http://espn.go.com/nba/lottery2015/mockdraft
Interesting that this has pretty much everyone taking Okafor with the top pick. Also, Johnson falls just outside the top 10.
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GymRat [enjin:6592663]
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Re: Play the Lottery
In most of my runs the Lakers get the top pick way more often than 11.9%. Did Chad give them the big market rig?!
Re: Play the Lottery
Wooohooo. We got Okafor.
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Camden [enjin:6601484]
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Re: Play the Lottery
Can't see Stanley Johnson or Willie Cauley-Stein falling outside the top-six or seven.
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GymRat [enjin:6592663]
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Re: Play the Lottery
I think if teams see Stanley Johnson as a Ron Artest, or WCS as a Tyson Chandler, they definitely won't go outside Top10.
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khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]
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Re: Play the Lottery
Here's the first part of Ford's latest on the top pick.
The race for the No. 1 pick
Updating team chances; plus, a look at how Okafor fits for each club
Originally Published: February 5, 2015
By Chad Ford | ESPN Insider
During the past several seasons, there's been an intense debate among NBA scouts, GMs and fans about who will be the No. 1 pick. This season, so far at least, consensus has replaced debate.
Duke center Jahlil Okafor has been the best player in college basketball and has sat atop our Top 100 since it was first released in July. Back then, his hold on the No. 1 spot was solid. During the past few months, he's tightened his grip considerably.
With the debut of our annual Lottery Mock Draft Machine, Insider spoke to scouts or executives from almost every team projected to be in the draft lottery in an effort to determine their individual draft order for the lottery generator.
As of today, every team I spoke with has Okafor as the No. 1 pick. When there is no clear No. 1 pick, teams tend to focus on team needs instead of overall talent. However, when there's a clear-cut No. 1, needs tend to go out the window.
Both Kevin Pelton and I and Fran Fraschilla have detailed why Okafor remains the odds-on favorite to go No. 1. To put it succinctly, he's the most offensively polished freshman we've seen come along in a decade. While his lack of explosive athleticism and defensive prowess doesn't put him in the same elite company as Anthony Davis or LeBron James as far as draft prospects go, he's a very good No. 1 pick.
The other four players in contention: Emmanuel Mudiay (who dropped a commitment to SMU to play pro ball in China), Kentucky's Karl-Anthony Towns (see our Ford-Pelton on Towns here), Ohio State's D'Angelo Russell (a Ford-Pelton on Russell is coming Friday) and Latvia's Kristaps Porzingis. All have a case for the No. 1 pick, but none of them have made a case as convincingly as Okafor has so far.
We still have a couple of months of college basketball left to play, and that will be followed by the NBA draft combine and individual workouts, so there's plenty of time for Okafor to lose the spot.
Until then, here's a look at how Okafor would fit on every team in the lottery and which other top prospect is a potential match for each club, along with updated chances of the team winning the lottery:
Minnesota Timberwolves
Chances of winning the lottery: 25 percent
If the Timberwolves win the lottery, they have a chance to become a very, very dangerous team in the next couple of seasons. They could have three No. 1 picks on their roster, and several other elite prospects as well. The team is very high on second-year big man Gorgui Dieng. However, that won't stop them from drafting Okafor No. 1. As talented as Dieng is, he doesn't possess Okafor's ability to average 20 and 10 in the pros.
The Timberwolves have their backcourt of the future in Ricky Rubio and Andrew Wiggins. Shabazz Muhammad is also looking more and more like a keeper at the small forward position. Their biggest needs are for a power forward (Anthony Bennett is still a big question mark) and a shooter to stretch the floor (Kevin Martin, their only real sharpshooter, will be on the trade block). While Towns and Russell might fit needs a little more than Okafor, I'm told Okafor will be the No. 1 selection if the Wolves win the lottery. A trio of Wiggins-Okafor-Rubio could be very scary for opposing defenses in a few years.
The rest is just Ford describing every other team in the lottery picking Okafor and how they justify it.
The race for the No. 1 pick
Updating team chances; plus, a look at how Okafor fits for each club
Originally Published: February 5, 2015
By Chad Ford | ESPN Insider
During the past several seasons, there's been an intense debate among NBA scouts, GMs and fans about who will be the No. 1 pick. This season, so far at least, consensus has replaced debate.
Duke center Jahlil Okafor has been the best player in college basketball and has sat atop our Top 100 since it was first released in July. Back then, his hold on the No. 1 spot was solid. During the past few months, he's tightened his grip considerably.
With the debut of our annual Lottery Mock Draft Machine, Insider spoke to scouts or executives from almost every team projected to be in the draft lottery in an effort to determine their individual draft order for the lottery generator.
As of today, every team I spoke with has Okafor as the No. 1 pick. When there is no clear No. 1 pick, teams tend to focus on team needs instead of overall talent. However, when there's a clear-cut No. 1, needs tend to go out the window.
Both Kevin Pelton and I and Fran Fraschilla have detailed why Okafor remains the odds-on favorite to go No. 1. To put it succinctly, he's the most offensively polished freshman we've seen come along in a decade. While his lack of explosive athleticism and defensive prowess doesn't put him in the same elite company as Anthony Davis or LeBron James as far as draft prospects go, he's a very good No. 1 pick.
The other four players in contention: Emmanuel Mudiay (who dropped a commitment to SMU to play pro ball in China), Kentucky's Karl-Anthony Towns (see our Ford-Pelton on Towns here), Ohio State's D'Angelo Russell (a Ford-Pelton on Russell is coming Friday) and Latvia's Kristaps Porzingis. All have a case for the No. 1 pick, but none of them have made a case as convincingly as Okafor has so far.
We still have a couple of months of college basketball left to play, and that will be followed by the NBA draft combine and individual workouts, so there's plenty of time for Okafor to lose the spot.
Until then, here's a look at how Okafor would fit on every team in the lottery and which other top prospect is a potential match for each club, along with updated chances of the team winning the lottery:
Minnesota Timberwolves
Chances of winning the lottery: 25 percent
If the Timberwolves win the lottery, they have a chance to become a very, very dangerous team in the next couple of seasons. They could have three No. 1 picks on their roster, and several other elite prospects as well. The team is very high on second-year big man Gorgui Dieng. However, that won't stop them from drafting Okafor No. 1. As talented as Dieng is, he doesn't possess Okafor's ability to average 20 and 10 in the pros.
The Timberwolves have their backcourt of the future in Ricky Rubio and Andrew Wiggins. Shabazz Muhammad is also looking more and more like a keeper at the small forward position. Their biggest needs are for a power forward (Anthony Bennett is still a big question mark) and a shooter to stretch the floor (Kevin Martin, their only real sharpshooter, will be on the trade block). While Towns and Russell might fit needs a little more than Okafor, I'm told Okafor will be the No. 1 selection if the Wolves win the lottery. A trio of Wiggins-Okafor-Rubio could be very scary for opposing defenses in a few years.
The rest is just Ford describing every other team in the lottery picking Okafor and how they justify it.