2015 NBA Mock Draft: Top Prospects and 1st-Round Predictions

For a few teams, this year's draft lottery is absolutely huge. Maybe there is a player who would perfectly fit their system or help them attract prospective free agents. Maybe they are hoping certain teams drop a spot so they can garner conditional picks.

Whatever the case may be, a few teams will be watching the draft lottery with particular intrigue this year. So along with providing my full first-round mock draft, I also took the four teams with the best chance of winning this year's lottery and broke down the best-case scenarios for them at this year's draft while analyzing how the top prospect on the board might fit in their organization.

Let's get to it. 

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

Minnesota Timberwolves

For Minnesota, landing at either No. 1 or 2 is the key. Adding a dominant big man has to be this team's goal in this draft, and nabbing either Jahlil Okafor or Karl-Anthony Towns would be ideal. 

While I think Towns might be the better fit for Minnesota, given that the team could use a dominant rim-protector, I don't think they'll be losing any sleep if they end up with Okafor. If you pair either player with Andrew Wiggins on the wing and Ricky Rubio at the point, you have the makings of a very, very exciting trio for years to come.

New York Knicks

Okafor really would be the perfect pick. Adding a polished post player to pair with Carmelo Anthony would certainly make this team more appealing for prospective free agents and give the Knicks a superstar to pair with Anthony before eventually taking over the reins of the organization. 

Still, the Knicks likely just want to stay in the top four, given how many holes they have. Okafor, Towns, Emmanuel Mudiay or D'Angelo Russell would all make sense for this team. 

But boy, if they drop to No. 5 after winning two straight games down the stretch, the Knicks will be faced with the realization that they even stink at tanking. 

Philadelphia Sixers

The dream scenario for the Philadelphia 76ers goes something like this:

• Earn a top-three pick.
• Have a team below the Los Angeles Lakers earn a top-three selection.
• Have a team below the Miami Heat earn a top-three selection.

That's the dream for Philly. Even if they end up with the No. 3 pick in that scenario, it would drop the Lakers to the No. 6 pick, which would then become Philly's pick. Meanwhile, if any team jumps Miami and drops them to No. 11, the Sixers would also receive that selection. 

Unlikely? Yes. But if it were to happen, Sam Hinkie would sure look like a genius, especially given the pretty deep pool of players available. 

Staying in the top four is pretty huge for the Sixers, of course. Mudiay is probably the best fit for this team, given their glut of big men, though a pure scorer like Russell would also make sense, considering the team doesn't really have a go-to man on the perimeter. 

Even if they drop out of the top four, a player like Justise Winslow would fit, though the Sixers really need that main ball-handler with the ability to take over a game. With Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel and eventually Dario Saric down low, the need for a big man isn't there. 

Of course, if they earn one of the top two picks, passing on either Okafor or Towns wouldn't be prudent, especially if they grade either player higher than Embiid or Noel. But on pure need alone, Mudiay is probably the best fit. 

Los Angeles Lakers

What don't the Lakers need? 

The most important thing, of course, is keeping this pick. Losing it to the Sixers would hurt, especially because nabbing a player like Okafor to pair with Julius Randle down low and Kobe Bryant at guard could help entice some of the free agents the Lakers are likely to pursue, chiefly Rajon Rondo, Goran Dragic, Kevin Love (if he opts out of his deal) or Greg Monroe.

Okafor would be the ideal addition, and Towns would find his place in the starting five, while adding Mudiay or Russell might lessen the need to chase a premier point guard in free agency. Still, if the Lakers feel they can bring aboard Rondo or Dragic in free agency, they might select Winslow with the No. 3 pick if that's the selection they end up possessing. 

But without question, the one thing the Lakers absolutely, positively don't want to see happen is their pick going to the Sixers. Anything else will be just fine by them.