With most of the teams in the NBA on their offseason, many fans’ minds are set on the 2013 draft, taking place on June 27. Here’s KJG’s first round mock draft, with teams ordered by their final record. You can also read a little bit about the top prospects below.
1. Orlando Magic: Nerlens Noel, 19, C, Kentucky
2. Charlotte Bobcats: Ben McLemore, 20, SG, Kansas
3. Cleveland Cavaliers: Otto Porter, 19, SF, Georgetown
4. Phoenix Suns: Victor Oladipo, 21, SG, Indiana
5. New Orleans Pelicans: Trey Burke, 20, PG, Michigan
6. Sacramento Kings: Shabazz Muhammad, 20, SF, UCLA
7. Detroit Pistons: Michael Carter-Williams, 21, PG, Syracuse
8. Washington Wizards: Alex Len, 19, C, Maryland
9. Minnesota Timberwolves: Anthony Bennett, 20, PF, UNLV
10. Portland Trail Blazers: CJ McCollum, 21, SG/PG, Lehigh
11. Philadelphia 76ers: Mason Plumlee, 23, PF/C, Duke
12. Oklahoma City Thunder (from Toronto Raptors): Cody Zeller, 20, C, Indiana
13. Dallas Mavericks: Kelly Olynyk, 22, C, Gonzaga
14. Utah Jazz: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, 20, SG, Georgia
15. Milwaukee Bucks: Dario Saric, 19, SF, Cibona Zagreb (Croatia)
16. Boston Celtics: Gorgui Dieng, 23, C, Louisville
17. Atlanta Hawks: Rudy Gobert, 20, PF/C, Cholet (France)
18. Atlanta Hawks (from Houston Rockets): Jamaal Franklin, 21, SG, San Diego State
19. Cleveland Cavaliers (from Los Angeles Lakers): Jeff Withey, 23, C, Kansas
20. Chicago Bulls: Allen Crabbe, 21, SG, California
21. Utah Jazz (from Golden State Warriors): Dennis Schroeder, 19, PG, Braunschweig (Germany)
22. Brooklyn Nets: Tony Mitchell, 21, SF/PF, North Texas
23. Indiana Pacers: Shane Larkin, 20, PG, Miami (FL)
24. New York Knicks: Steven Adams, 19, C, Pittsburgh
25. Los Angeles Clippers: Sergey Karasev, 19, SF, Triumph Moscow (Russia)
26. Minnesota Timberwolves (from Memphis Grizzlies): Archie Goodwin, 19, SG, Kentucky
27. Denver Nuggets: Giannis Adetokunbo, 18, SF, Filathlitikos (Greece)
28. San Antonio Spurs: Lucas Nogueira, 20, C, CB Estudiantes (Spain)
29. Oklahoma City Thunder: Glen Rice Jr, 22, SF, Rio Grande (D-League)
30. Phoenix Suns: Reggie Bullock, 22, SF, North Carolina
Despite his season-ending knee injury, Noel is still the best prospect of this class, and should go first no matter who wins the lottery. His offensive game is pretty raw, but he is tremendously athletic, which will allow him to be a great big man defender, and if nothing else, a terrific finisher around the rim.
McLemore has a lot of skills offensively, being dominant in transition, while also showing skill as a cutter and a spot-up shooter last season at Kansas. He’s also shown the ability to defend multiple wing positions, so he should be a great contributor wherever he lands.
Burke fairly went up on draft boards after tremendous play in Big 10 play and the NCAA tournament. He’s a great facilitator, shoots well, defends capably, and generally doesn’t make many mistakes. He’d be a great fit for New Orleans, moving Austin Rivers to the bench after his incomprehensibly bad rookie season.
Otto Porter might never be a star in the NBA, but he’ll be a good starter pretty much wherever he goes. He shoots the ball very well, has a great motor (buzzword!), and also appears to be a great defender. He’d fit in best with the Cavaliers or Kings, who both need upgrades at the Small Forward position.
After starting the season as a popular pick to be the first overall selection, Cody Zeller has dropped down most draft boards to a mid lottery pick, while his teammate Oladipo has shot up to a top-10 or 5 selection. Oladipo developed into a fantastic 2-guard this season, especially on defense. His offensive game is shaky beyond transition, where he’s great, but he showed improvement on driving to the rim and shooting later in the season. Zeller played very solidly throughout his second season at Indiana, doing just about everything a Center needs to do well. Like Nerlens, he needs to bulk up to better handle players in the post, but he still has lots of room to develop into a great NBA big man.
Keep with King James Gospel for continued draft coverage as players go through the combine May 15-19 and the lottery positions are announced May 21.