With the NBA Draft just 1 week away, I thought it'd be a good time to jump on Google and have a look at a few mock drafts from around the sporting press. Without March Madness or videos from the Draft Combine this year, many people might be scratching their heads about who some of these names may be.
This year's draft isn't seen as a "strong" draft and going by James Jones' moves during the 2019 draft, most believe Phoenix will trade their pick in a larger deal.
However if they don't, here are the players that some of the larger the media outlets feel we might take (at the time of writing).
ESPN - Killian Hayes
Kevin O'Connor - Tyrese Haliburton
SI.com - Isaac Okoro
Tankathon - Patrick Williams
The Ringer & Forbes- Kira Lewis Jr
Hoopshype, USA Today & NBC Sports - Devin Vassell
The amount of differing opinions, shows how open this draft is. Many are claiming that only LaMelo Ball is a sure fire 1 or 2 pick. Everyone else could go anywhere. For example most project Killian Hayes to be a top 5 pick, however ESPN have him down at 10th to the Suns.
We'll start with the most popular player chosen by the above websites and go from there.
Devin Vassell
Position: Shooting Guard / Small Forward
Height: 6'7"
Team: Florida State
Nation: USA
Season Averages:
Devin Vassell is known as an athletic wing defender and an extremely consistent 3 point shooter. He cuts to the rim well, using his long arms to finish easily above the rim.
He has been compared to current Suns wings Kelly Oubre Jr and Mikael Bridges.
In today's NBA teams can never have too many versatile wing players. With Oubre, Bridges and Johnson taking most of the minutes in Phoenix Vassell would have plenty of time to learn the NBA without being forced in to too many minutes.
Kira Lewis Jr
Position: Point Guard
Height: 6'3"
Team: Alabama
Nation: USA
Season Averages:
Kira Lewis Jr is an athletic point guard with an all-out attack.
He is great at getting to the hoop with acrobatic lay-ups and has developed his catch & shoot game. Pushes the ball well in transition.
Weak defender at this stage, but plays the passing lanes well which lead to easy buckets.
Patrick Williams
Position: Power Forward
Height: 6'8"
Team: Florida State
Nation: USA
Season Averages:
Williams has been described as a "freakish" athlete by NBADraft.net.
His stats don't jump out at you for a potential lottery pick, but he has the ability to knock down the 3 and can defend multiple positions.
An NBA comparison could be someone like OG Anunoby.
Isaac Okoro
Position: Small Forward
Height: 6'6"
Team: Auburn
Nation: USA
Season Averages:
Another athlete who can finish well around the rim. Shows a high basketball IQ on the court reading defences well to move without the ball.
Promising defender thanks to sound fundamentals which helps him switch to allow him to defend some 4's.
Tyrese Haliburton
Position: Point Guard
Height: 6'5"
Team: Iowa State
Nation: USA
Season Averages:
Tall for a point guard at 6'5" and uses this height to his advantage. Able to set up his teammates well, using this height advantage.
Rebounds the ball well for his position, which allows him to start the break and get the ball to open teammates.
Has a slow shot release, leading to defenders being able to block his shot and the jury is currently out on whether he can shoot consistently from the NBA 3.
Oh look, I just described Lonzo Ball.
Killian Hayes
Position: Point Guard / Shooting Guard
Height: 6'5"
Team: Ratiopharm Ulm (Germany)
Nation: France
Season Averages:
Killian has good experience for his age (19 yo), playing 3 seasons professionally in France and Germany.
Excellent feel for the game with a high basketball IQ. Like Haliburton, he is tall for his position, using this to his advantage to set up teammates over smaller guards.
Can shoot off the dribble and runs the Pick n Roll brilliantly He's fantastic in transition, being able to go coast to coast himself or use his court vision to find the open man.
Good defender, using his height, length and basketball IQ to make excellent decisions in that area.
Not an elite athlete and his lack of bulk limits his ability to get to the rim through contact. High assist to turnover ratio, as he is sometimes too fast for his own team, a la young John Wall.
This guy could be the steal of the draft.
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