2021 NBA Mock Draft 3.0: One week before the 2021 Lottery

27

Josh Christopher Freshman, G, ASU

14.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.5 blocks, 43% fg, 31% 3pt, 30 mpg

With plenty of star power on this Nets roster, looking to bolster the bench is probably the next step this team will take in the offseason. Spencer Dinwiddie could be gone this summer, as he plans to decline his player option for the 2021-2022 season, so looking for a player to fill a scoring void off of the bench could be a necessary evil.

The Nets can also be patient with this selection, as whoever they select here will be unlikely to be part of the rotation for some time, while they develop.

Josh Christopher had a quiet, but solid, season at Arizona State. Christopher is a very athletic two-guard who finds his success by driving in the lane and finishing around the rim. Though his three-point shooting wasn’t great this year, he showed some improvement from his time in high school and his free throw numbers are cause for promise.

Christopher also showed that he can hold his own on the defensive end as well, which is something scouts questioned when he came to college. He will need to add more dimensions to his game and clean up his jumper, but he could carve out a bench role as a scoring-minded two.

28

Sharife Cooper Freshman, G, Auburn

20.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 8.1 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.3 blocks, 39% fg, 23% 3pt, 33 mpg

After putting up big numbers at Auburn, it is still unclear where Sharife Cooper’s draft range is right now. His efficiency was questionable, to say the least, and teams tend to shy away from smaller guards who struggle with the deep ball, like Cooper.

However, Sharife’s ability to see the floor as a passer is something that someone will most certainly like in the first round. Perhaps in a smaller role as a distributor, Cooper will be able to focus on cleaning up his shot selection and efficiency as a scorer.

Philadelphia is finally beginning to rebuild their bench that became so depleted after the Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris trades a few years back, and the results have spoken for themselves in their regular season success.

A distributor off of the bench could help players like Matisse Thybulle and Furkan Korkmaz to get better looks when Ben Simmons isn’t on the floor. Another ball handler has been a clear need for this team so far, and at twenty eight Cooper is a great way to address this.

29

Marcus Bagley Freshman, F, ASU

10.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.4 blocks, 39% fg, 35% 3pt, 29 mpg

Going with a backup point guard would probably be what Phoenix would most like to do here, but with no suitable options on the board they go for a project wing in Marcus Bagley. The younger brother of Marvin, Marcus projects to be a three-and-D player at the next level.

In a very limited freshman season, Bagley showed signs of the ability to excel off of the ball and play solid defense at times, but his injury-riddled season was largely inefficient.

Bagley is the exact type of player the Suns seem to love: a big-bodied wing who could potentially defend multiple positions and space the floor. With plenty of depth on the wing already, Phoenix could be very patient with the 19-year-old’s development, much like they have been with their first-round selection last year in Jalen Smith.

30

Usman Garuba 2002, Forward, Real Madrid

4.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.7 blocks, 50% fg, 28% 3pt, 17 mpg

Though Garuba’s numbers are far from eye-popping, the sell on him is for his potential as a defender in the NBA. Standing at 6-foot-8 and weighing in at 230 pounds, Garuba has shown the ability to guard multiple positions in the world’s second most competitive basketball league.

Offensively, he still has a long way to go with his shooting and ball skills, and they might never pan out. However, a team willing to be patient with his development could come away with a switchable defender who can guard many positions.

As for Utah, they have a need for a power forward, and though they won’t find an immediate answer in Usman Garuba, they can afford to roll the dice with a late first-round pick on a player who fits their defensive identity. He would need at minimum one year in the G-League, but Utah has shown it is willing and able to draft and develop defensive players at a high level.