NBA Draft 2015: Last Look at Order, Top Prospects Before Lottery Reveal
With the 2015 NBA draft lottery just hours away, it seems as good a time as any to take one more glance at the first-round landscape before the full order is uncovered.
On one hand, it seems a bit silly to get all worked up about watching team representatives wait to see their respective logo pulled out of an envelope. On the other, it's only after the lottery that fans will get a true picture of how the draft might unfold.
It's not like the same players will get selected in the same order regardless of the lottery results. Each team has separate needs, and as a result, each team will value certain stars differently.
Regardless of how the pingpong balls bounce, though, the five players below will likely be among the most coveted prospects.
Draft Lottery Odds
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 64.3% | 25.0% |
| New York Knicks | 55.8% | 19.9% |
| Philadelphia 76ers | 46.9% | 15.6% |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 37.8% | 11.9% |
| Orlando Magic | 29.1% | 8.8% |
| Sacramento Kings | 21.5% | 6.3% |
| Denver Nuggets | 15.0% | 4.3% |
| Detroit Pistons | 9.9% | 2.8% |
| Charlotte Hornets | 6.1% | 1.7% |
| Miami Heat | 4.0% | 1.1% |
| Indiana Pacers | 2.9% | 0.8% |
| Utah Jazz | 2.5% | 0.7% |
| Phoenix Suns | 2.2% | 0.6% |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | 1.8% | 0.5% |
1st-Round Order (Picks 15-30)
| 15 | Atlanta Hawks (via Brooklyn Nets) |
| 16 | Boston Celtics |
| 17 | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 18 | Houston Rockets (via New Orleans Pelicans) |
| 19 | Washington Wizards |
| 20 | Toronto Raptors |
| 21 | Dallas Mavericks |
| 22 | Chicago Bulls |
| 23 | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 24 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 25 | Memphis Grizzlies |
| 26 | San Antonio Spurs |
| 27 | Los Angeles Lakers (via Houston Rockets) |
| 28 | Boston Celtics (via Los Angeles Clippers) |
| 29 | Brooklyn Nets (via Atlanta Hawks) |
| 30 | Golden State Warriors |
Top Prospects
Karl-Anthony Towns, C, Kentucky Wildcats
You could probably make an argument that somebody other than Karl-Anthony Towns should be the No. 1 pick in the 2015 draft, and you'd probably be wrong. The only reason Towns shouldn't go first is if the team that owns the pick already has a dominant, young center on the squad.
Towns is a 19-year-old athletic big man who can hold his own inside or stretch a defense with his mid-range jumper. He is almost the perfect kind of center for today's NBA, where the back-to-the-basket big man is becoming increasingly outmoded.
The only thing that gives you pause about Towns is his excitement about potentially playing for the New York Knicks, per Steve Serby of the New York Post:
"It would be an honor, not only as a player, but as a Knicks fan, to be able to play for that organization. It's gonna be, I guess a childhood dream—rooting for the Knicks all this time, and the next thing you know, you hear an organization call your name to go out there and give it your best shot. I think it would very cool, and really very honored and blessed to be able to play for them.
"
Only a crazy person would say all of that.
Jahlil Okafor, C, Duke Blue Devils
Jahlil Okafor is a bit more refined than Towns when it comes to his offensive game in the post, but he's not quite as good at the defensive end, which might result in him slipping back behind the Kentucky Wildcats center. Okafor also is not the kind of athletic freak that Towns is, which may somewhat limit his potential.
The Duke Blue Devils star will undoubtedly be a handful once he hits the NBA. The 19-year-old possesses a number of moves inside that should allow him to put up solid numbers in his rookie season. Okafor also is a skilled enough passer that opposing teams simply won't be able to collapse on him at will to stop him from scoring.
Perhaps the most notable aspect of Okafor is the size of his hands. ESPN's Shannon Spake tweeted this photo out in April where Okafor is palming a regulation basketball:
According to Bleacher Report's Jared Zwerling, the 7-footer also can hold 13 tennis balls, which probably won't come in handy all that often next year:
Still, it's pretty cool, and maybe Okafor will grip a basketball so hard that it explodes in his hand during a game.
Emmanuel Mudiay, PG, China
At 6'5" and 196 pounds, Emmanuel Mudiay could present a matchup nightmare to opposing teams in the NBA. You just don't see point guards with his combination of size, speed and strength. In terms of physical tools, Mudiay registers off the charts.
That said, he remains a work in progress.
According to RealGM, Mudiay averaged 5.92 assists and 3.25 turnovers a game for the Guangdong Southern Tigers. That's not an ideal ratio. In addition, he shot just 34.2 percent from behind the arc, which is a bit concerning.
Mudiay's ceiling is certainly high enough for him to go in the top five, and since he's only 19 years old, it's perfectly fine that he's far from the finished product.
D'Angelo Russell, PG/SG, Ohio State Buckeyes
D'Angelo Russell is one of those rare guys who could have a highlight reel dedicated to just his best assists. It didn't get any better than this dime to Sam Thompson in a January game against the Northwestern Wildcats:
The point guard also was an impressive scorer, averaging 19.3 points on 44.9 percent shooting in his only season with the Ohio State Buckeyes. He also shot 41.1 percent from three-point range, which is good enough for his role.
The biggest critique of Russell's game is that his seeming lack of supreme athleticism might hold him back. Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix spoke to a few league executives who don't see that as a major problem:
"Indeed, for every executive that questions Russell's athleticism, there is another that dismisses it as a non-issue. One Eastern Conference exec called athleticism, "the most overvalued attribute in the draft." Another exec said Russell's intelligence would make up for any deficiency.
One assistant coach cited Warriors guard Stephen Curry. As a rookie, Curry's defensive issues at the NBA's summer league terrified Golden State coaches. In time, Curry has developed into a solid defender. And a decent offensive player, too.
"
Putting 19-year-old Russell in the same breath as Curry is certainly high praise and illustrates just how good he can be in a few years.
Kristaps Porzingis, PF, Latvia
It's a bit of a toss-up between Kristaps Porzingis and Mario Hezonja for the title of best international player in this year's draft pool. Porzingis gets the slight edge here since it's harder to find 6'11" guys with his skill set than it is to unearth players like Hezonja.
NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper went so far as to report the Latvian big man might sneak into one of the top-three picks:
""He could go two," one general manager said. "He's that good. Nobody says anything bad about him."
"
Said the head of basketball operations for another team: "I think he's a lock for the top five and I wouldn't be surprised to see him go as high as top three. He's good. We all like to do our comparables. He's like Dirk Nowitzki or Pau Gasol..... I'd take him ahead of (Jahlil) Okafor."
Porzingis is listed at only 220 pounds, so there's no question the 19-year-old will need to add some more muscle once he hits the NBA. Both Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis were pretty thin when they entered the league, so Porzingis' frame isn't really a concern.
It's not hard to see why Porzingis is drawing the Nowitzki comparison, at least offensively. But he seems much more like Gasol on the defensive end with his ability to disrupt things in the paint.
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