NBA Mock Draft 1.0: Warriors get NBA ready contributors, Bulls select familiar face
With the NBA Draft lottery in the books and the entire draft order set, it is time for our NBA Mock Draft 1.0. There will be no trades in this draft, meaning each team will select at the picks they currently own.
Due to that rule, as the picks get later it gets nearly impossible to make logical decisions because some teams currently own quite a few picks early in the draft and another handful late in the draft.
For that reason, this NBA Mock Draft will end shortly after the Chicago Bulls selection takes place. They pick at 38th overall, so we went ahead to 40th overall before wrapping it up.
With that said, the Detroit Pistons are on the clock!
NBA Mock Draft 1.0: Picks 1 & 2
Scouting Report. Oklahoma State. player. Pick Analysis. PG. Cade Cunningham. 1. 64
Cade Cunningham is the easy choice for the Pistons despite their front office being adamant all options are being considered. Ultimately, the chance to add Cunningham to a promising group that already includes players such as Killian Hayes and Isaiah Stewart, among others, is too much for Detroit to pass up on.
Cunningham had a phenomenal freshman season at Oklahoma State and locked himself in as the top prospect in the 2021 NBA Draft class. He averaged 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. He also put up 1.6 steals per game to go along with 0.8 blocks per game.
At six foot eight, Cunningham is a uniquely sized ball handler that can see the court like few players and take advantage of the opportunities that vision presents him with. He also proved himself to be a knockdown three-point shooter, hitting 40 percent of his attempts from behind the arc during his one college season.
Scouting Report. 2. player. 169. Jalen Suggs. Pick Analysis. PG. Gonzaga
The Houston Rockets have a number of options with the number two selection in the draft. Ultimately, they take their point guard of the future in Jalen Suggs out of Gonzaga.
Suggs is a proven leader on the court and is the perfect addition to a Rockets roster early in the rebuilding stages. although John Wall is currently on the Rockets, it is only a matter of time before the team comes to an agreement with him on a buy-out so they can run things around their new franchise player.
Suggs does it all on the court. He is just what Houston needs to set the tone moving forward and he has a good chance of developing into a special player in the NBA down the road. The Rockets now have a young core of players that includes Suggs, Kevin Porter Jr., Christian Wood and Jae’Sean Tate.