Valley of the Suns 2018 Mock Draft 2.0

The 76ers are a scary good team.  There’s no reason this crew shouldn’t be able to reel off a few championships before it’s all said and done.  I still like Mikal Bridges on this squad, but he seems too duplicative of the players they already have.  Same with a player like Kevin Knox.  Between Saric and Covington you’re not gaining a lot by adding a similar player.  Sexton makes sense because he gives them a totally different look than what they have now.  He can come in as a change of pace guard after Fultz and still can knock down the spot up three since he’s unlikely to be the primary ball handler.  This team is so deep that they should just be looking for unique advantages and Sexton provides them that.  For Suns fans this will be the pick that Brandon Knight cost.  So, there’s that fun thought.

I haven’t changed this since mock 1.0.  It doesn’t make a ton of sense until it does.  You have the unicorn, you’ve got two or three young point guards, you’ve got Tim Hardaway, and you’ve got the chance to add a Larry Johnson-esque player.  He just has the look and feel of a Knick to me.  He kind of fits their odd roster.  Logic doesn’t often apply to New York’s selections so the look and feel criteria seems darned near historically supported.

If LeBron is gone, I think this is Mikal Bridges.   However, I doubt LeBron leaves at this point.  There’s a lot of needs on this team.  They could try to find a perfect fit for the current crop, but I think they’d be wise to just take the top talent available and that’s Carter.  Putting Wendell in a young lineup with Rodney Hood, Larry Nance Jr, and Jordan Clarkston doesn’t suck.  If he can grow into a superior version of Tristan Thompson or even into a Kevin Love replacement I think Cleveland will be pretty happy about the return they got from Kyrie.

This shouldn’t happen.  Jackson doesn’t belong anywhere outside of the top five.  However, it just feels like it’s going to happen.  To make matters worse, in this scenario he’d be exiled to Sacramento to languish in basketball purgatory.  I pray for his sake this doesn’t happen.  However, if it does happen what a great fit for the Kings.  WCS is starting to come into his own at center.  De’Aaron Fox is one of my favorite young point guards.  You’ve got a nice supporting cast of young wings and guards, but you’re missing an elite power forward.  This just fits both the team and the player perfectly.

The chance to have both bigs be young guns who can throw flames from deep and rotate down for a rebound is a concept that has to make Chicago salivate.  You put Dunn and LaVine at the top of the key with a screen from Bamba or Markkanen and then you let the fun play out.  If the opposing team doesn’t cover the ball handler hard, someone get dunked on.  If they don’t guard against the pick and pop it’s a 3, and if they help out or cheat you just see the ball swing into the corner for a 3.  It’s the kind of theory that makes coaches giddy.  Add in the potential for Bamba to be an elite shot blocker and this is a nice pairing.