2015 NBA Mock Draft: Predictions for 1st-Round Prospects as Workouts Continue
The combine has passed. The draft order is set. All that remains in the 2015 NBA draft process is, well, kinda just waiting around until the Finals are over so we can get this thing rolling.
During that waiting process, there are these wonderful things called workouts. Perhaps you've heard of them. Yi Jianlian straight up beasted that chair in one and got selected sixth in 2007. Joe Alexander was super dope a year later and now plays in Israel. On and on down the line, there are instances of players who parlayed their predraft workouts into promises that teams wound up regretting.
Or ones that wound up transforming their franchise for the better.
In the coming weeks, you'll begin hearing whispers of promises being thrown around draft circles. Top prospects will begin canceling workouts once they've become comfortable with teams, particularly international prospects whose agents typically like to keep things shrouded in mystery.
For now, though, not much has changed. With that in mind, here's a quick look at what to expect for the entire first round.
Mock Draft
| 1 | Minnesota Timberwolves | Karl-Anthony Towns, C, Kentucky |
| 2 | Los Angeles Lakers | Jahlil Okafor, C, Duke |
| 3 | Philadelphia 76ers | D'Angelo Russell, PG/SG, Ohio State |
| 4 | New York Knicks | Emmanuel Mudiay, PG, China |
| 5 | Orlando Magic | Justise Winslow, SF, Duke |
| 6 | Sacramento Kings | Kristaps Porzingis, PF, Latvia |
| 7 | Denver Nuggets | Myles Turner, PF, Texas |
| 8 | Detroit Pistons | Mario Hezonja, SF, Croatia |
| 9 | Charlotte Hornets | Willie Cauley-Stein, C, Kentucky |
| 10 | Miami Heat | Stanley Johnson, SF, Arizona |
| 11 | Indiana Pacers | Frank Kaminsky, F/C, Wisconsin |
| 12 | Utah Jazz | Trey Lyles, PF, Kentucky |
| 13 | Phoenix Suns | Devin Booker, SG, Kentucky |
| 14 | Oklahoma City Thunder | Cameron Payne, PG, Murray State |
| 15 | Atlanta Hawks (via Brooklyn Nets) | Kelly Oubre, SF, Kansas |
| 16 | Boston Celtics | Sam Dekker, SF, Wisconsin |
| 17 | Milwaukee Bucks | Kevon Looney, PF, UCLA |
| 18 | Houston Rockets (via New Orleans Pelicans) | Jerian Grant, PG, Notre Dame |
| 19 | Washington Wizards | R.J. Hunter, SG, Georgia State |
| 20 | Toronto Raptors | Montrezl Harrell, PF, Louisville |
| 21 | Dallas Mavericks | Bobby Portis, PF, Arkansas |
| 22 | Chicago Bulls | Tyus Jones, PG, Duke |
| 23 | Portland Trail Blazers | Christian Wood, PF, UNLV |
| 24 | Cleveland Cavaliers | Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, SF, Arizona |
| 25 | Memphis Grizzlies | Rashad Vaughn, SG, UNLV |
| 26 | San Antonio Spurs | George de Paula, PG, Brazil |
| 27 | Los Angeles Lakers (via Houston Rockets) | Cliff Alexander, PF, Kansas |
| 28 | Boston Celtics (via Los Angeles Clippers) | Robert Upshaw, C, Washington |
| 29 | Brooklyn Nets (via Atlanta Hawks) | Justin Anderson, SG/SF, Virginia |
| 30 | Golden State Warriors | Mouhammadou Jaiteh, C, France |
Stock Watch
Stock Up: Trey Lyles, PF, Kentucky
There just aren't too many players with his combination of size and skills. Measuring at 6'10" with a 7'2" wingspan at the combine, Lyles can stretch the floor comfortably out to NBA mid-range and can be stretched out beyond the arc in a pinch. He's also a so-called "playmaking 4," able to dribble past defenders on hard closeouts and make the occasional assist.
"When you talk about finishing around the basket, when you talk about one-dribble pull-ups on the run, you talk about being able to avoid and finish near the rim, making free throws, making pressure free throws, he is our X-factor," Kentucky coach John Calipari told reporters in April. "He's the one guy that can separate our team."
Lyles is a guy I've also come around on a bit. Defense is never going to be a strength. His lateral quickness is average at best, he's not going to parlay his length into rim protection and his build is slight despite a solid 242-pound frame.
But there's real value in a player who can do everything offensively. Lyles is as close as you're going to get in that late-lottery, mid-teens range. If the Knicks actually select him with the No. 4 pick, a possibility floated by Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, though, that'll be a stretch beyond my wildest expectations.
Stock Up: Rashad Vaughn, SG, UNLV
Vaughn has convinced me he's worth a first-round flier, which is far more than I would have said at the end of his lone season at UNLV. Only intermittently efficient, Vaughn saw his freshman campaign cut short by a knee injury and was part of a disappointing Rebels team that finished out of tournament contention.
The workout process has, so far, shown why Vaughn was such a highly touted prep prospect. As noted by ESPN's Chad Ford, he was dominant in a workout that also featured Notre Dame's Pat Connaughton and Stanford's Anthony Brown.
"The kid was on fire," a general manager told Ford. "I love the energy that he attacked the workout with. He's out to prove something. I saw him standing on the sidelines before it was his time to go in and he looked like a tiger stalking his prey. He was ready."
As one of the youngest players in this draft—Vaughn doesn't turn 19 until August—there's plenty of potential to be mined here. His ceiling is somewhere in that shameless gunner, sixth-man range, but that's an excellent outcome for a pick in the 20s.
Stock Down: Kelly Oubre, SF, Kansas
Call this more of a course correction. It was always a bit strange to see Oubre getting legitimate lottery buzz given his performance level last season. Bill Self never developed 100 percent trust in his young guard, playing him only 21 minutes per game—a number that didn't really leap as the season progressed.
In many ways, it's hard to separate Oubre from Cliff Alexander. Both arrived in Lawrence with expectations of leading Kansas on a Final Four push. Both left after one season as pretty sizable disappointments. The only real difference is that Alexander left amid allegations of NCAA violations while Oubre got to play out the string.
Alexander is currently playing for his first-round life. Oubre's a first-round lock, but it's looking increasingly unlikely that he'll wind up anywhere near the lottery. The skills just aren't there yet. On paper, there's a 6'7" wing with a freakish 7'2" wingspan who came out of high school touted as an elite shooter and potential lockdown defender.
In reality, Oubre's a ball of potential whose shot may need a major reworking to find any sense of consistency. He's also a bit of an awkward player, especially when he's asked to make things work off the dribble. Once you leave the lottery and get into the mid-teens, Oubre's potential becomes too much to pass up.
But he's a real reach if he winds up keeping a lottery grade.
