2015 NBA Mock Draft: Landing Spots for Top Prospects, Rookie of Year Predictions

Let the Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors and the rest of the NBA playoff teams have their fun this season. The future of the league will come into play on draft day, and there are a handful of teams that prepared for the 2015 class with plenty of losing during the past season.

Players such as Karl-Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor, D’Angelo Russell and Emmanuel Mudiay are talented enough to make an immediate impact and perhaps turn the fortunes of a struggling franchise around within a couple of years.

With that in mind, here is a look at a complete first-round mock draft as well as some Rookie of the Year predictions.

*The order of the picks is courtesy of DraftExpress, as of Friday, April 24.

Pick	Team	Selection
1	Minnesota Timberwolves	Karl-Anthony Towns, F/C, Kentucky
2	New York Knicks	Jahlil Okafor, C, Duke
3	Philadelphia 76ers	Emmanuel Mudiay, PG, China
4	Los Angeles Lakers	D'Angelo Russell, G, Ohio State
5	Orlando Magic	Justise Winslow, SF, Duke
6	Sacramento Kings	Willie Cauley-Stein, C, Kentucky
7	Denver Nuggets	Mario Hezonja, G, Croatia
8	Detroit Pistons	Stanley Johnson, F, Arizona
9	Charlotte Hornets	Kristaps Porzingis, PF, Latvia
10	Miami Heat	Frank Kaminsky, C, Wisconsin
11	Indiana Pacers	Myles Turner, C, Texas
12	Utah Jazz	Kevon Looney, PF, UCLA
13	Phoenix Suns	Trey Lyles, PF, Kentucky
14	Oklahoma City Thunder	Jerian Grant, PG, Notre Dame
15	Atlanta Hawks (via Brooklyn Nets)	Devin Booker, SG, Kentucky
16	Boston Celtics	Bobby Portis, PF, Arkansas
17	Milwaukee Bucks	Montrezl Harrell, PF-C, Louisville
18	Houston Rockets (via New Orleans Pelicans)	Sam Dekker, SF, Wisconsin
19	Washington Wizards	Kelly Oubre Jr., SF, Kansas
20	Toronto Raptors	Christian Wood, PF, UNLV
21	Dallas Mavericks	Cameron Payne, PG, Murray State
22	Chicago Bulls	Tyus Jones, PG, Duke
23	Portland Trail Blazers	Jarell Martin, PF, LSU
24	Cleveland Cavaliers	Delon Wright, PG, Utah
25	Memphis Grizzlies	Justin Anderson, SF, Virginia
26	San Antonio Spurs	Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, SF, Arizona
27	Los Angeles Lakers (via Houston Rockets)	Robert Upshaw, C, Washington
28	Boston Celtics (via Los Angeles Clippers)	R.J. Hunter, SG, Georgia State
29	Brooklyn Nets (via Atlanta Hawks)	Terry Rozier, PG, Louisville
30	Golden State Warriors	Cliff Alexander, PF, Kansas

Rookie of the Year Predictions

Neither Karl-Anthony Towns nor Jahlil Okafor Will Win the Award

Towns and Okafor could go first and second in the NBA draft and eventually become the best players in this year’s class, but neither will win Rookie of the Year.

For one, big men don’t have the ball in their hands nearly as often as guards do, and they rely on their teammates to set them up for looks. Think of the MVP candidates from this season—Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and LeBron James are all guys who constantly have the ball in their hands looking to make plays and even get credit for the assist when the bigs score.

Okafor and Towns will be too reliant on ball-handlers in their first season to establish the consistency necessary to win Rookie of the Year.

What’s more, Okafor will struggle on the defensive end in the NBA during his first season. He is not an elite rim protector and still needs some work in that area, as Joe Ovies of 99.9 The Fan in Raleigh, North Carolina, pointed out:

As for Towns, he is a fantastic defender who will swat shots from day one in the NBA. He averaged 2.3 blocks per game in his one college season in only 21.1 minutes a night, which translates to almost five blocks a game if those numbers are projected to 40 minutes.

However, he is still developing on the offensive end. Towns will become a playmaker in due time, but he won’t be ready to put up Rookie of the Year numbers on offense in year one against defense from NBA centers. 

With Okafor struggling on defense and Towns serving more as an elite defender than anything else, neither big man will win Rookie of the Year. They are still as safe as it comes for draft picks in this year’s class, though, when it comes to long-term success.

D’Angelo Russell Will Win Rookie of the Year

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Sam Vecenie of CBS Sports projected the Los Angeles Lakers as D’Angelo Russell’s landing spot:

"

The Lakers get one heck of a consolation prize here, as Russell would be the guy to take over Kobe Bryant after his contract runs out next season. He’s a terrific scorer and jump shooter, and could pair really well with Julius Randle in the pick-and-roll. His defensive ceiling probably isn’t that high, but his offensive ceiling is legitimately an all-star level, 24 point-per-game-type scorer. That’s certainly worth a top-five pick.

"

Russell would thrive in Los Angles.

In this hypothetical, Russell would drill open looks from three-point range when opposing defenses focus too much attention on Kobe Bryant. Russell is also more than capable of creating his own shot against the opponent’s weaker perimeter defenders because the strongest one would almost always be on Bryant.

Russell can also play either guard position effectively, so he could spell Bryant for stretches alongside Jordan Clarkson or take over the ball-handling duties when needed. Throw in the fact that Russell is at his best in transition with his ability to either get to the rim, pull up or drop a dime to teammates, and Los Angeles is an ideal fit.

It is important to point out that all of these skill sets translate to any team in the league, so Russell's Rookie of the Year chances are not entirely dependent on his draft position.

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

He boasts the versatility to play multiple guard positions, has silky smooth ball-handling skills that help him create open looks for himself or teammates through penetration and has a soft release on his shot from three-point range and jaw-dropping passing abilities.

Russell’s game is built to stuff the stat sheet in the scoring and assist numbers that voters fall in love with every year, which will help him earn those Rookie of the Year votes.