NBA Draft 2015: Utah Jazz mock draft round up 1

The Utah Jazz are going to start the draft process with three pics: #12, #42, and #54. Of course, it's likely that the Jazz aren't going to leave the night with those three picks, General Manager Dennis Lindsey is quick to pull the trigger in order to get the player he wants. So, we need to take these mock drafts with a grain of salt . . . but for us fans, it's a great way to find out who other people think the Utah Jazz are going to take. Moreover, it's an important way to see which players are around the area where we will draft. I'm going to be honest, I'm not crazy about some of the players who's names are popping up. But then again, I've been very crazy about some names that never even did anything at the NBA level (Morris Almond, MarShon Brooks, Myck Kabongo). We all have hits and misses when we look at the draft, but one thing I've learned over the years is that Dennis Lindsey is a wizard. And while national writes, people from old and new media, and fans alike think they can guess what the Jazz will do -- it's obvious that none of us know how it's all going to play out next June. Anyway, let is begin.

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Pick #12

At this spot, at the end of the lotto, we see everyone from the 8th best player (according to the Consensus mock rankings) to the 19th best going to the Jazz. I'm not going to say that the Consensus mock draft rankings are the be all and end all, after all, they are based upon subjective rankings by each individual person making a mock, or a big board. That said, Mario to the Jazz (Deveney, Sporting News) would delight me to no end because he's Ante Tomic's fellow countryman and teammate in Spain right now. Prying him away from Ante would be some Game of Thrones type of stuff. Of course, I don't see 11 teams passing on him. The rest of the mocks have the Jazz either going big (Myles Turner, Frank Kaminsky, Trey Lyles, Bobby Portis, Kevon Looney) or a wing (Devin Booker, Kelly Oubre Jr., Sam Dekker). There are two point guards -- but I strongly feel like the Jazz aren't going to go for one three years in a row in the lotto.

For the wings, outside of Mario, I'm not really in love with anyone. We're seeing a lot people going for Booker here, but his face reminds me too much of Blake Griffin, and that's a deal breaker. For the bigs it's a reach to feel that Turner will be available, but I think it's possible. He's not the stretch big that we're looking for, but if we are going for one, I want one who is going to be able to do that at an NBA level. Is that Frank The Tank? Maybe. Time will tell.

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Pick #42

Understandably, there are fewer people doing a 2nd round in mock drafts right now, and as a result, there are only 11 names here, and not 27. Also, it's understandable that there is very little consensus for players that will either be around, or picked by the Jazz. For me I love all the variety of crazy names we are seeing. A few of the guys here are ranked higher than #42, which is our pick. So that's a value add right off the bat. I've liked Luwawu since the days of the first consensus mock draft, but I am not sold on his outside shot. Though, it would be nice to get a French speaking buddy for Rudy Gobert, now that Ian Clark is off the team. Another option is Mouhammadou Jaiteh, who used to be a lock for a 1st round pick. We'll see if he shows up in workouts; though, I don't know if we need another French center. A lot of who we pick here may take into account with what the Jazz do in the 1st round. For all we know this pick could be part of a draft day trade to move back into the 1st round.

But, this group is really about fixing some problems at guard, as 7 of the 11 are either PG, PG/SG, SG/PG, or SG/SFs. Is that how the Jazz will play it on draft night? If the right guy is available, sure.

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Pick #54

Hey, we hurd you love draft and stashes, so here are some draft and stashes for your draft and stashes. I don't know how many of these guys are ready to play in the NBA next season, but I am interested in Vezenkov, who at #37 is ranked waaaay ahead of the #54 draft spot. I honestly don't know enough about half of these guys to make any other comment about them.

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Looking at the selection here, for me, I'd be happy if the Jazz went BPA, BPA, BPA all the way down. It's more likely that the team will go BPA, and make two moves. Utah could be flying back to the #801 with three new players, but maybe only one of them is from one of these three original draft spots. Of the dudes listed above for potential draft picks at #12, the three guys I like the most are Myles Turner, Frank Kaminsky, and Kevon Looney. For #42, it's Luwawu, Tokoto, and Hanlan. And for #54 it's Vezenkov, Milutinov, and Garcia. I'm not going to be upset if we end up with some combination of those nine guys.

Of course, next week we'll have another set of Mock Drafts to plow through, and another selection for each of the three spots. I can't wait.