1st Mock Draft Of the Season (picks 1-45)

[perks-a-beast]

With the draft lottery right around the corner, draft season is upon us. Sure, there still has to be an NBA champion crowned between now and the draft in late June, but it's never too early to try and forecast how the drat is going to go down.

The draft order is based upon the draft lottery machine on ESPN.com, so take it with a grain of salt. I'll try to do an updated version once the actual order is announced. I only did picks 1-45 since the Celtics don't have another pick after that.

1. SIXERS - JAHLIL OKAFOR. PF. DUKE.

2. T'WOLVES - KARL TOWNS JR. F/C. KENTUCKY.

3. KINGS - EMMANUEL MUDIAY. PG. INTL.

4. KNICKS - D'ANGELO RUSSELL. PG. OHIO STATE.

5. LAKERS - STANLEY JOHNSON. SF. ARIZONA.

6. MAGIC - KRISTAPS PORZINGIS. PF. INTL. 

7. NUGGETS - JUSTICE WINSLOW. SF. DUKE.

8. PISTONS - MARIO HEZONJA. SF. INTL.

9. HORNETS - WILLIE CAULEY-STEIN. C. KENTUCKY.

10. HEAT - KELLY OUBRE. G/F. KANSAS.

11. PACERS - MYLES TURNER. F/C. TEXAS.

12. JAZZ - FRANK KAMINSKY. C. WISCONSIN.

13. SUNS - KEVON LOONEY. PF. UCLA.

14. THUNDER - JERIAN GRANT. PG. NOTRE DAME.

15. HAWKS - DEVIN BOOKER. SG. KENTUCKY.

16. CELTICS - MONTREZL HARRELL. PF. LOUISVILLE.

17. BUCKS - TREY LYLES. PF. KENTUCKY.

18. ROCKETS - CAMERON PAYNE. PG. MURRAY ST.

19. WIZARDS - BOBBY PORTIS. PF. ARKANSAS.

20. RAPTORS - SAM DEKKER. F. WISCONSIN.

21. MAVERICKS - CHRISTIAN WOOD. PF. UNLV.

22. BULLS - TYUS JONES. PG. DUKE.

23. BLAZERS - CLIFF ALEXANDER. PF. KANSAS.

24. CAVALIERS - RONDAE HOLLIS-JEFFERSON. SF. ARIZONA

25. GRIZZLIES - JARELL MARTIN. PF. LSU.

26. SPURS - TIMOTHE LUWAWU. G/F. INTL.

27. LAKERS - GEORGE LUCAS. G. INTL.

28. CELTICS - ROBERT UPSHAW. C. WASHINGTON.

29. NETS - JUSTIN ANDERSON. SF. VIRGINIA.

30. WARRIORS - R.J. HUNTER. SG. GEORGIA STATE.

31. T'WOLVES - DELON WRIGHT. PG. UTAH.

32. ROCKETS - TERRY ROZIER. PG. LOUISVILLE.

33. CELTICS - RASHAD VAUGHN. SG. UNLV.

34. LAKERS - DAKARI JOHNSON. C. KENTUCKY.

35. SIXERS - NORMAN POWELL. G. UCLA.

36. WOLVES - ALEKSANDAR VEZENKOV. F. INTL.

37. SIXERS - MICHAEL QUALLS. G/F. ARKANSAS.

38. PISTONS - CHRIS MCCULLOUGH. PF. SYRACUSE.

39. HORNETS - TYLER HARVEY. G. EASTERN WASHINGTON.

40. HEAT - RICHAUN HOLMES. PF. BOWLING GREEN.

41. NETS -NIKOLA MILUTINOV. C. INTL.

42. JAZZ - ANTHONY BROWN. SF. STANFORD.

43. PACERS - ANDREW HARRISON. PG. KENTUCKY.

44. SUNS - MOUHAMMADO JAITEH. C. INTL.

45. CELTICS - OLIVIER HANLAN. G. BOSTON COLLEGE.

[jpotter33]

If it went down in that order, Cauley-Stein very well could fall far enough where we could trade up to get him.

[bleedGREENdon]

If Justice Winslow and Caulie stein dropped to 7 and 9, and Danny didn't trade up to either of the two I might disown the celtics next year.

[bleedGREENdon]

And why would we draft Harrell... With sully and Kelly..

[tazzmaniac]

Okafor is a true center not a PF.  If the Sixers get the 1st pick, I'd expect them to try to trade down a couple spots to take Mudiay/Russell or take Towns if they can't.  As for us, I'd be disappointed if Harrell ends up being our 1st pick and I'm on the fence about giving Upshaw guaranteed money.  I'd definitely inquire about trading up with the Hornets or the Heat. 

[Celts Fan 508]

And why would we draft Harrell... With sully and Kelly..

If the Celts could get Harrell at #28 I would literally jump for joy (just twice tho).  He is undersized but has a 7'3" wingspan and would be our best defender a the 4 spot immediately.  He runs the floor well, grabs offensive boards, definitely has a role in the NBA.  At 16 I would have other preferences tho. 

[slamtheking]

doubtful Sixers jump to the top spot.  even if they did, I'd expect them to either take Towns who has more skills to play PF next to either Noel or Embiid or they would trade down to either 3 or 4 to take Mudiay or Russell and get another asset in the deal

[slamtheking]

also, can't see the C's taking a PF with that first pick unless it's part of a trade package and the other team wanted one

[max215]

I love Stanley Johnson, but I don't see him going before Winslow. Hopefully Johnson is available in the 7-10 range and the Cs trade up...