2022 NBA Mock Draft: Version 1.0 midway through NBA season
156. Duke University (NCAA). 23. Freshman, Guard. Trevor Keels. player. 11.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.9 steals, 39% fg, 30% 3pt, 70% ft, 31 mpg. Pick Analysis
How Cleveland decides to deal with Collin Sexton’s looming free agency this summer will be very interesting. In the very possible event that Collin is not a Cavalier next fall, the franchise will have to look to replace the scoring he provided from the perimeter.
Though it has been a rough season beyond the arc for him, Trevor Keels came into the NCAA season regarded as one of the top freshmen shooters. A 3&D player, Keels has continued with his tenacious defense in spite of his offensive woes.
At only six feet four inches tall, Keels is undersized for his position. However, Cleveland is clearly okay with having a smaller backcourt & he has been able to hold his own defensively to this point in his basketball career. His ceiling isn’t particularly high, but if he can get his shot back on track he could carve out an NBA bench role somewhere.
New Zealand (NBL). 24. Pick Analysis. 2003, Forward. player. 169. 3.1 points, 2.0 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.1 blocks, 20% fg, 13% 3pt, 50% ft, 16 mpg. Ousmane Dieng
Pick via Brooklyn Nets
The Rockets have a boatload of draft picks going forward & aren’t going to be competitive anytime soon, thus, they are in a position to take a risky prospect. Dieng is a long, lanky wing playing for the New Zealand Breakers of the NBL this season. The French wing has seen very limited action to this point in his young professional career & in the minutes he has seen his youth has been exposed.
Dieng projects as a potential point-forward who can get others involved & space the floor. Without much to go off of in the NBL, a lot of how scouts will evaluate Dieng will be via team workouts. If Dieng were to pan out, this would be immensely beneficial considering the fact that Houston plays two wings in their backcourt. He’ll need to clean up his shot selection this season, but Dieng should be on an NBA roster at some point soon.
player. 2003, Forward. Mega Mozzart (ABA Adriatic). Nikola Jovic. 110. 10.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.5 blocks, 41% fg, 38% 3pt, 73% ft, 28 mpg. Pick Analysis. 25
Nikola Jovic has been on NBA draft radars for a few seasons now. He had a strong rookie season with Soccerbet in the ABA Adriatic League but has yet to make a jump in his second season with the club. Jovic is a 6-foot-10 forward whose main function is to space the floor. Considering his size, he doesn’t rebound or defend particularly well, as his playstyle fits more of a wing than a frontcourt player.
Jovic has consistently knocked down the triple in the Adriatic League, which should mean that he’d be a deep threat in the NBA. However, whoever selects Jovic isn’t going to get much other than a big spot-up man. Miami, though, always seems to have shooters around their locker room & have found great success in this method. Adding more frontcourt depth and spacing should both be intriguing to Pat Riley.
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Freshman, Forward. University of Michigan (NCAA). Caleb Houstan. player. 9.7points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.3 blocks, 38% fg, 32% 3pt, 77% ft, 31 mpg. 26. 24. Pick Analysis
Coming into the 2021-2022 NCAA season, Michigan wing Caleb Houstan was expected to be a lottery selection in this upcoming draft. Inconsistent play in Ann Arbor, though, has certainly caused a blow to his stock.
Houston is an off-ball wing who can space the floor but doesn’t offer a whole lot else to his game as of now. He has the length to be an effective defender on the perimeter, but to this point in his career he is average on that end at best.
Considering that Chicago could use both wing depth & more spacing for their stars. Houston has started & played solid minutes through his first nineteen college games but has simply struggled to get his shot to fall. The Bulls will hope that this is just a slump that he is in & that he can provide valuable spacing from the three as a pro.