2016 NBA Mock Draft: 1st-Round Predictions, Prospects Who Are Safest Bets

The NBA Draft Combine wrapped up in Chicago this past weekend, helping to put the draft picture into clearer focus. 

The next step in the predraft process is the NBA draft lottery, which will take place on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. 

For the purposes of this pre-lottery mock draft, the lottery teams' odds of securing the top pick have determined the order. On Tuesday, the order will change dramatically, with some teams potentially gaining or losing picks based where they land as the implications of previous trades involving protected picks. 

Pick	Team	Player	Pos.	School/Country
1.	Philadelphia 76ers	Brandon Ingram	F	Duke
2.	Los Angeles Lakers	Ben Simmons	F	LSU
3.	Boston Celtics (via BKN)	Dragan Bender	F/C	Croatia
4.	Phoenix Suns	Jaylen Brown	F	California
5.	Minnesota Timberwolves	Buddy Hield	G	Oklahoma
6.	New Orleans Pelicans	Kris Dunn	PG	Providence
7.	Denver Nuggets (via NYK)	Jamal Murray	G	Kentucky
8.	Sacramento Kings	Henry Ellenson	F/C	Marquette
9.	Toronto Raptors (via DEN)	Marquese Chriss	F	Washington
10.	Milwaukee Bucks	Jakob Poeltl	C	Utah
11.	Orlando Magic	Skal Labissiere	F/C	Kentucky
12.	Utah Jazz	Demetrius Jackson	G	Notre Dame
13.	Phoenix Suns (via WAS)	Domantas Sabonis	F	Gonzaga
14.	Chicago Bulls	Deyonta Davis	F/C	Michigan State
15.	Denver Nuggets (via HOU)	Timothe Luwawu	G/F	France
16.	Boston Celtics (via DAL)	Furkan Korkmaz	G/F	Turkey
17.	Memphis Grizzlies	Wade Baldwin IV	G	Vanderbilt
18.	Detroit Pistons	Denzel Valentine	G/F	Michigan State
19.	Denver Nuggets (via POR)	Brice Johnson	F	North Carolina
20.	Indiana Pacers	Malachi Richardson	G	Syracuse
21.	Atlanta Hawks	Taurean Prince	G/F	Baylor
22.	Charlotte Hornets	Damian Jones	C	Vanderbilt
23.	Boston Celtics	Diamond Stone	C	Maryland
24.	Philadelphia 76ers (via MIA)	Juan Hernangomez	F	Spain
25.	Los Angeles Clippers	Ante Zizic	C	Croatia
26.	Philadelphia 76ers (via OKC)	Petr Cornelie	F/C	France
27.	Toronto Raptors	Malik Beasley	G	Florida State
28.	Phoenix Suns (via CLE)	Ben Bentil	PF	Providence
29.	San Antonio Spurs	Malcolm Brogdon	G	Virginia
30.	Golden State Warriors	Tyler Ulis	PG	Kentucky

Safest Draft Prospects

Brandon Ingram, Duke

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Brandon Ingram, a candidate to go No. 1 overall, has the skill set to do a bit of everything on the court. 

Ingram was one of just three players in all of college basketball a season ago to average two three-pointers per game and at least one block per game, per Sports-Reference.com. To put that into perspective, Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder was the only NBA player with such a stat line during the 2015-16 NBA season. 

It's Ingram's balanced skill set that makes him an elite prospect with the potential to impact the game on a Durant-like level. But that's also what makes him such a safe prospect. 

With Ingram's shooting, rebounding and ability to contribute defensively, his NBA floor should be something along the lines of a Channing Frye-type player—a solid rotation piece capable of contributing on a contender. 

Buddy Hield, Oklahoma

There's always room for shooters in the NBA, especially in this era when teams are jacking up outside shots at a record pace. 

It's difficult to come up with a comparison for Hield because no college player from a major conference has ever shot the three at the same frequency (8.7 attempts per game) with the same impressive success rate (45.7 percent) as Hield during his senior year at Oklahoma.

If Hield is able to enter the pros and create shots for himself off the dribble, the sky is the limit for his NBA potential. Guards at the NBA level with that skill set are tough to find, with the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry and the Portland Trail Blazers' Damian Lillard representing the elite tier of that group. 

But even if Hield isn't able to create his own shot at the next level, his outside shooting accuracy should lead to a long NBA career. Players such as Leandro Barbosa and Raja Bell fall into the this category, which is also a realistic outcome for Hield's career.

Kris Dunn, Providence

Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

Like Hield, Providence point guard Kris Dunn is another great example of the benefits of staying in college to develop your game. 

Dunn shot just 38.7 percent from the field through his first two seasons at the college level, and the three-pointer was not in his repertoire. Over the past two seasons, however, his offensive game has improved dramatically. As a junior and a senior, he shot 46.1 percent from the field and averaged 1.3 three-pointers per game in his final season at Providence. 

Dunn is one of the few true point guards in this draft class, and his well-rounded skill set shows flashes of Russell Westbrook. Dunn nearly averaged a triple-double per 100 possessions in his college career, according to Sports-Reference.com. 

A point guard who can contribute in all aspects of the game is a safe bet to carve out a productive role for himself in the NBA.