If you are reading NBA draft projections right now, you might be noticing how scattered and volatile various projections are. We have looked at mock drafts from various outlets, including USA TODAY Sports. We have seen USC guard Isaiah Collier projected at No. 10 to the Utah Jazz, No. 11 to the Chicago Bulls, No. 17 to the Los Angeles Lakers, and to the New Orleans Pelicans in a trade. There seems to be no clear-cut consensus on where Collier will go. Is that more about him, or more about this draft class as a whole?
The answer seems to be the latter, though Collier is reflective of this class.
The 2024 NBA draft class is one of the less impressive, on paper, in recent memory. There’s no Zion Williamson-Ja Morant-style 1-versus-2 discussion. There’s no Victor Wembanyama at No. 1, an elite prospect who is expected to be special for a long time in the league.
The Atlanta Hawks have the No. 1 pick, but they have it in a year when the top pick doesn’t carry the same level of upside it did with Wemby, who went to the San Antonio Spurs and became their latest lottery jackpot. Wemby is part of a Spurs history of landing top-tier No. 1 picks. Wembanyama follows Tim Duncan, another franchise-changing player who is in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
The Hawks might be able to trade their top pick for a lot of assets instead of going all-in on the top pick because of the weakness of this draft class. With Isaiah Collier being projected anywhere from No. 10 to No. 19 (Toronto Raptors), your guess is as good as ours on where Collier will go.
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