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The NBA Draft is only a month away, and the Utah Jazz have three picks to play with. While I fully-well expect Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey to make at least one move on draft night, and the utility of trying to see who we will pick at a given spot may be limited -- we're still going to do it now that the lottery has passed.
Utah will pick at #5, #23, and #35. And among the 20 mock drafts I track we got some pretty interesting ideas of WHO will will be picking up.
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1st Round, Pick #5:
Player | Rk | POS | HT | " | WT | From | XP | Age | (f) | ||||
1 | Dante Exum | 4.50 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 78 | 188 | (Australia) | 1 | 18 | 6 | |
2 | Julius Randle | 5.45 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 81 | 225 | Kentucky | 1 | 19 | 6 | ||
3 | Noah Vonleh | 6.40 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 82 | 240 | Indiana | 1 | 18 | 5 | |
4 | Aaron Gordon | 7.70 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 80 | 210 | Arizona | 1 | 18 | 3 |
GOOD NEWS EVERYONE! A guy with upside is the most frequently selected player here so far! We're not crazy about adding another power forward, but I think many fans will be happy with a dynamic combo guard. Well, not Alec Burks fans, but still! I'm cheating a bit here because Randle and Exum tied here. And in the future I think we'll see more and more mocks moving Exum beyond our grasp. Both players would be boons to have, so we honestly shouldn't get upset -- unless it means making Enes Kanter come off the bench in his fourth year in the league.
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1st Round, Pick #23
Player | Rk | POS | HT | " | WT | From | XP | Age | (f) | ||||
1 | K.J. McDaniels | 24.65 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 78 | 200 | Clemson | 3 | 21 | 5 | ||
2 | T.J. Warren | 19.63 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 80 | 233 | NC State | 2 | 20 | 2 | |
3 | Cleanthony Early | 25.76 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 80 | 215 | Wichita St | 4 | 23 | 2 | ||
4 | Kristaps Porzingis | 29.53 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 83 | 220 | (Latvia) | 18 | 2 | |||
5 | Rodney Hood | 17.40 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 80 | 180 | Duke | 2 | 21 | 1 | ||
6 | Jusuf Nurkic | 20.33 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 83 | 280 | (Bosnia) | 19 | 1 | |||
7 | Clint Capela | 21.65 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 83 | 222 | (Switzerland) | 19 | 1 | |||
8 | Shabazz Napier | 25.24 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 72 | 170 | Connecticut | 4 | 22 | 1 | ||
9 | Jordan Adams | 30.73 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 77 | 220 | UCLA | 2 | 19 | 1 | ||
10 | Bogdan Bogdanovic | 34.62 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 78 | 200 | (Serbia) | 21 | 1 | |||
11 | C.J. Wilcox | 34.71 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 77 | 180 | Washington | 4 | 23 | 1 | ||
12 | Jordan Clarkson | 35.00 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 76 | 180 | Missouri | 3 | 21 | 1 |
Way more different players selected here, but still, there's a winner: K.J. I'm not mad. DraftExpress has K.J. at #20, and he's an athlete who plays defense. Defense. All. Day. His offense is a problem, but in that case he would fit in with the rest of our team. My idea, and it's a crazy one, is to actually set up some deal where we draft someone at #23 and TRADE that pick for Glenn Robinson III. But that's just me. Mock drafts don't look into trades, and we know that is all DL is working on right now. Early is a nice 'get' here too, but I think GRIII is NBA ready at one thing already, a thing we are bad at. If Rodney is available at #23 you take him though. And you run away and don't look back.
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2nd Round, Pick #35
Player | Rk | POS | HT | " | WT | From | XP | Age | (f) | ||||
1 | DeAndre Daniels | 34.50 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 79 | 191 | Connecticut | 3 | 22 | 3 | ||
2 | C.J. Wilcox | 34.71 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 77 | 180 | Washington | 4 | 23 | 3 | ||
3 | Bogdan Bogdanovic | 34.62 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 78 | 200 | (Serbia) | 21 | 2 | |||
4 | Walter Tavares | 42.60 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 86 | 265 | (Cape Verde) | 22 | 2 | |||
5 | Jerami Grant | 22.89 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 80 | 203 | Syracuse | 2 | 20 | 1 | ||
6 | K.J. McDaniels | 24.65 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 78 | 200 | Clemson | 3 | 21 | 1 | ||
7 | Mitch McGary | 32.94 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 82 | 250 | Michigan | 2 | 21 | 1 | ||
8 | Jarnell Stokes | 36.67 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 80 | 250 | Tennessee | 3 | 20 | 1 | ||
9 | Semaj Christon | 42.46 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 75 | 187 | Xavier | 2 | 21 | 1 | ||
10 | Isaiah Austin | 44.09 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 84 | 215 | Baylor | 2 | 20 | 1 | ||
11 | Markel Brown | 48.30 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 75 | 190 | Oklahoma St | 4 | 22 | 1 | ||
12 | Joe Harris | 53.20 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 78 | 211 | Virginia | 4 | 22 | 1 | ||
13 | C.J. Fair | 53.22 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 80 | 212 | Syracuse | 4 | 22 | 1 |
Trying to predict the second round is like trying to figure out how much a newborn will sleep on any given night. It's worth while to do it, but rarely is it ever accurate. The wing parade continues here, and honestly, I think that's what DL and crew have been focusing on this year. We see K.J. and Boggy^2 here as well. Of interest is Mitch. He's a stretch big who played with Trey Burke before. He has some off-the-court issues to work out, but we all know that Klay Thompson didn't become a bad pro because of the same off-the-court issues. I'd welcome him here if he's available at #35. I don't know enough about DeAndre, C.J., or the Boggyman to speak intelligently about them though. But I do know that Ike Austin's kid has a crazy motor. But we already have a skinnier, bigger guy in Rudy Gobert. Similarly, Tavares would be wasted here.
I will say that I do not want Joe Harris. Sorry dude.
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There are some interesting players showing up, some of them at more than one spot. I don't know how conscientious the mock drafters are with regards to our team (the Utah Jazz), our roster, and our needs. But overall I'm okay with whatever, as long as we get a non-power forward with our first pick.
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Mock Drafts used:
Just NBA Draft | All Sports | Just Basketball | Internet Only | Other | |
1 | DraftExpress | CBS - Gary Harris | Basketball Insiders | Bleacher Report | Walter Football |
2 | MyNBADraft | CBS - Matt Moore | HoopsHype | FanSided | |
3 | NBA Draft Insider | CBS - Zach Harper | Inside Hoops | SB Nation | |
4 | NBADraft.net | ESPN - Chad Ford | NBA.com | ||
5 | The Draft Review | Sports Illustrated | Sheridan Hoops | ||
6 | The Sporting News | ||||
All mock drafts updated this week (5/19 - 5/21) | |||||
Except Sheridan Hoops, and The Draft Review |