NBA Draft 2015: Analyzing Early 1st-Round Mock Draft Projections

Postseason NBA action has commenced, which leaves fans of title contenders shunning any draft talk for a few more weeks.

Not everyone, however, enjoys that luxury. While the Los Angeles Clippers fight to dethrone the San Antonio Spurs, the Los Angeles Lakers are daydreaming about winning the draft lottery.

Life can't be as good for everyone as it is for the Atlanta Hawks. Not only did they earn the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed, but they'll jump up to the middle of the draft's first round by swapping picks with the Brooklyn Nets, whom they'll likely eliminate from postseason action.

Nets general manager Billy King can't award charity to every other franchise, so other title hopefuls won't digest this mock draft as giddily as those whose favorite club is watching from home.

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

Top International Prospects

In a class packed with freshmen, three international prospects are safely entrenched as lottery picks. For many fans, these players enter the NBA as mystery men only seen in scouting reports and YouTube clips.

The unknown scares many of us, but NBA executives have not shied away from locating talent overseas. While some take a while to come to the United States or adjust to a different game, they don't lag far behind one-and-done Americans.

Emmanuel Mudiay, PG, China

Rather than playing his mandated year in the NCAA, Emmanuel Mudiay jumped to the Chinese Basketball Association. After playing professionally outside the U.S.—a similar path Brandon Jennings took in 2008—the guard projects as a top-five pick.

The 19-year-old averaged 18.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.9 assists for his China club, flashing tremendous scoring talent and playmaking ability. Former NBA player Stephon Marbury, who has won three straight CBA titles, gave a glowing review of Mudiay to the New York Post's Marc Berman:

"

He's got his own style — fast. He's got a little bit of everybody's game. What I like about him is he can jump and he's big, too, a big guard, more of a tweener. He can't really shoot that well right now, but he's got point-guard skills, sees the floor really well. He's definitely an NBA player. The question that teams want to know is if he'll be impactful for the organization before they invest the top pick. I gave him advice — stay on the right path.

"

With big men Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor jousting for the No. 1 spot, Mudiay will compete for the No. 3 slot with Ohio State's D'Angelo Russell. Both versatile guards have the size to land the tweener label, but Russell is a more polished shooter and defender.

President of Basketball Operations Sam Hinkie has not been shy about making long-term draft investments, so Mudiay is in play if the Philadelphia 76ers draw the third choice. Yet their riskier picks have amounted to grabbing the best player on the board, meaning they won't blindly chase upside if it's not the best available value.

Faced with the cold truth of Kobe Bryant's star—or healthy and semi-productive—days being done, the Los Angeles Lakers should jump at landing a high-impact guard to join forces with Julius Randle. 

Kristaps Porzingis, PF, Latvia

As a 7-footer with a smooth shooting stroke, Latvia's Kristaps Porzingis has quickly drawn comparisons to Dirk Nowitzki and Pau Gasol. The forward also offers promise as a shot-blocker, but he figures to earn his reputation as a scorer with deft footwork and passing skills.

After the 19-year-old declared, one general manager gushed over his potential to ESPN.com's Chad Ford:

"

He's an athletic, super-skilled 7-footer who can do everything well. I was watching him warm up and had flashbacks to when I saw Pau Gasol take the floor for the first time in Spain, only this kid is much more athletic than Gasol but plays with that same fluidity. I've been asking my team since then: Are you sure he's not the No. 1 guy? Are these guys in college really better than him?

"

Despite his size, Porzingis averaged 4.4 rebounds per game for his Spanish squad last season. He won't help much on the glass, but he's a promising rim protector and young enough to grow into a more imposing presence.

The Orlando Magic and Sacramento Kings are both interesting matches for his services. Orlando's athletic, young roster can do a lot well, but shooting remains a sour spot. In Sacramento, Porzingis' spacing would provide an intriguing complement to DeMarcus Cousins' bullying interior presence.

Duke's Justise Winslow also has a strong claim for a top-five bid, but falling to No. 6 isn't too bad.

Mario Hezonja, SF, Croatia

Croatian forward Mario Hezonja doesn't lack confidence, telling Basketball Insiders' David Pick in January that international bias is the only thing that would derail his draft stock.

"If I was in college, I'd probably be the No. 1 pick," Hezonja said. "I had an offer from Kentucky. I'm European, and I need to work harder to break into the U.S. market."

A secondary role certainly limited the 20-year-old's exposure. Having played only 15.8 minutes per game in Spain last year, Herzonja generated a microscopic 6.3 points per game. Yet he also drained 1.2 three-pointers per game with a .601 true shooting percentage, via RealGM.com. 

In his latest mock draft, Ford made the case for the Detroit Pistons—currently slated at No. 8 before the lottery—snagging Hezonja.

"

The Pistons need shooting and have a pretty big hole at small forward next year. Hezonja should be a nice fit. Not only does he stretch the floor, but he's very athletic and likes to attack. Given that he's been playing at the highest levels of European basketball this season, he'll be more ready than most rookies to step in and play right away.

"

During his short stints on the court, he has honed his offensive game by flourishing off screens. He has the skills to hang defensively; it's a matter of consistently applying them.

In terms of pure talent, he's not as much of a project pick as one would think. As Ford noted, playing on the Spanish pro circuit afford him the same tests as a one-year NCAA stint. Detroit definitely needs a spark on the wing, and Hezonja would provide coach Stan Van Gundy with a shooting threat.