Tag: 2020 mock draft

ESPN mock draft: Thunder draft Washington forward Jaden McDaniels

The Oklahoma City Thunder selected Washington forward Jaden McDaniels in Jonathan Givony’s mock draft.

One of the most prominent draft experts has the Oklahoma City Thunder taking Jaden McDaniels in a mock draft.

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, in a mock draft he did after the lottery, slotted the Washington forward in at the No. 25 pick for the Thunder.

McDaniels had an up-and-down year at Washington. He showed some very translatable skill, but also looked lost at times with his fouling and turnovers. Much of the upside people see stems from his dominance at the high school level.

Givony wrote:

“McDaniels was once projected as a potential top-five pick, but an uneven season at Washington — along with concerns regarding his frame, efficiency and inconsistent approach — caused his stock to slide.”

McDaniels was a five-star forward coming out of high school. Alongside fellow five-star prospect Isaiah Stewart, though, he could not get going consistently in Seattle.

The forward averaged 13 points and 5.8 rebounds to go with 2.1 assists and 3.2 turnovers per game. He averaged more than three fouls a game and shot 40.5% from the field, about 34% from 3.

Yet listed at 6-foot-9 with a wingspan around 7 feet, there’s obvious reason for intrigue.

Oklahoma City has history developing players well. Could McDaniels be the next project? Givony thinks it’s worth a shot.

“This late in the draft, a team with a strong development system in place, such as the Thunder, might be intrigued by the positional size, length and two-way versatility McDaniels offers.”

If McDaniels can maximize his potential, getting such return on the No. 25 pick would be quite a way for Oklahoma City to transition to its post-Billy Donovan phase.

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The Ringer’s mock draft: Thunder select Washington center Isaiah Stewart

The Oklahoma City Thunder took Washington center Isaiah Stewart in Kevin O’Connor’s 2020 NBA mock draft for The Ringer.

Another mock draft has the Oklahoma City Thunder taking Washington center Isaiah Stewart.

The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor slotted Stewart in at the No. 25 pick in his mock draft that was released Tuesday.

Stewart, who played a traditional center game at Washington, is just 6-foot-9 but weighs 250 pounds and has a 7-foot-4 wingspan.

He averaged 17 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game in his sole season with the Huskies.

O’Connor’s report is different than many who do mock drafts. Instead of using paragraphs to explain the players’ styles, he simply makes lists of their good and bad qualities on the court.

Here are three of the six positives he listed for Stewart:

  • High-motor big who runs hard on the break. He frequently beats defenses up the floor, and displays great coordination on finishes.
  • Savvy post scorer who displays a wide range of moves, including drop steps, face-ups, and up-and-unders from either side of the block.
  • Battles hard in the paint, using his broad shoulders to seal off defenders and seize close positioning.

And here are two of the four negatives:

  • Lacks explosiveness, which hinders his ability to finish inside on rolls or second-chance opportunities. He’ll need to master touch finishes.
  • Poor passer who looks to shoot too often with the ball in his hands. When he does pass, it’s often inaccurate or forced through traffic.

Oklahoma City would look to Stewart as a potential center option for the future, as Nerlens Noel is an unrestricted free agent and Steven Adams only has one more season left on his contract.

Stewart would try to show he’s able to bang around with the dominant Western Conference bigs down low. It’s also worth wondering if he can shoot from deep; he made more than 40% of his 3s as a senior in high school, and hit 77% of his free throws at Washington.

The 2020 draft date is unclear, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that it might be pushed back to November.

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SB Nation mock draft: Thunder select Barcelona guard Leandro Bolmaro

The Oklahoma City Thunder selected Leandro Bolmaro in SB Nation’s post-NBA lottery mock draft.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are in a nice position in terms of their current roster and future assets that can allow them to take a big swing with the No. 25 draft pick without risking upsetting the team’s current balance.

In SB Nation’s mock draft, writer Ricky O’Donnell predicts them taking a player who is widely projected as a late-first-round or early-second-round pick.

Oklahoma City took Barcelona guard Leandro Bolmaro in this mock draft.

O’Donnell writes:

“Bolmaro is intriguing as a 6’7 ball handler who played de facto point guard for Barcelona this season while splitting time between their senior team and lower divisions. He does a good job playing with pace with the ball in hands and has the vision and size to find shooters on the perimeter.”

That height and 6-foot-8 is certainly intriguing, particularly next to similarly large Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is 6-foot-5 with a 6-foot-11 wingspan.

While Bolmaro played a lead ball handler role, he is listed on the NBA site as a small forward. His range of positions and ability to be a facilitator is ideal.

He doesn’t have a lot of proven experience, though. He averaged eight points, 2.5 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 17 minutes per game over the three Barcelona leagues he played in, according to Real GM,

Additionally, his 3-point shot was not good.

“He was a sub-30 percent three-point shooter, which will have to a point of emphasis for his development moving forward.”

Bolmaro has shown he’s a good passer and creator, but will need to prove he’s ready to compete at the NBA. SB Nation thinks it’s worth it for the Thunder to take a look at the guard.

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Vecenie mock draft: Thunder should ‘take a home run swing’ on Jaden McDaniels

Sam Vecenie thinks Jaden McDaniel’s upside is worth the Oklahoma City Thunder taking a chance on with the No. 25 pick.

Jaden McDaniels is one of the players in the draft that most defines high-ceiling, low-floor to some evaluators.

A five-star prospect out of high school, McDaniels showed some positives in college as a player with two-way potential and the ability to handle the ball in a 6-foot-10 frame, but he also struggled to prove he’s ready at the next level.

With that said, The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie thinks the Oklahoma City Thunder should “take a home run swing” and draft the Washington forward with the No. 25 pick.

The Thunder have (approximately) one million first-round picks forthcoming from the trades involving Paul George and Russell Westbrook. They can afford to take a home run swing on a player who fits the tools that they tend to covet in players. Traditionally, the team has preferred guys with good positional size and length who are plus athletes for the position and have some two-way potential. McDaniels ticks a lot of those boxes.

McDaniels averaged 13.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists along with 1.4 blocks per game as a freshman.

He shot only 40.5% from the field, and his 33.9% 3-point shooting was lacking.

The talent is very clear, as it’s hard to find players who are this tall who can also handle it a bit and have potential to shoot it. But McDaniels has teams trying to get a handle on how to assess his mentality and more.

His fouling was problematic, as he picked up four in 15 of 31 games and fouled out eight times. He averaged far more turnovers than assists.

But Vecenie thinks McDaniels can approach his upside with the “strong developmental track record” of Oklahoma City.

With a pick so late in the first round, to Vecenie, that it’s worth the risk.

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Thunder select Josh Green, Reggie Perry in Rookie Wire mock draft

In the mock draft done by the Rookie Wire, the Oklahoma City Thunder selected Arizona’s Josh Green and Mississippi State’s Reggie Perry.

In the Rookie Wire’s post-NBA Draft Lottery mock draft, the Oklahoma City Thunder took a player at No. 25 that fits in well with the style of the usual type of Thunder draft pick.

This mock draft predicted they would select wing Josh Green out of Arizona.

Green is projected to be a 3-and-D wing, and his defense over his sole college year stood out more than his offense.

Highly athletic with a has a 6-foot-10 wingspan and 8-foot-7 standing reach, Green can be expected to be a solid defender against guards and some wings in the league.

Offensively, he had more struggles than expected out of Arizona after being a five-star prospect out of IMG Academy.

Green led his high school basketball powerhouse to a championship with his scoring and athleticism, but some of that failed to translate to college.

From Rookie Wire:

“One of the biggest concerns at the collegiate level was that more than one-third of his field-goal attempts have come from midrange — yet he shot just 30-of-108 (27.8%) on these looks. The 6-foot-6 Green also made fewer than one 3-pointer per game, which is concerning for a wing.”

Granted, that propensity to take midrange looks would go well with the other Thunder guards, who are unafraid to make use of the shot that isn’t as widely used in the modern NBA.

But analytics show being inefficient from midrange is the worst place to be inefficient.

His 3-point shooting percentage in college was solid, but he didn’t take outside looks as often as one would like. Green shot 36.1% from deep on 2.8 looks per game.

Green averaged 12.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists to go with 1.5 steals per game.

Arizona underachieved last year, a surprise after signing two five-star athletes in Green and Nico Mannion.

But Green’s high school history and the tools he shows make it look like he could be a role player in the NBA, even if he doesn’t get to the level where he leads a team the way he did at IMG Academy.

With the No. 53 pick in the mock draft, the Thunder drafted Reggie Perry out of Mississippi State.

As a sophomore, the 6-foot-10 Perry dominated the stat sheet, was one of the top rebounders in his conference and has international experience.

From Rookie Wire:

“Sophomore Reggie Perry averaged 17.4 points with 10.1 rebounds per game. His defensive rebound percentage (25.1%) ranked second-best in the SEC, and his tenure playing for Team USA as the MVP in the U19 World Cup last season will undeniably help his draft stock.”

With starting center Steven Adams having just one year left on his contract, drafting Perry at No. 53 would be a low-risk opportunity to see if he’s a player that could fill minutes at the center spot down the road.

The draft is currently scheduled for Oct. 16, but ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that that may get pushed back.

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The Athletic mock draft: Thunder select Washington’s Jaden McDaniels

Sam Vecenie thinks the Thunder should take a chance on Washington’s Jaden McDaniels, who entered college as a projected lottery pick.

With the Oklahoma City Thunder holding so many picks in coming years, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic thinks it makes sense for them to go after a high-risk, high-reward player.

Vecenie has the Thunder drafting Washington forward Jaden McDaniels in his latest mock draft.

They can afford to take a home run swing on a player who fits the tools that they tend to covet in players.

McDaniels entered college as a five-star prospect as a forward listed at 6-foot-9 or 6-foot-10 who could handle the ball and shoot. He was projected to be a lottery pick before the season even began.

But he couldn’t live up to expectations at Washington.

He shot only 40.5% from the field, and his 33.9% 3-point shooting was lacking. His fouling was problematic, as he picked up four in 15 of 31 games and fouled out eight times. He averaged far more turnovers than assists.

Veenie writes that teams are questioning if that’s telling for his future, or if McDaniels can mature and develop into the player his positive skill set would allow of him.

McDaniels has teams trying to get a handle on how to assess his mentality and more. At times, he showcased tremendous defensive effort and versatility. At others, he looked aloof and not interested in defending. Then there were intermittent flashes of immaturity and emotion, resulting in six technical fouls and poor body language on the court.

Vecenie thinks that putting McDaniels in the right environment will dictate his future in the NBA.

Oklahoma City can provide that with the proven development the organization has shown.

This is one of the few situations in the NBA that I would hope McDaniels lands with. The Thunder have a strong developmental track record in the G League and with their NBA team. Where McDaniels lands is going to be much more important than what number pick he’s selected at. Finding a stable, development-driven situation is the biggest key to his future.

McDaniels’ size, athleticism and potential on defense makes him a fitting player compared to those the Thunder tend to prefer.

This isn’t the only outlet projecting McDaniels to pick No. 25. A recent CBS Sports mock draft also listed him going to the Thunder.

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CBS Mock Draft: Thunder select Washington PF Jaden McDaniels with 25th pick

The Oklahoma City Thunder drafted Washington Huskies power forward Jaden McDaniels in a CBS Sports mock draft.

A CBS Sports mock draft has the Oklahoma City Thunder drafting a power forward optimists think can blossom into a playmaker.

With the 25th pick, Oklahoma City drafted power forward Jaden McDaniels out of Washington.

Sam Presti loves himself some high-upside athletes who have length, so of course Jaden McDaniels fits the profile. He struggled a bit at Washington with consistency but the 6-foot-9 combo forward has some real potential with a polished handle and pull-up game that stands out for his size and position.

McDaniels certainly has high upside, particularly for a player likely to be taken near the end of the first round. Entering college as a five-star prospect, he showed a unique ability to serve as a ball handler with a 6-foot-9 frame. He could score from around the floor, rebound well, and was a very good defender.

However, his play at Washington was much less promising. McDaniels shot just 40.5% from the field and 33.9% from behind the arc as he averaged 13.0 points and 5.8 rebounds. He had more turnovers per game (3.2) than assists (2.1) and had led the Pac-12 in fouls, picking up at least four in 15 of 31 games.

He only started eight of 18 games against Pac-12 Conference opponents.

If McDaniels can tap into what makes him a special player, he can be a strong contributor and will make teams who passed on him look silly.

He’s worth the risk near the end of the first round.

NBC Sports mock draft: Thunder select point guard Theo Maledon

Could the Oklahoma City Thunder take another point guard? NBC Sports draft has them selecting Theo Maledon out of France.

The Oklahoma City Thunder drafted another guard in NBC Sports’ mock draft published Monday.

The Thunder took Theo Maledon, a 19-year-old point guard for ASVEL in France who received lottery buzz early in the season and shown some promise as a potentially solid player.

Reporter Rob Dauster wrote:

Maledon is an interesting prospect in a couple of different senses. On the one hand, he was 16 years old when he started getting senior minutes for an ASVEL club that make it back to the Euroleague this year. He’s trained with the French senior national team. He started 23 of the 46 games that he played in. But his role fluctuated throughout the season, his consistency waned and he battled a shoulder injury throughout the season.

Maledon showed the ability to score at the rim and has a solid jumper, though he needs to improve his consistency on it. As a playmaker, he’s a creative passer and does a good job keeping his defender onto his back or hip, but must improve in traffic.

Hype for him died down after a shoulder injury and he doesn’t have a ton of minutes to watch: He averaged less than 18 minutes a game in both the LNB Pro A and EuroLeague.

On the Pro Basketball Talk podcast, Dauster and Kurt Helin discussed this pick.

While acknowledging that Oklahoma City is a good playoff team this season, they said that not many players project to be key pieces of the future.

“When you start thinking about the future for them, it’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and… anybody else? Unless you believe in Darius Bazley,” Helin said. “They need other young talent, so I don’t know that they’re going to be that picky about position.”

Because of that, adding another player to the dynamic three-guard unit isn’t out of the question, and Maledon has perhaps the highest upside at this point in the draft.

“Another player that can play the point, that can play a little bit off the ball, that could fit really well in a back court with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, that could fit really well in a back court with Chris Paul … and that could really use to learn from a point guard like Chris Paul to kind of develop some of those skills,” Dauster said.

With LNB Pro A, Maledon averaged 6.5 points and 1.9 assists in 15.6 minutes per game.

In EuroLeague play, he upped those averages to 7.4 points and 3.1 assists while shooting 36.7% from 3 in 17.7 minutes per game.

“That’s kind of like a plug-and-play and the fit makes a lot of sense,” Dauster said. “A lot of the mocks you look at will have Theo going like in the late teens … it feels like that’s a steal.”

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Warriors trade down to land Deni Avdija in latest CBS Sports NBA Mock Draft

In the latest NBA Mock Draft from CBS Sports’ Kyle Boone, the Golden State Warriors land Deni Avdija after a trade with the Timberwolves.

As NBA draft season starts to heat up, mock draft predictions are beginning to pour in. With the Golden State Warriors set to make their pick in the top-five, a group of high caliber prospects have been commonly linked to the Warriors across mock drafts.

Georgia’s Anthony Edwards, USC’s Onyeka Okongwu, Florida State’s Devin Vassell and Iowa State’s Tyrese Haliburton have all had their name listed alongside Golden State in mock predictions.

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However, in the latest CBS Sports Mock Draft, Kyle Boone has the Warriors moving out of the first overall selection to take Israeli prospect Deni Avdija. Golden State traded the first picks to the Minnesota Timberwolves for the No. 3 overall selection.

According to Boone, the Maccabi Tel Aviv product could thrive alongside Golden State’s Splash Brother duo.

Via CBS Sports:

The Israeli star would be a perfect fit in Golden State’s selfless system where he could thrive as a secondary playmaker along Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson who can keep the ball moving, and it’d be a win for Golden State to get a talent like him while trading out of the No. 1 spot.

Via the rest of Boone’s mock draft via CBS Sports here.

Over 26 games for Maccabi Tel Aviv, Avdija is averaging 13.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and one block per contest. In Maccabi Tel Aviv’s latest game, Avdija led the team with 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field with four triples. Avdija added seven boards, two assists and a block.

With his ability to control the pace with his refined ball handling and eyes for a crafty pass, Avdija could immediately play a role in Steve Kerr’s second unit. The 6-foot-9 forward would give the Warriors a pair of fierce playmakers off the bench alongside Eric Paschall.

Avdija has the chance to contribute as a rookie, but the 19-year-old still has plenty of time to develop if he lands in Golden State’s system.

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2021 NFL mock draft: 3 QB prospects in top 10, but in what order?

See where Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields and Trey Lance land in this latest 2021 NFL mock draft

We’re still nearly a year away from the 2021 NFL draft, but that hasn’t stopped us from making way-too-early projections for next year’s big offseason event.

The conversation always centers around the top quarterback prospects, and next year’s class promises to deliver plenty in that department. Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, Ohio State’s Justin Fields and North Dakota State’s Trey Lance are all getting preseason hype as potential top-10 picks, and are already battling it out for that No. 1 overall spot.

In the latest 2021 NFL mock draft from Bleacher Report, Lawrence gets the nod at No. 1, heading to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Fields lands in Washington at No. 2 overall, while Lance goes to the Detroit Lions at No. 9 overall.

Lawrence and Fields are expected by most to fight for that top spot, with Lance as the dark-horse challenger coming from the FCS level, similar to what we saw from Carson Wentz when he came out of Fargo. Lawrence saw some regression last season after a stunning freshman campaign, but he’s still the easy pick to go No. 1, unless Fields takes things to another level in 2020.

https://its-always-draft-szn.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-1

Gardner Minshew is entertaining, but his presence shouldn’t keep the Jags from taking a rare prospect like Lawrence if they do indeed land next year’s top pick. Washington would have to be convinced that Dwayne Haskins, the No. 15 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, isn’t worth passing on the next-best quarterback in the 2021 class in order to take Fields at No. 2. Lance in Detroit would be ideal, as the redshirt sophomore would get to sit behind an established veteran in Matthew Stafford for at least one season before having to start.

The only other quarterback to crack this first-round mock is Jamie Newman, who is transferring from Wake Forest to Georgia to take over for Jake Fromm. This projection sends him to New Orleans in the latter part of the round, where he would join what looks like a loaded depth chart for now, with Drew Brees currently listed alongside both Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston.

To check out the full mock draft at Bleacher Report, click here.

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