The Mismatch - Bonus Pod! 2022 NBA Mock Draft With Kevin O'Connor | The Void

Episode Date: May 23, 2022

Hey, it's Kevin with a surprise podcast! I'll be discussing the NBA conference finals on Tuesday’s episode of The MisMatch, but today I’ll be going through the entire first round of the 2022 NBA draft with my latest mock. This was originally posted as a video on our YouTube channel, but we decided to publish the whole thing here as a podcast. (02:35) - Pick 1 (05:11) - Pick 2 (08:38) - Pick 3 (11:30) - Picks 4-9 (27:46) - Picks 10-14 (35:07) - Picks 15-19 (42:05) - Picks 20-24 (47:07) - Picks 25-30 Host: Kevin O'Connor Producers: Jessie Lopez, Dylan Berkey, and Ronak Nair Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it's Bill Simmons. We're not just reacting to the NBA playoffs on my podcast. We're also doing it on The Ringer NBA show and the mismatch podcast. They are coming after some of these NBA playoff games. Check it out, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights on the Ringer podcast Network. Hey, we've got a special episode of The Void today talking about the 2022 NBA drafts. Because we thought, why not give love to some other teams that aren't playing right now? I'll be talking on Tuesday about the conference finals with Chris Vernon.

I can't wait to get into the Mavs Warriors, another epic Andrew Wiggins game, including the greatest offensive file poster Dunkin history. And Luke need some help, man. I mean, Reggie Bullock and Max and Cleba gave him nothing. O for 15 combined from the floor. My goodness, and a six-point loss, gold stayed up 3-0 in the series, one game away from the NBA finals. I'll be seeing Celtics Heat on Monday night as well,

so I'm super excited to let's talk about that with Chris Vernon on Tuesday morning. So today we get a mock draft. I'm going to go through every team. We originally recorded this for the Ringers YouTube page. We were doing some mock draft videos where I go through the whole first round discussing each pick, team fit, trade ideas, stuff like that. So this one went for like 50 minutes, which honestly was a lot longer than I anticipated when I recorded it from Miami Hotel Room like at 1.30 a.m. in the morning.

But it was fun to do. I enjoyed it. And the Ringer YouTube audience seems to really enjoy it. So hopefully the mismatched podcast audience those two. Let me know what you think. Let me know what you think about the choice for your teams. What players you like his prospects? Hit me and Chris up because we're going to be talking about a lot of draft two in the coming weeks.

This is just something to get you started talking about every pick in the first round. And by the way, we got show notes down below that are going to list some pick ranges. So if you want to target certain areas and listen to certain ranges where your team might be selecting, you know, maybe the show notes will be helpful. Thank you for checking this out. I'm looking forward to your feedback on the draft. Hope you enjoy. and I can't wait to talk with Chris Vernon on Tuesday. Have a good day.

Tuesday night, the NBA held the NBA draft lottery, and we saw the Orlando Magic land the number one pick for the first time since they drafted Dwight Howard way back in 2004. I get them taking Chet Holmgren with the number one picking the draft right now in my mock draft. Let's go through the entire first round, starting with Orlando. I get them drafting Chet for one simple reason, history here, because with John Hammond,

and Jeff Welton going back to their time running the Milwaukee Bucks with Janice. In recent years with Orlando, whether it's Jonathan Isaac, Mo Bamba, Franz Wagner, the magic love length. Hammond and Welman love length. And Chad Holmgren, seven-footer with his shot blocking ability. He makes sense based off of what they've done in the past, but he also does make sense for this current roster here, because when you think about what they need,

They drafted Bamba with the hopes that he could become their dominant interior guy. They hoped that he could become a Rudy Gaubert type. Well, maybe that could be Chet Holmgren. If that was the vision with Bamba, it absolutely would be the vision here with Holmgren. The difference between him and Bamba is the fact that Holmgren, leaner, he's less physically developed, but he's far, far ahead in terms of what's happening between the ears, reading the floor, making quick decisions on defense. So for the magic, if you draft him and pair him with Wendell Carter in the front court and Franz Wagner on the wing, if Isaac is able to come back, suddenly we're talking about a team that could be really, really good defensively.

And then on the offensive end, he's not going to be your key go-to guy. He's somebody who's going to be playing a lot off of a Jalen Suggs. If he can develop in the pick and roll, Holmgren would be his number one partner and thinking about those two guys, Gonzaga players, Grant of the Nant-Laynep players. together. One of the reasons why Holmwood wanted to go to Gonzaga was with the hopes of playing with Janele and Snuggles. Well, that could actually happen now for the magic. I think this pick is not locked in, though. With Orlando, everything I just said about length and what they're looking for could also apply to Jabari Smith. And also, maybe it's not about length. Maybe what they actually need is a go-to score, a guy who can get buckets for you. And that's where Paolo Ben-Caro can help. And that's

fly with Orlando at the number one spot here. Think about it like this. They're in the pole position. The guy that they want number one, they might not have to take number one. The magic are in a position where if they really want Bencaro and they feel like they can get him with the third pick, guess what? They could trade down. It's that type of year. So everything I just said there about what a team could do in terms of trades, apply that for really everybody in the top four. Let's move on to the next pick here. But if the magic, regardless of what they do, very bright future ahead for them. I get Jabari Smith Jr. going number two right now. This fit here for Oklahoma City, it's, again, sensational for Sam Presti and the Thunder that they land number two. They have the

ammo to trade up to number one if they really need to to get their guy for sure. But Jabari Smith and number two makes a hell of a lot of sense because you get a guy who's 6 foot 10 who shot 43.6% from three as a freshman at Auburn. And he's not just some spot-up shooter, some guy who's taking standstill threes. He's somebody who can come off of screens and handoffs and movement. Auburn didn't do that during his freshman year, but you can see the way he takes pull-up jumpers, the way he relocates off ball, how those skills are going to apply to more organized sets that you see in NBA.

So for Oklahoma City here, think about what they have. their best young guys, Josh Giddy, who they drafted last year, Shea Gildes-Alexander, who they of course got in the Paul George trade. Those guys are your primary ball handlers. And I think it's worth noting as a quick aside here. Giddy's likely there for the long term. The Gildes-Alexander stuff, he's already into his second contract. They already had trade talks potentially trying to go for Kate Cunningham last year

according to multiple reports. he's not necessarily a part of the long-term future. Maybe he's a guy they flip again. But why would you not want to keep Gildas Alexander? He's just a guy that you'd be open to moving if the deal's right. If they're keeping SGA and giddy, Jabari Smith Jr. makes all the sense in the world, considering the fact he brings that shot making that compliments those guys.

One of his weaknesses, getting very low at the ball, doesn't have the tightest handle. This is where the MPJ comparison, comes from. That's something to keep in mind here. Think about what makes the best version of Michael Porter Jr. work in Denver. Well, he's playing off of Yokic. He's playing off of Murray, and he's feasting against some of the weaker matchups. He's getting spot-up threes. He's attacking closeouts. Jabari Smith Jr. would be in a similar environment next to SGA and Gideon, and some of the other handlers for the Thunder. But the reason why this works is because Smith can

develop that over the course of time. The level that he needs to reach as a ball handler, he doesn't need to be the 6'10 Kyrie Irving. He just needs to reach a passable level so he can be creating offense for your team. And even if he doesn't, whatever, man, because you're getting somebody who sets a tone on defense, who's 610, who's long, who's tough, who hustles, who brings it every single possession on the floor. So at a minimum, you get a guy with size a shooting stroke who's smart, who can defend

multiple positions. This is why this guy is a top pick and why he rose up the rankings during his freshman year at Auburn. And for OKC here, this pick just, it, it's one of my favorite matches from team to prospect in the entire draft. But with that said, Oklahoma City, you could, you can say a lot of. of the same things about what check could be with that team as a complimentary piece and what bank caro could be is a primary guy alongside them as a creator and i got bank caro going next to the

houston rockets i know a lot of rockets fans were disappointed by this i got comparisons to chris weber julius randall the webber comparison's not perfect but imagine kind of a modernized version of him i don't love the fit for bank caro and i don't love it for culture reasons because I'd prefer Bancaro to go to a place where there's already a level of accountability and a level of understanding that in order to get consistent minutes, you need to be playing defense at a high level. So like Detroit would be one of those teams. I think Cade Cunningham is the level of player who's setting that tone holding players accountable. With that said, that doesn't mean Houston can't develop that over the course of time. That is something where

Bancero can grow into it at 610 at 250 pounds with his size. He has quickness. It's the fundamentals, the effort. That's what needs to change. Like I note here, defensive effort fluctuated in high school and has absolutely evaporated in college. Very disappointing what he did defensively at Duke. But again, the positive side, he's strong, he's quick, he could become versatile, and he's not a bad help defender by any means when you have that type of size. pairing him with Shengoon in the front court. It's not perfect, but pairing him with Jalen Green on offense, that's where I get fired up because put aside all the defensive questions

and talking strictly about the offensive end, Jalen Green was averaging over 25 points per game to close the season. This guy made progress every single step of the way during his rookie year, just like he did a prior year in the G League where he started slow, got a little better, towards the end of the year. Same thing as a rookie with the Rockets. You pair Green with Bencaro. Those guys together, you could see Bancaro as a screener for Jalen Green, pick and pop and attack and close outs. You could see him rolling to the rim, finishing with finesse with either

hand inside, short roll playmaking because Van Carrow was a really good passer. He can handle the ball. He can create. And that's where if you're adding that other ingredient in with Jalen Green, you need other handlers with Green because if you have other guys who can initiate the offense, that's what unlocks Jalen Green as a guy who runs off of screens and handoffs and cuts to the rim for lob dunks. The Bencaro Green dynamic on offense is incredibly exciting. It's just about how do you build the rest of the roster around those guys? That's where the challenge would come, where there's some defensive questions about the each of them. But offensively, Houston could do much worse than...

Paulo Bencaro. It's a win for them to land at this point. This is where the draft gets interesting. The fourth pick, congratulations, first of all to Kings fans, moving up into the top four. I'm very happy for you all. I know, I know some Kings fans. I have some Kings fans in my life, including at the Ringer, Riley McAtee, great staffer for us for a long time.

And as long as I've known Riley, he's been very sad about basketball. I hope for Kings fans. this this you know brings a little bit of hope and joy um but it's still scary considering the fact that as i've reported i believe woge reported recently Zach rana vayay their owner has a mandate for the postseason to make the playoffs they want mike brown to break the playoff streak like they want to get in will they even keep the pick that's the number one question of my mind will they keep the fourth pick which is a weird spot because this is a position where a lot of people have them taken jaden ivy spoiler alert that's who i have

going next ivy's fourth on a lot of people's boards some people around the league i talked to have ivy even higher but the player that people have the most questions about and also the most intrigue outside of the top three is this guy shadd and sharp so sharp didn't play his freshman year at kentucky i almost don't even think we should have kentucky on here i don't even think we should have him in a Kentucky shirt, like warming up. He didn't play. He really wasn't part of the Kentucky program. But if you watch his high school video, I plan on us doing a whole video

scatter report of him because I think this guy has a chance to become the best player in the draft. I'm not saying he will. There's a lot of question marks about what he can become and just about how his game translates. But I've seen enough of him. I've watched everything that's available online that I can find. everything on synergy that I can find.

And Sharp is just a bucket. He's 6-6, fluid with the ball on his hands. He is quick with the dribble. He knows how to handle. He has an advanced package. He can break down defenders in so many different ways. He can pull up and shoot from absolutely anywhere. He's athletic around the rim.

Like, this dude's awesome. He's awesome. It's just we didn't see him in college or the gym. G league or any higher level like we did all of these other guys. And so that introduces a level of concern and a level of unknown about what you're going to get out of him in the NBA. But for the Kings, well, think about what they did last year. They drafted Davion Mitchell.

They got rid of Tyrese Halliburton and added a big. So they have Subonis in their front court. Now they have De Aaron Fox, who averaged nearly 30 points per game. or after the Halliburton trade. You got your guard. You got your big. What you're missing is the dude in between. Your, your scoring wing.

That's where I get so stoked about sharp as a potential fit with the Kings. And that's, I mean, look, I know a lot of people say everybody goes to die. They get drafted by Sacramento. Maybe that is true. And maybe it will always be true. But things can change. teams can change and you know what makes that change happen is the right players players are who change the culture of a team and change the trajectory you can hire mike brown and it and like

it almost doesn't even matter if he's an amazing coach or an average coach unless you have the right guys and shaden sharp to me is a risk worth taking but i don't know about the kings man they might end up trading this pick for short term addition, and I'd honestly be kind of disappointed about that, to be honest with you. I hope they keep the pick as of now, and I hope they're able to land shade and sharp. Or what they should do is even try to trade up. That's another option that I'm very intrigued by. But then again, one more thing about the Kings.

You're telling me, Bencaro and Sabonis is going to work defensively? No, I don't think so. Smith and Sabonis? Now I'm intrigued. Holmgren and Sabonis? Maybe. I mean, I think it's a bit much to ask Subonis to be defending on the perimeter, but if he has homework and helping inside, maybe that can work.

Let's go to the fifth pick, the Detroit Pistons. Pistons fans, you had the number one pick last year. I know it's disappointing you fall from three to five here, but at five, you still are in a position to get a really good player. And Jane and Ivy, I like the fit with Cade Cunningham. You'd have another dynamic creator who can generate a offense for you, somebody who can play with or without the ball. You know, he's not an ideal fit here.

I'm not overly in love with it. But it's the best I can do for you at number five right now. If I'm a Pistons fan, like you're feeling good about what he can be. You would hope he comes into Detroit. And like I said earlier, there's a level of an accountability there. Cunningham is a tone setter. There's a defensive mentality on the team. where you would hope Ivy can come in and embrace that

because he has a habit of making crazy highlight plays, whether it's chase downs, hustle blocks, dives for the loose ball. Ivy has an intensity. It's just, you know, as I note in here, falls asleep on defense, loses track of his man. Now, that's where kind of the Donovan Mitchell comparison comes from that I have up here. Darius Garland, a bit undersized.

Like he's a bigger version of. him in some ways, but a similar impact offensively. You're drafting Ivy for the offensive end. I mean, as simple as that, you're driving him to be a creator for you. I don't love the fit, though. I don't, I don't love the fit. I put him here, but in reality, if I'm a Pistons fan, I'm thinking, how can we move up? How can we move up and get Bencaro, Holmgren, or Smith?

Because those are the ideal fits. Or maybe you're just drafting somebody. who's going to come after this. Maybe it is somebody like a Keegan Murray. Maybe it's another wing, an AJ Griffin type. But again, I don't love any of those. The top four guys in this draft, I really, really like Ivy. I do too. I just don't love them for the Detroit Pistons. Next up, we got Keegan Murray going to the Indiana Pacers. I'm a fan of this pick. I like the fit next to Miles Turner. Keegan Murray is a shooter, a versatile defender. He's older. He's almost 22. We already know after the Pacers drafted Duarte, they don't care about age.

So for Keegan Murray, he makes some sense here in that sense. He fits the profile of what they've looked for in the past. I like to fit with their existing personnel. I don't think you need to make any moves. Like if they were, let's say the Pacers were to get Jane and Ivy. Maybe then you're talking about moving Malcolm Brockton and then you have a Halliburton Ivy Backcourt. But you draft Murray, I think you keep the infrastructure there and then you figure it out later. A big fan of Mario. I think he's going to be a good player. He was a late bloomer in high school, as I note, compare him to Pascal Seaccom, Al Horford, T.J. Warren, who of course is on the Pacers. There's different elements of those guys. Those are dramatically different players. He's like Seacom because

of his size and the creation ability. He's like Horford because of the defensive versatility in the length. And he's like T.J. Warren, in some ways, just because of that, that mid-range, you know, kind of vibe that he can have going. on in certain moments. He can be a bucket for you. He's not like a ball handler who breaks down defenders, but he can get a bucket for you. Where I'm intrigued with Murray,

this is the note right here. If he's playing small ball center or next to a center who can shoot threes, he could be dangerous as a role man to the basket. Iowa call mob plays for him and he's shown the ability to finish in the open floor. He's not an explosive leaper, but with his handling, scoring, and feel,

he projects as a major weapon in ball screens. Halibur and is nasty in the pick and roll. So if you have Turner spacing from three or Murray out there as a small five, there's a lot of exciting possibilities for that Pacer's offense. And there's really, these negatives that I have listed here, these aren't overly concerning. He's, you know, a good, not amazing shooter. But he can get hot and he could also just get better over the course of time.

And age, I don't know, man. Like age is something that you do need to consider, but he was a late bloomer in high school, a late bloomer in college. I mean, granted it was as a sophomore. He's almost 22 years old. Even if he gets off to a slow start in the NBA, I think he's one of those guys who's going to figure it out. The Blazers, I have them taking, A.J. Griffin.

And, you know, I've thought about this. Does this make sense whether or not they keep Damien Lillard? Yeah, I think so. Because with Dame, what do you need? You need 3 and D style guys. And A.J. Griffin, that's what he did at Duke. He was somebody who defended multiple positions. He was a very good permanent defender.

And he shot 48% from three off of like a whole bunch of different actions. And that's going to apply for him in the NBA. It's something that can translate right away. And then over the course of time, you would hope for a team that could have Dean, Amy and Lillard and Anthony Simons in the back court, you'd hope Griffin, sort of like we talked about with Jabari Smith, you'd hope that the on-ball creation can develop over the course of time because he's got creativity with the way he handles the ball.

I compare him to a three-point shooting Jimmy Butler. That's probably a bit of an extreme comparison in the sense that he's not Butler in terms of drawing files and getting to the line, but just the way he moves, it's Butler-esque. So if he can continue leaning into that, it could lead to a long, successful career for him. One important thing worth noting, this is big. Knee and ankle injuries have plagued Griffin's young career. The medical reports the teams receive will be key in determining his final draft positioning. I have him 11 on my big board, but for a guy that missed nearly two years of basketball due to his injuries in high school,

you can look in that in two ways. If the medical checks out well and there's little concern about future injury, this is a guy who's a lottery talent despite missing two years of basketball. That's the half glass full side of things. The other is that he missed two years of basketball and he's not even 19 years old yet. That's scary. That's concerning. And it's something that will factor into the equation for where he ends up going in the draft.

So this week with the NBA draft combine is critical in determining where he's going to go. All right, let's move on from Griffin to the next pick here. And Orleans Pelicans, obviously Pelicans fans are disappointed that this Lakers pick didn't move into the top four for them. But if they were to land Johnny Davis, who won Big Ten player of the year at Wisconsin as a sophomore, I mean, we saw the appeal with Jose Alvarado with what he can be on the defensive end of the floor. imagine having two of those guys. Alvarado's on a different level of feciness, but Davis at 6.5 with his defensive intensity and skill,

in length and toughness, imagine those two guys together with Ingram and then Zion and Herb Jones, or imagine C.J. McCollum in place of Davis, or in place of Alvarado, or imagine Jonas Valchunus in place of Herb Jones. The Pelicans would have so many different lineup combinations and so many different defensive combinations

that work around Zion and that work around McCollum that suddenly this team could be positioned to play totally different styles depending on what the game demands. And with Davis, I like his game. I don't love his game. And that's because of the three-point shooting. He shot only 33% from three. He is not somebody who is a dominant force off the dribble.

He shot 35% of mid-range, 31% from three off of dribble jumpers. That's according to synergy. Only 34% of his threes have to catch for 33% total. And that was consistent with what he did prior in his basketball career as well. So for him becoming a knockdown shooter is important. But guess what? The Pelicans have Fred Vincent, the best shooter. and coach on the planet.

The guy who helped Lonzo Ball, the guy who helped Brandon Ingram, the guy who helped Tyreek Evans back in the day, the guy who's trying to help Zion Williams right now. Fred Vincent is one of the most important assistant coaches in all of basketball. And if anybody can help Davis, who at least has some touch, who at least is solid from the line above average at 78%. If anybody can help Johnny Davis, it's Fred Vincent. And if you help Johnny Davis improve as a shooter, Guess what? He can already get buckets for you for mid-range. He's a tough shot maker.

He's a really good playmaker for you. He's not a bad, you know, a player who off to catch as is, but get him to a really good level. You have a versatile piece on offense who can run pick and roll, who can post up. I mean, this guy could fit in perfectly to this team that already has so much versatility, even without Zion back last year. And then he's a great defensive player, too. I mean, I get excited about the possibilities there with Johnny Davis going to New Orleans. Again, that's one of my favorite player to team fits in the entire draft. One thing I will say, and I'm sure some Pelicans fans are like, why do we need another guard?

We have CJ, we have Alvarado. Why don't you need another guard? I mean, like more playmaking, more creation, regardless of position is what the team should be looking for so they can run out lineups with five guys who can handle the ball. To me, anytime you can get somebody who can get a bucket for you, give me that guy. Give me that guy. Benedict Mathrin is another one. Only reason why I don't have the Pelicans taking him is because Davis just feels like a better fit for me next to see Jay McCollum. But if you want somebody who's a bit more ahead as a score, well, San Antonio makes a lot of sense here.

Imagine Mathrin who, anybody who watched him in the NCAA tournament, this dude is nuts, the intensity. Like he's got that Russell Westbrook fire inside of him. And I mean that as a compliment. This is somebody who was athletic as a freshman who played more off ball. And then as a sophomore took the keys, ran more pick and roll for the team. was more important as a playmaker. Such a good athlete, so explosive, so fun to watch.

Like, Dejante Murray, everything I just said about Matherin in terms of the fun factor, guess what? It applies to Matherin. These two guys, Matherin and Murray, put them together. San Antonio would have one of the funner young teams in the entire league to watch. You got your wings in Kelvin Johnson, Devin Vassell, multiple other quality young guys on this roster. He'd be an exciting pick for the San Antonio Spur. Next up, we got Jeremy Sohan from Baylor, compare him to Ben Simmons, Draymond Green, Aaron Gordon.

I tweeted by a mock draft out and some Wizards fans were like, we don't need another wing. We don't need one. We got Hachamora. We've got Corey Kisper. We have all these guys already. We've got Obdea. Why do we need another defensive player that can't shoot efficiently off the catch? I hear your point.

I totally understand. stand it. And the reason why I have Sohan here is just simply, I think he's the best player available. And I don't know what to do here if you're the Wizards. I'd be just being totally transparent here about the pick. I think Sohan is one of those culture changers. That's why I lean towards him at this selection. Because with him, think about what he was at Baylor. This guy grinded every single possession. This guy brought it. That's what the Wizards need, don't they? Their defense stunk, man. It was terrible. They were 25th in the NBA. Sohan somebody who can come in and defend multiple positions, which is valuable next to Denny Obdia.

And if you're telling me, you don't want to bank on a guy improving as a shooter, then what do you even have Denny for? You better hope he improves as a shooter. You better hope his playmaking catches up like he did overseas. If it does, which you hope happens, well, then Sohan can come in and be the partner in crime on the defensive end of the floor. A multi-positional beast who can defend guards, who can defend bigger players, who can defend wings and forwards. every position, give me that guy. Like, I want more players like that on my team. You're just hoping the shooting can improve.

You know, but with that said, I understand, you know, as I just said, only 32% on catch and shoot threes, only 58% from the free throw line. He doesn't have a great shooting form. There's legitimate concern there about what he is on offense. But for now, I'm keeping him there. I would expect that probably to change once we get more. clarity and what these teams are looking for. And maybe a guy like Jayland Duren could go to Washington, but for now, we're keeping him

with the New York Knicks, who have the 11th pick. This is one team. Every Knicks fan of my life that I know, they were praying to God that they would move up into the top four because they don't want to trade for Donovan Mitchell. They want to make a splash this offseason. The number 11 pick is not going to necessarily help you do that. I'm sorry to say unless you package it with a ton of future picks. So if the Knicks stay here, I say it all in the first lines.

Mitchell Robbins is a free agent. Julius Rangel needs to go. Nerlens, Noel can't stay healthy. Doesn't it make sense to draft a guy who's super athletic, who can come out of nowhere and block shots, who can throw down lob dunks, and not just a lob finisher. He's not somebody like a no-touch player.

He has some skill. He can pass the ball. He can finish with either hand around the rim, whether or not it's a dunk. He can lay it off. He can put the ball on the floor if he needs to a little bit. It's just the rawness of his game. I say Duren can pass a little bit, but the turnovers, the decision making, the lack of

discipline. And that also is true on defense with some of his falling habits, his positional awareness. There's a lot that needs to improve for him, but he's one of the youngest players in the draft. He's somebody who could exceed expectations over the course of time. For the Knicks, I'm not in love with it, but it's. It's what makes the most sense to me at the moment for them compared to some of either the older prospects or some of the even more raw prospects like Usman Jang here who played with the NBL. This guy could end up in the top 10.

I think with Jang, the way he closed his season for the New Zealand break for the New Zealand breakers, he figured it out. Like this guy was a lot of flash before. He was one of those million-dollar moves, 10-cent finishes type of guys. With 6-10, he can handle, get wherever he wants in the court, but he just was clanking shots off the rim. He wasn't finishing inside. All of that started to change towards the end of the season.

So, Jang, to me, is the name to watch like a Patrick Williams. Remember what Patrick Williams is like a late lottery, middle of the first round guy, and then suddenly the Bulls were taking him with the fourth pick? Jeng could be that guy this year. Just something to keep in mind over the next month or so as we approach the draft. Again, keep an eye on this guy. Keep an eye on Jeng.

Mark Williams is one of my favorite prospects in the draft. This is another one of my favorite team player fits. Mark Williams, I compare him to consistent Tusson-White side or Robert Williams. Here's the truth. You know those guys. I don't need to be super, super repetitive here and tell you how he's a lob threat, a rim protection. You get who they are.

What's different about Mark Williams is the fact, this is silly. He made five of nine jump shots, guys. Five of nine. Small sample size alert, but he's 75% from the free throw line. He has good form. He's got soft touch. If you're projecting, Like Brooke Lopez goes from this dude who can't defend and is posting up every possession

and finishing offensive rebound chances to shooting threes from 30 feet away for the bucks. Mark, if you're projecting somebody to do what Brooke did or so many other bigs have done, Mark Williams fits that profile because of the touch, because of the limited success. And also, this dude is the worker. From what I understand, this is someone who puts in the work. He hustles on the floor, you see that, but he also tries to try. eyes hard off the floor as well. So for Charlotte, you can get the big you need who's protecting the rim, who's helping

Lamello and the pick and roll as a screener. But maybe he's eventually popping for threes too a little bit and he can handle it to me. Mark Williams is like with Jang. I have him 13. But in my heart, I kind of want to put this guy higher on my board and in the mock draft. But we'll see what happens. There's a lot more intel gathering to do over the next month. get Dyson Daniels going to the calves back into the lottery here

you know we saw how important Rubio was to this team last season and what happened when he got hurt Dyson Daniels brings a lot of the same qualities at a bigger package at 6 foot 6 of course he's so much younger than Rubio he's not going to come in right away and be Rubio but with Daniels this guy's a passer a really good playmaker he facilitates he's reliable he's a great defensive player for his age. This is somebody to me that can come in right away and have a role for your team off the

bench. And he can play with Darius Garland. The shot needs to improve only 25% from three on a very, very low volume. And he did not look good from the free throw line either. So for Dyson Daniels, you'd hope that can develop in a really positive manner. But that's the really only concern is the jumper. And if you're banking on that, I'm proving it. you're going to have a good point guard for a long, long, long time. I bodgy going to the Hornets with their second pick here. I'm not totally sure about this pick in the sense that I'd love to see them go upside again. But it just feels right to me in this current edition of the mock draft.

Maybe it would be better if they package 13 and 15 to move up for a guy like Jing. Because if you're the Hornets, I understand, you know, the reasons why you want to get into the post. season now while you want to get a playoff spot and get that postseason revenue but why rush things uh to me i'm going for upside here and and agbaji would be on the more safe side so i'm not really explaining why i chose this pick i'm explaining why i wouldn't do it i think that's important here because with the mock draft this isn't some grade a mock draft this isn't the the picks that i would like fall in love with for every team some of them are But the way this board fell,

Igbaji, to me, just makes more sense as someone who can come in and help and maybe does provide upside because he got so much better as a senior as a ball handler that maybe this is something that just started a pop for him. Maybe this is actually just the beginning of his development in that regard. Think about a guy like Desmond Bain. Bain R always showed more handling ability than Iq Baji did until a senior year. However, I don't think people anticipated him turning into the guy that he has with the Grizzlies. Maybe Abaji follows a similar path. And so I'm kind of straddling the middle here in terms of, well, here's a guy with a floor who can help you with his three-indy style. But maybe there's some untapped on-ball potential that could unleash over the course of time.

Similar thoughts with Yason from LSU. compare him to a tall Jashon, Tate, Jeremy Grant, James Johnson. That's because this guy is just like he grinds, man. This dude hustles. He brings a winning attitude to the floor. And isn't that what you need around Trey Young? If you're building an ideal team around Trey, you need shooters around him.

That is probably the weakest thing about YSin, except for the fact that he shot 30% on a low sample. You'd hope that that continues improving. and you can do it on a higher sample, but he did not shoot well as a freshman. He got better as a sophomore. But that's about it. Other than that,

you want somebody who can handle the ball alongside Trey because you've got to get him off ball more often, and you've got to have somebody who sets a tone on defense. And he brings all of those qualities, and if you pair him with a guard like Trey who runs a ton of pick and roll,

you'd see a guy like Eason utilized as a screener. You'd see him in the short role. You'd see him playmaking for them in that sense. And that's where I get really excited about the fit. But, you know, the shooting is a concern, but I'm not sure it matters as much for the Atlanta Hawks as it might with some other teams. Number 17, got E.J. Liddell, 21-year-old junior, who declared for the 2021 draft, went back to school after he got feedback from NBA teams.

Lidl is a bit of a oddball pick here compared to what I think a lot of Rockets fans might want. But think about what we had them do. earlier in the draft with Jalen Green and Paulo Bencaro. And now consider the fact that you're going to have to add more defensive players around those guys. Liddell, at his age, almost 22 years old, he'll turn 22 as a rookie. He can come in right away and provide that kind of a veteran approach to the game. And Lidel got so much better offensively, in addition to getting better as a perimeter

defender, that maybe there's, again, some untapped potential with what he can turn into on the offensive end. But at worst, you're talking about someone who plays his role, who hits threes for you, who got better as a junior, and maybe we'll continue to in the NBA. So I think for the Rockets, you can't overlook some of these older prospects because they can get better too. Malachi, brand, I'm going to the Bulls here. I really wish they could get Liddell. That's my favorite choice for them. They really need another big wing. But I also think You can't underrate the need for another playmaker. Lonzo's hurt dealing with that knee injury.

The Rosen's old. Levine is entering free agency. No guarantees that he stays. Brannum is a bucket getter. He was an unexpected one and done player out of Ohio State. But what he showed is the ability to drain threes, off to catch, off the dribble, from mid-range with pull-ups, stepbacks. This dude is a bucket.

and I think for the Bulls, you need to start thinking about developing those guys behind DeMar de Rosen and in case Zach Levine leaves or eventually were to demand a trade. You drafted Delsun Mool last year. That worked out beautifully. To me, giving him another young guy in the back court, make a lot of sense for this Bulls team, if they're unable to get a wing and there's just not a wing that I'm in love with at the 18th pick for them at this stage of the pre-draft process. This is a pick that I bet a lot of Wolfs fans won't like.

If you are a Minnesota fan, I'm very curious about what you think about Blake Wesley out of Notre Dame. Young prospect, very raw. He's going to come in right away and probably not be somebody who plays contributing basketball. So maybe for Minnesota it makes more sense to go after somebody who's ready, who can help you try to be better in the postseason. I don't agree with that, though. I think you're drafting for upside. I think you're drafting for somebody who could eventually replace DM.

Angela Russell. Because I don't think Dilo's that guy. I really don't. I was a big-time believer in Dilo in his draft way back in 2014. I love Dilo. But the defensive consistency is not there. The scoring efficiency is not there. He's a passer, but not a consistent playmaker. Wesley isn't either. He's a bucket getter for you. That's who he is. You would still need to find another passer, but to me, if you're building out this roster, I'm not trying to rush things. I'm trying to just add somebody who could be the best player next to Anthony Edwards. To me, this is about five years from now, not five months from now. So maybe I'm off base to approach things that way for Minnesota.

Maybe I'm wrong. I'm totally willing to be wrong. But I think for them, you're going to be thinking long term here with the selection you make more so than a short-term reward, but that's just me. But the next Spurs pick, I get them taking, Nikola Yovich, not Yokic. This guy's a very interesting prospect. Six foot 10, you know, grew up playing guard, as I note. He can handle for you.

I'd love to see him with the Spurs, like with the way they develop players. He could fit in their front court next to a Pertil or Zach Collins if he's able to develop. He works with the guys they drafted up. pie. He works with the Jante Murray. Yovich to me is one of those upside players. And I'd be happy if he goes to the Spurs. Now, Bryce McGowan's here. Going to the Nuggets, there's a risk element here. And maybe this is a little, you know, too on the nose for what the Nuggets have done. But when you have a team that has taken the amount of risks that they have, whether it's Porter Jr. And of course, they took Bowl Bowl on the second round. Didn't work out with Bull. Hopefully it works.

out with that MPJ contract. But with McGowan's, you have a guy who's under 20 years old, who can create a shot off the dribble from anywhere on the court, who can pass a little bit for you when he wants to pass. Maybe if you're playing on Denver, it doesn't matter, considering Yokic is passing the ball and handling the ball as much as he does. And that's where I get really interested here, because I think there's elements of Jamal Murray in that sense where Murray is a scorer first, but he can pass sometimes. maybe with McGowan's, he can lean more into some of those passes that he flashes during his freshman year at Nebraska.

But this dude was kind of a ball hog. And decisions that he made, like it was dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, that's not going to happen with Denver. Like, it's just they're going to take that away from him. It's just like it's not going to exist unless it needs to, which is exactly also what happened with Porter Jr. So I like this team prospect fit. And I think for Denver, this is the,

the type of upside player they should be going for, whether it's him or somebody else. Got Walker, Kessler going to the Grizzlies here. I'm not in love with the fit because you already get some bigs there, but I think with Valanchunis and Adams, the success you've seen the past two seasons respectively, Kessler is the type of guy you could bring in as a rookie on a cheap contract on the late first round, and you hope that by the time Adams deal is done or even before it's done, that Kessler can turn to your center of the future. I don't love the pick because I think for them,

there's other wings that perhaps would make more sense, especially if they can get one who can also handle the ball. Like if McGowan's could pass consistently, I'd like him more for Memphis. But considering we have him off the board here, Kessler is the guy who makes the most sense in terms of, you know what he's going to bring. He's a shot blocker.

He blocked 4.6 shots per game. This dude is crazy. And so I think with Kessler, he makes some sense because there's a level of reliability with what you're getting out of him compared to some of the other guys that could come after him. It's like, for example, with Ty Ty Washington, I have him going here to the Nets. If you're the Grizzlies, I'm not so sure you want another six-foot three guard in the back court. But for the Nets, with this pick, you don't know what's going to happen with Kyrie Irving. You don't know what's going to happen with Ben Simmons, either health-wise or if he wants to even be part of your team. Patty Mills and Bruce Brown can be free agents this off season.

And then Seth Curry can be a free agent next summer. A lot of their playmakers in the back court are suddenly going to be hitting the market or you don't know what their futures are going to look like. They're going to be drafting another guard here. Tai Tai Washington makes a lot of sense to me if you're building forward with Kevin Durant with what he provides is a scorer. Tai Tai Washington can provide some steady playmaking out of the back court. but also maybe if he can extend his range from the mid range to three point range,

then you get a guy who could be a major steal for you. He hit 52% of his floaters, 43% of his dribble jumper two pointers. If he can extend his range, he hit only 30% of dribble jumper threes. If he can get better there, this dude has major steel potential. Similar with Kennedy Chandler,

he's further ahead as a shooter. than Tai Tai Washington is, but he's a bit smaller. You know, I think for them, we saw that they should have used Javon Cotter more in their postseason series loss against the Celtics. Adding another guy in that backcourt to me is a necessity. Chandler would make a lot of sense at this point of the draft to add some depth behind Drew Holiday and behind Chris Middleton. That's of the utmost importance for them.

But also one other guy that I like for them is Walker Kessler. He's off the board here. but if you're trying to find a backup to Brooke Lopez or potential replacement since Lopez is old and has a bad back, Custler would make a lot of sense if he's on the board. Next up, get Kendall Brown. This dude is so athletic. I'd love to see what the spurs can do with his jumper. If he's able to improve some of his fundamentals on the defensive end of the floor in addition to his decision-making on offense,

well, then we have something here with him. I think he has the instincts to pass. but it's about doing it consistently in total on offense, whether it's with his passing or whether it's with his scoring. There's an ability there, though, that a team like the Spurs can tap into. Now, this is a prospect rising up a lot of teams' boards from the executives I've talked to, is Jalen Williams from Santa Clara, smaller mid-major school. But with Williams, 6'5 foot 6 with great length over a 7-foot wingspan.

This dude is a bucket getter. He is somebody who hit 44% of his catch and shoot threes. He can come off of screens. He can relocate. He can do anything for you. He just didn't face a high level of competition. So his ball handling ability looks good against some of those smaller school guys, but it didn't translate quite as well on his big time matchups playing for Santa Clara.

But still, he can defend a bit for you. He plays hard. He hustles. If you're betting on someone to maximize who they can be, Jalen Williams feels like a strong bet to me. So I think for the Dallas Mavericks, we know how important Finney Smith and Bullock and Kleba these guys are on that team. We'll bring in another one next to Luca and then that you surround him with even more support on defense and on offense.

Number 27, we get Jaden Hardy. This dude was ranked in the top five prior to the college and G League and international season. If you're the heat, you get a shot to go to the NBA finals right now. I'm taking a swing, man. Like, your roster's in good shape right now and for next season. Take a swing and, like, maybe this guy pops. Maybe he's your own version of Jordan Poole like he was for the, or is for the Warriors. Hardy can create space off the dribble.

He just needs to improve his consistency as a score. I'm buying that he's a better shooter than he showed in the G-League, making only 27. percent of his threes. And I like some of the progress he made as a playmaker and as a decision maker over the course of the year, much like Jalen Green, just not as much to that extent. I haven't ranked much higher, but for the mock draft purposes, I do have him in the late first round for now. Number 28, we got Christian Coloco. I'm in love with the idea of this fit for the Warriors, because with Coloco, you have somebody who is a lobbed threat for you, who can block shots, who can pass a bit. Like I said, better than the number of

indicate compare him to Clint Capella, but I think there's a, like we talked about with Mark Williams earlier, there's a guy in there who can extend his range to three. You know, I don't want to hammer the Brooke Lopez comparison again, but with his seven foot one, 230 pounds, if he's able to add even more muscle, get bigger, you know, it will be a little less Capella and a little bit more Brooke Lopez in terms of what he can be. Oh, by the way, if Wiseman's out or not good. I think they need to be drafting another big. You got Bochamp, another G-Leager,

going to the Grizzlies with the 29th pick. Similar mindset, as I've talked about with a lot of teams. You have a star player in John Moran. You get a great co-star in Desmond Bain. Bochamp is somebody who can come in, defend multiple positions, he plays hard, he hustles, he has a grizzlies, grit and grind type of mentality.

To me, he's a culture fit. It's just a matter of improving his shooting. And then we get Trevor Keels with a 30th pick going to Oklahoma City to cap off my first round mock draft here. I like Keels. I mean, this dude, like he, he's just a bruiser driving to the basket. If OKC at any point is willing to move Lou Doort to a team that's willing to contend and offer a number of draft picks, Keels is somebody who can come in and hopefully

provide that same type of offensive impact with his secondary creation next to their primary guys, but also provide some defense. He plays hard. His effort kind of dwindled and got more inconsistent over the course of the year for Duke. But you're hoping in the NBA that that can become a more consistent thing. Well, that wraps up the first round. We're going to expand to round two at some point in the coming weeks. But for now, that is my first round mock draft. And if you want to check out the ringer's draft guide, head over to NBA draft up. the ringer.com. You can see my full big board, which has my rankings for 40 plus prospects. And then you can also see the first round mock draft. We're going to expand soon enough.

We got a lot more coming. Hey, thanks so much for listening to The Void. Special thanks to Jesse Lopez for producing, as well as Dylan Burkey and Ronick Mayer who produced the original video on the Ringer's YouTube page. Go subscribe to the Ringer's YouTube. We do a lot of great stuff on there. And also be sure to subscribe to the mismatch as well. We'll be back on Tuesday. Another episode with Chris Fern and I can. wait to talk about Mavs, Warriors, maybe, and Celtics heat tonight. Fire it up.

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