Picks 10-6
Jonathan Isaac is perhaps the biggest risk in this draft. However, if he falls this far, he’s a good value at number ten and an especially so for the Kings (and boy are they lucky after what they pulled at number five). If they can replace Rudy Gay and Tyreke Evans with Isaac, I think they’ll be very happy. Sacramento is a good spot for Isaac who is going to need a lot of playing time and good coaching to meet his potential. This is possible the best fit for him.
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What better way to replace Dirk Nowitzki than with the player most often compared to him. To be clear, Lauri Markkanen is no Dirk, but he is a really skilled seven-footer. The Mavs have a long way to go in their rebuild, but adding Lauri and letting him learn under Nowitzki for a year or two makes a lot of sense. His ability to stretch the floor will be a nice compliment to Nerlens Noel and should help form a competitive base in a few years.
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I have a tough time envisioning Phil Jackson selecting a risk like Isaac or Ntilikina here. He’s too desperate for impact talent and clearly doesn’t seem to think much of Derek Rose. Smith brings a full set of elite tools to the table. While I think Jackson would love to find someone more capable of replacing Melo, he knows he needs a point guard. Smith is the best player at PG left on the board here. His personality fits NYC and overall it just makes sense.
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I think you’ll see a lot of mock drafts have Issac slated for the T-Wolves. While his potential is higher than any other options, I just don’t see a natural fit on a team with Andrew Wiggins. I think you could see them go for Markkanen here, but his defense is suspect enough that I can’t imagine Thibs signing off on that pick. Collins continues to climb up boards as teams see just how special of a player he is. His ability to play elite defense and still step out and drill long jumpers seems like a perfect compliment to Karl-Anthony Towns and the aforementioned Wiggins.
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The Magic give me a spidy-sense that they’re going to do something dumb here like draft Dennis Smith. Not that Smith isn’t a great player, but if Tatum is on the board here it shouldn’t even be a debate. Clearly the best player on the board and fills a clear need for the team. I understand why they don’t like Payton, but the need to upgrade over Terrence Ross should be a lot higher than the desire to try and upgrade over a guy in his early twenties who is starting to crank out triple-doubles.
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Suns Squared: Jayson Tatum