Valley of the Suns Mock Draft 1.0

Philadelphia 76ers. lonzo ball. 1. player. 93. The NBA will pull a Cleveland stunt again giving the same team the 1st overall pick in consecutive years. The Sixers could go for best available talent with this pick, but with only one ball on the court between Simmons and Embiid, they’ll be compelled to take the best fit. This draft becomes the latest addition to the Sam Heinke memorial team. Partnering Ball with a dominate center and small forward will make the 76ers unguardable. Within two years, Philly will become the beast of the eastern conference and reward a passionate fan base for putting up with a decade of horrible basketball. I’m not just being rhetorical, this draft should create an elite squad for the next decade and set up a Warriors-Sixers rivalry in the finals almost every year.. Point Guard

Boston Celtics (Via Brooklyn Nets). markelle fultz. 2. player. 18. Danny Ainge will jump for joy if the Sixers pass on Fultz. Already armed with more assets than he knows how to use, Ainge would be “forced” to trade Isiah Thomas and Marcus Smart coming into contract years to make room for a new future superstar. If any upcoming team could ever compete with the superstar squad in the city of brotherly love, it’ll be this Celtics team full of high fliers with insane potential. They’ll always be in the eastern conference finals, always getting close, but rarely able to break through. The NBA trade machine will break with people speculating over where all of Boston’s assets end up. Boston is back and here to stay.. Point Guard

Small Forward. Phoenix Suns. josh jackson. 3. player. 66. The Suns have now publicly said their goal is to competitive by 2020. With that in mind, they will be thrilled to have finally land near the top of an elite draft. Josh Jackson is exactly what this defensively inept team needs. Partnered up with Booker and Chriss, the Suns will be well positioned for a return to the top four in the western conference by 2020. They will still have massive gaps in their young core at center and point guard, but this squad will be bad long enough to fill those gaps with top picks next year.

Small Forward/Power Forward. Philadelphia 76ers (Via Los Angeles Lakers). jonathan issac. 4. player. 93. This is a Phoenix Suns site and therefore we have to root for the worst possible outcome for the Lakers. This is it. They tank and still lose the pick to a rising Sixers team. If I were the 76ers in this spot, I’d try to trade down a few spots to find a better fit. That said, without glaring needs on the team, they should just pick the player with the most potential left on the board. At this spot, that’s Issac. If he develops, he has the ability to play either SG or PF alongside Simmons. That’s exactly the kind of versatility they’d hope to get in building out their team. With Saric starting to show some flashes of serious potential, this will almost be an embarrassing amount of young talent.

dennis smith. 5. player. 38. The Magic have an irrational dislike of Elfrid Payton. The young man is already the franchise leader in triple doubles and he’s 23. Yes, he’s a horrible three point shooter, but at 23 it’s reasonable to think he’ll develop over time, ala Jason Kidd. Giving up on Payton makes almost no sense, but then again the Magic rarely make sense. With that in mind, they’re going to select Dennis Smith as the Payton replacement. Smith gives them exactly what Payton doesn’t: shooting. Undoubtedly they’ll package Payton in a deal that makes no sense to someone who will see him bloom into an All Star, but Smith will probably do the same in Orlando. So, raise your glasses to the madness that is the Magic franchise and enjoy the show.. Point Guard. Orlando Magic