teams considering him don’t view him as a future star in the NBA, which could just be a lowering of the bar on what Dunn’s NBA ceiling could be.
Buddy Hield
If only Buddy were two years younger. That’s a common comment from evaluators on Hield as a draft pick. There is no question Hield might be the most ready to contribute player in the draft class, but his age is a problem for many teams. As one executive framed it, a 23-year-old should dominate in college, especially when facing younger, less experienced players. But at the next level when Hield isn’t the most polished guy on the floor, does he have the athleticism and quickness to be anything more than an outside shooter? Not that being an outside shooter is bad, it just makes it hard to put Hield in the top three or four, where most of the teams covet a potential star.
Hield has a number of fans, so it’s safe to say he’ll be gone in the top 10, but in workouts he’s going to have to prove he has NBA-level speed and quickness, which is likely why he is working with renowned trainer Tim Grover, who has a long history of helping guys dial up their athleticism for draft workouts.
The NBA Combine gets underway Wednesday night with face-to-face meetings. The on-court work will begin on Thursday and conclude Friday with complete medical evaluations taking place through Sunday.
From there most of the prospects will start individual workouts that will carry them right up to the 2016 NBA Draft on June 23 in New York.
