2021 NBA Lottery Redraft: Evan Mobley goes first overall
player. 64. . Big . Detroit Pistons. Evan Mobley. 1
It’s rare for an NBA rookie to step into the league and be a positive defensive player. When it happens, it’s usually for defensive specialists who play smaller roles and provide little defensive value — a rookie Matisse Thybulle, for example. It’s unheard of for a rookie to be a high-minute player with a significant offensive role and also be elite on defense from day one.
Evan Mobley is no longer being compared solely to the rest of his draft class, but rather to all-time great big men, from Tim Duncan to Kevin Garnett to Chris Webber. Duncan played four years in college before entering the league and had one of the best rookie seasons of all time. Mobley isn’t on his level offensively, but defensively he is right there with the all-time great defensive rookie seasons.
His production now is best in the class, and his trajectory now points higher than theirs as well. It would be a surprise now if Mobley wasn’t a multi-time All-Star, and it’s within the possibility for him to be a Top 5 player in the league. Anthony Davis is a reasonable expectation now, and certainly not his ceiling.
In the original 2021 NBA Draft the Detroit Pistons drafted Cade Cunningham, and Cade certainly hasn’t done anything to suggest he is a worse player than expected. The reality is just that Mobley has been so good he is undeniable with the No. 1 overall pick. Detroit could build their team around Mobley and know they had a generational defensive talent for a long time.
Forward. Houston Rockets. Scottie Barnes. 2. player. 169.
Scottie Barnes seemed like a reach at No. 5 on draft night, but now he looks like the second-best prospect in the class. After rarely taking jumpers in college he has come into the league and immediately shushed whispers that he was the next Ben Simmons, unleashing a competent jumper and being willing to take as many shots as he is asked to. Barnes can score, handle, pass and play good defense — he’s the version of Ben Simmons the league never got.
Originally the Rockets took Jalen Green, but here they get a two-way rising star to pair with Christian Wood (they won’t be getting Alperen Sengun here either). They have been abysmal defensively trying to pair Kevin Porter Jr. with Jalen Green in the backcourt, but taking Barnes allows them to go in another more balanced direction on the wing.