My first two round mock draft of this year (no trades edition). now with first round comments

no fuss, no muss
simple and sweet

Pick--Team---Pos----------Player---------Hgt
1---Minn----C/PF---Karl-Anthony Towns--6-11
Towns is a better fit here with Pekovic and Dieng already on the roster, KG can mentor him next year.

2----LAL-----C-------Jahlil Okafor---------6-11
Lakers get a young center for their rebuild after Kobe.

3----Phil----PG------D'Angelo Russell-----6-5
Philly picks the PG that more closelt resembles Curry.

4----NY-----PG-----Emmanuel Mudiay----6-5
Knick probably would prefer a big man, but take the best player on the board. He's been compared to J Wall.

5----Orl-----SF-----Justise Winslow------6-6
T. Harris is a RFA, but even if he stays the Magic could use some help at SF. Winslow could become a special player.

6----Sac----C----Willie Cauley-Stein-----7-0
The Kings take one of the top defensive big men here, to play along with Cousins OR in case they decide to move him.

7----Den--SF/SG----Mario Hezonja------6-8
Denver is rebuilding but their biggest need right now is a outside scorer. Hezonja can play SF or SG .

8----Det----PF-----Kristaps Porzingis----7-0
With Monroe leaving as a FA, the pistons should look for a stretch PF...enter Porzingis.

9----Char---C------Myles Turner--------6-11
I think Charlotte will look for a big man here. Jefferson may opt out on his final year and Zeller is more a PF.

10---Mia----SF----Stanley Johnson-----6-7
Heat can't pass up the best player left on the board, even if they need a center more. Deng might opt out also.

11---Ind----SG----Devin Booker--------6-6
West and Hibbert will both opt in and the Pacers biggest need is a SG. Booker is maybe the best spot up 3 shooter in this draft.

12---Utah---PF----Frank Kaminsky-----7-0
Kaminsky is a great fit with Gobert and Favors. Nice three man rotation at the power positions.

13---Phoe---SF----Kelly Oubre Jr------6-7
The Suns need someone who can back up Len at center. But Oubre's upside is too good to pass on here, with Green and Thornton both FA's.

14---Okl----PG----Cameron Payne----6-2
DJ Augustine is the BU point guard now. Payne can replace what R. Jackson provided for them.

15---Atl-----PF-----Trey Lyles--------6-10
SG is definitely a need here as Korver has been exposed in the playoffs. However no one on the board is worth this pick. They also have BOTH Milsap and Carrol ad FA's. One is likely to leave, thus the Lyles pick.

16---Bos----PF----Bobby Portis------6-10
I fully expect this pick will be moved in some deal. But Portis is a legit NBA PF who has a motor and drive to succeed. With only Sully and Kelly left at PF now, there is a spot.

17---Mil-----SF----Sam Dekker-------6-9
This pick could change if MIddleton leaves as a RFA, but for now I have the Bucks taking the home state player.

18---Hou----PG---Jerian Grant-------6-5
Anyone watching the playoffs knows the Rockets need help at PG. Grant has the NBA lineage and is most ready to play soon among the PG's left.

19---Wash--PF---Kevon Looney------6-9
Seraphin and Blair are both FA's and Looney has fallen some in this mock. Wizards could use some youth up front also.

20---Tor----SF--Rondae Hollis- Jefferson---6-7
a defensive minded wing is a need here, with nothing behind DeRozen and Ross there.

21---Dal----PG------Tyrus Jones-------6-1
The Rondo experience is DONE, leaving them with only Barea and D. Harris at PG. While they will find a FA there, Jones is a solid pick for the future.

22---Chic---SF----Justin Anderson-----6-6
M. Dunleavy....really? Anderson can play defense now at both SF and SG.

23---Port---PF----Montrezl Harrell-----6-7
Looking more like Aldridge might leave. While some feel SG will be the pick here, they have past top 10 pick McCollum ready in the wings. so a big man is my pick.

24---Clev---SG-----R J Hunter---------6-5
Spot up 3 pt shooter to replace the ancient M. Miller.

25---Mem--PG-----Delon Wright-------6-5
They need a back up point and a back up center to replace FA Koufos ( I think Gasol stays). so its between Wright and Upshaw here.

26---SA----PF----Christian Wood------6-11
A young above the rim big man to sit on the bench while Aldirdge joins Duncan for his final year.

27---LAL---PF----Chris McCullough----6-10
Lakers have other needs but McCullough falls due his injury and is too good to pass on with the "extra: pick.

28---Bos---C-----Robert Upshaw------7-0
Ainge takes a chance on the troubled Upshaw at this pick.

29---Bkn---PF----Jarell Martin---------6-8
Nets need some young bodys up front, in walks the LSU banger.

30---GS----PF----Jordan Mickey-------6-7
GS drafts a player similar to D. Green, in case his RFA offers are simply too high to match.


Pick---Team---Pos-----Second Round----Hgt
31----Minn----SG----Rashad Vaughn-----6-5
32----Hou-----C----Rakeem Christmas---6-9
33----Bos----SG----Norman Powell-------6-4
34----LAL----PG----Terry Rozier----------6-2
35----Phil----PG----Andrew Harrison-----6-5
36---Minn----PG----Olivier Hanlan-------6-4
37---Phil-----PF----Cliff Alexander-------6-9
38---Det-----SF--Aleksander Vezenkov---6-8
39---Char----SF-----Cedi Osman---------6-8
40----Mia----C-----Dakari Johnson-------7-0
41----Bkn----SG-----J P Tokoto----------6-6
42---Utah----SG----Timothe Luwawu----6-7
43----Ind-----C---Mouhammadou Jaiteh---6-11
44---Phoe---PG-----George Lucas---------6-5
45---Bos----C---Guillermo Hernangomez---6-11
46---Mil-----SG----Michael Quails--------6-6
47---Phil----SF----Anthony Brown-------6-7
48---Okl----PF----Jonathan Holmes-----6-8
49---Wash--PG----Joseph Young--------6-2
50---Atl-----SG----Michael Frazier II----6-4
51---Orl----PF-----Richaun Holmes-----6-9
52---Dal----C-----Nikola Milutinov------6-11
53---Clev--PF-----Aaron White----------6-9
54---Utah---C----Moussa Diagne-------6-10
55---SA----SG----Tyler Harvey---------6-4
56---NO----SF-----Vince Hunter--------6-8
57---Den---SF---Treveon Graham-----6-6
58---Phil---PF-----Alpha Kaba----------6-10
59----Atl---SF-----Nedim Buza---------6-7
60---Phil---PF---Brandon Ashley-------6-9

kdp,

Thanks for organizing this for the rest of us (me, for sure) who may have never even heard some of these guys.

I am certainly not going to divulge my total ignorance, but since you have the Cs drafting Hernangomez could you mention something about this guy. Thanks.

he's just a Euro big man draft and stash. best one left on my board at that pick.

just my early first attempt.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZxUxB_aaTE

http://basketball.eurobasket.com/team/Spain/Baloncesto_Sevilla/603?Page=3 ...Almost similar stats of Kristaf Porzingis,both play in the same team.

http://www.csnne.com/boston-celtics/virginia-swingman-justin-anderson-could-be-tony-allen-better-jumper


Virginia's Anderson: Tony Allen with a better jumper?
May 22, 2015, 1:00 pm








BOSTON – Just imagine former Celtic Tony Allen (now with the Memphis Grizzlies), but with more control and a better jump shot?

In many ways that’s the story on Virginia’s Justin Anderson, who is among the players on the Celtics radar leading into the June 25 NBA draft.

Anderson, a 6-foot-6, 230-pound guard/forward, said he will work out for the Celtics on June 1.

Most mock drafts have Anderson as a solid first-round selection who is likely to fall somewhere between the Celtics’ two first-round picks at 16th and 28th.

Anderson had a chance to sit down with the Celtics brass, which included coach Brad Stevens, at the pre-draft combine in Chicago earlier this month.

“What stuck out to me most, is him [Stevens] and his relationship with his guys,” Anderson said when I asked him about the meeting with Boston. “Just coming out of college, playing for him would be similar to playing for coach [Tony] Bennett.”

Virginia has been among the nation’s top teams defensively and Anderson has been the team's top defender.

At the college level, his size and strength allowed him to defend bigger post players at times. But Anderson’s lateral quickness and elite athleticism also caused fits when he had to guard smaller players, too.

And with a much-improved perimeter game, which saw him shoot better than 45 percent on 3s this past season, there's the potential for him to be a solid two-way talent at the next level.

But in his preparation for the draft, Anderson understands there are other parts of his game that he needs to showcase as well.

“I just want to continue to fine tune my ball-handling, my decision making with the ball, active coming off ball screens and just learn terminology,” Anderson said. “I want to make sure I get that down pat for whatever team chooses me.”

When asked about why a team should draft him, Anderson said, "I have a track record of being part of a program that has great tradition. I’m all about winning.”

And in college, he proved he could do it in different roles.

As a sophomore, he came off the bench and earned the ACC's Sixth Man of the Year award. Thrust into a more prominent role a year later, he was named to the all-ACC second team despite missing games near the end of the season due to a broken pinky in his left (shooting) hand as well as an emergency appendectomy.

Anderson is an attractive target because his greatest strength – versatility – is proving to be a hot commodity in the NBA among the elite teams.

Golden State’s Stephen Curry is the league’s MVP, but some of the most talked-about players this season were his teammate Draymond Green, Chicago’s Jimmy Butler and the reigning NBA Finals MVP (and most recently named NBA Defensive Player of the Year) Kawhi Leonard – three players who don’t necessarily fit neatly at any one particular position, but have managed to become high-impact players by doing a lot of things well.

It’s no surprise that Anderson envisions himself following a similar path.

“I want to be able to be that guy that does it all,” Anderson said. “It’s a new wave of players that’s doing that at a high level; [Golden State’s] Klay Thompson, Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard...those guys can guard multiple positions but knock down open jumpers and get better on the offensive end as the years go on.”

Anderson was among those to post impressive numbers at the pre-draft combine in the physical testing portion of the week.

Along with having just five percent body fat, his wing span measured 7-feet.

His time of 2.88 seconds in the shuttle run (it tests your agility and ability to change direction) was fourth-best among those tested.

And his 43-inch max vertical leap was second only to Arlington, Mass., native and former Notre Dame guard Pat Connaughton, whose vertical leap at the pre-draft combine was 44 inches (he, too, is expected to work out for the Celtics prior to the NBA draft).

The talent alone makes Anderson a no-brainer as a player Boston would consider drafting.

Add in the temperament and his admiration for Stevens, and it seems to make him an even more ideal fit.

“He’s a player’s coach for sure,” Anderson said of Stevens. “I [saw] what he did at Butler. And also the tradition there; and I love tradition. I love coming into a program where they’re all about winning. And they try to find ways to win every single day no matter what. I think that young program is on the rise.”



bob


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international wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZxUxB_aaTE

I like that the name on the back of Guillermo Hernangomez's jersey is "Willy".  Just too damn many letters for his real name.  LOL.

6'11", 255#, 7'1 1/2" wingspan, 9'1" standing reach.  These are 2013 numbers, when he was 18 years old, he's 20 years old now, so he might have grown or gained weight since then. His blocked shots are less than Porzingis', not what I'd like to see, but he has size and shoots A LOT more fts than Porzingis even though I suspect the offense runs more through Porzingis. That means he's around contact and that's a good thing. Can't shoots 3s. From my perspective, that's a good thing. We already have too many bigs shooting 3s as far as I'm concerned. I like that he's a player that plays with contact, like Isaiah Thomas. I suspect his lack of athleticism (23" no step vertical, 25.5" max vertical) will turn a lot of NBA GMs off. Draftexpress described him, in 2013, as "a little heavy-footed and not a great athlete overall".


http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Guillermo-Hernangomez-7204/


Thanks, international.  I wish there was a way you could send this stuff into Danny (there probably is a way, I just don't know what it is).  You could get a job as the Celtics Latin America scout (I know Willy isn't Latino, he's a Spaniard like the Gasols). I don't know what Willy's contract situation is but he sure looks like a viable Euro draft-and-stash. That worked out pretty damn well for Chicago and Mirotic.


bob



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international wrote:http://basketball.eurobasket.com/team/Spain/Baloncesto_Sevilla/603?Page=3 ...Almost similar stats of Kristaf Porzingis,both play in the same team.

Here are the draftexpress scouting videos of Willy Hernangomez.  As international pointed out, he plays center on the same team as Porzingis in Spain, which is one of the tougher, if not toughest, Euro leagues.


6'11", 255#, 7'1 1/2" wingspan.










bob



.

Not my cup of tea ----- Hernangomez's biggest weaknesses come on the defensive end. He's a below average rim protector who struggles a bit with the fundamentals at this stage. Hernangomez's foot speed gives him some upside as a pick and roll defender and he should improve his understanding on this end as he gains experience, but his lack of length and athleticism limits his potential as an individual defender regardless. He benefited this season playing alongside Kristaps Porzingis, who provides the ideal shot blocking presence from the power forward position to help compensate for his limitations.

He's also just an average defensive rebounder. His below average explosiveness hurts him as he doesn't gain position well enough as soon as the shot goes up to get by on instincts alone.


From DraftExpress.com http://www.draftexpress.com#ixzz3bewiXtiz
http://www.draftexpress.com

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/05/31/report-knicks-could-select-trey-lyles-with-fourth-overall-pick-in-nba-draft/



Report: Knicks could select Trey Lyles with fourth overall pick in NBA Draft
Brett Pollakoff May 31, 2015, 11:00 AM EDT





Trey Lyles
AP



Leading up to the NBA Draft, teams leak various bits of information about prospects they may or may not be interested in — some of it is true, and some of it is simply meant to create leverage in potential trade scenarios.

If the latest report is to be believed, which says the Knicks have their eyes on Trey Lyles, it would appear to be the type of tidbit meant to create some trade opportunities.

From Frank Isola of the New York Daily News:

While Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein have garnered the most attention, the Knicks for months have been enamored with Trey Lyles, according to a team source. Lyles is a 6-foot-10 forward out of Indianapolis who Phil Jackson sees as a good fit for the triangle offense.

Would the Knicks select Lyles with the fourth overall pick? Crazier things have happened and if Jackson truly believes Lyles, the 2014 Indiana Mr. Basketball who was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and has played internationally for the U.S. and Canada, is worth it, perhaps he’ll make the move. A more plausible scenario would be for the Knicks to trade down, since most draft experts don’t see him as a top 10 pick.

Most mock drafts, including ours, have Lyles going outside of the lottery in the mid-first-round range.

New York isn’t likely to take a chance here if one of the consensus top-three prospects — Karl-Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor or D’Angelo Russell — remains on the board when it’s their turn to make a selection. That could happen, for example, if the Timberwolves or Lakers surprise by taking someone other than Towns or Okafor, because the Sixers are sitting at three, and already have two cornerstone bigs in Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid, and could go with someone like Emmanuel Mudiay instead.

But if things go as they’re currently being projected, the Knicks would potentially have a difficult decision to make.

They wouldn’t need to use the fourth overall pick on Lyles if that’s who they truly want; trading down to get additional assets along with Lyles would make the most sense. But Phil Jackson is unproven in being responsible for making draft day decisions, so it’ll be very interesting to see if he can make the right maneuvers to get the player he wants — and do it in the most intelligent way possible.



bob



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It will, indeed, be interesting to see how Phil Jackson fares in this big test of his general manager skills.  If he's interested in trading down, I know a team that could accommodate him.

Sam