2021 NBA Lottery Redraft: Evan Mobley goes first overall

Our first marriage of team and player that stays the same in our redraft! Jonathan Kuminga has not had a lot of playing time as he joined a title contender, but the Golden State Warriors’ rookie has shown flashes of brilliance on both ends when he has played. Just this past week he blew up for 25 points on 10-of-12 shooting in a blowout win over the Chicago Bulls. He is a superb athlete who explodes to the rim for dunks and for blocks, and he might become the bridge star the Warriors were hoping he could be.

Originally the Orlando Magic took Jalen Suggs at No. 5 overall, but in the redraft he drops to No. 8 — yet still with the Magic. In this scenario they first took Australian wing Josh Giddey, and the two players should complement each other well — Suggs with defense and shot-making, Giddey with playmaking vision. Suggs falls because he has been a fairly poor offensive player thus far, but he has been a positive impact player overall because of his defense. If the offense comes around the Magic would have a steal here at No. 8.

Jalen Green drops even further than his fellow Jalen, all the way to No. 9 to join the Sacramento Kings. He has been the most damaging player in this class thus far, pairing awful defense, inefficient shooting and poor playmaking with plenty of minutes. That’s not an indictment of Green, as many athletic scoring guards struggle early; it’s also not a point in his favor. The Houston Rockets went 1-16 to start the season with Green playing a significant role, then won 9 of 15 games with Green sidelined by injury. Since Green returned? 3-9 in 12 games.

Green tumbles a bit, but the value and upside is too great for the Sacramento Kings here. Adding Green gives them the flexibility to pair him with a good passing guard in De’Aaron Fox, and potentially use Tyrese Haliburton (or even Fox) in a play for someone like Ben Simmons.

Coming into the 2021 NBA Draft everyone knew Chris Duarte was a “win-now” player, someone ready to step into an NBA rotation from day one. If he had fallen to 14 the Golden State Warriors would certainly be playing him minutes right now as they pursue a title. The Indiana Pacers thought the same in taking him in the late lottery the first time aroud.

Here he rises a bit, filling the need for the Memphis Grizzlies on the wing. They might swing for the fences and higher upside if they truly did this over, but Duarte is good now and could still get better down the line. As the Grizzlies have leapt into the Top tier of the West in the regular season, having a more reliable wing in Duarte could be their pick.