2019 NBA Mock Draft: Post-NBA Draft Combine Edition
Nickeil ALexander-Walker. player. 100. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Virginia Tech. 18. SG
Pre-Draft Lottery Projection: 18
Following the two-year ban and assumed end of Tyreke Evans NBA career, the Pacers need to bolster their guard play now more than ever. Nickeil Alexander-Walker is good enough to immediately battle Aaron Holiday and Cory Joseph for the starting point guard position.
Even if Indiana decides to shell out the money to retain Darren Collison, Nickeil’s ability as a combo guard will make him a strong sixth man candidate in support of franchise cornerstone Oladipo. A strong defender and developing ball distributor Alexander-Walker is one of those players without any glaring holes in his game. He can help improve the Pacers as early as next year.
29. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. C. 19. player. Budućnost. Goga Bitadze
Pre-Draft Lottery Projection: 21 (+2)
We promise choosing the Spurs to select a prominent international player isn’t a force of habit. In fact, the last time the Spurs took an international player in the first round was 2015. We’d be lying if we said there wasn’t a strong precedent here (17 international draft picks made during the Popovich regime), but Goga Bitadze can genuinely ball out.
Already with a plethora of talent at both guard positions, San Antonio will inject some life into their big man rotation by taking Bitadze. Similar to Pau Gasol, Bitadze is a great rim protector with a smooth jumpshot.
Even if his three-point game isn’t quite good enough to label Goga a legitimate ‘stretch-five’, he can consistently knock down mid-range jumpers to make for a deceptively good pick and roll game. Since European basketball is already very pass-centric, Bitadze should have no trouble adapting to Popovich’s system.