NBA Draft 2016: Complete 1st-Round Mock Draft and Sleepers to Watch

With the NBA draft lottery now set, the real projections for this year's draft can begin in earnest. While the argument over Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram will likely rage right up to the draft itself, the rest of the board is very fluid from there.

Let's take a look at my latest mock draft, along with a few sleepers to keep an eye on .

Projections

Pick	Team	Selection
1	Philadelphia 76ers	Ben Simmons, PF, LSU
2	Los Angeles Lakers	Brandon Ingram, SF, Duke
3	Boston Celtics (via Brooklyn Nets)	Jamal Murray, SG, Kentucky
4	Phoenix Suns	Dragan Bender, PF, Maccabi Tel Aviv
5	Minnesota Timberwolves	Buddy Hield, SG, Oklahoma
6	New Orleans Pelicans	Jaylen Brown, SF, California
7	Denver Nuggets (via New York Knicks)	Henry Ellenson, PF, Marquette
8	Sacramento Kings	Kris Dunn, PG, Providence
9	Toronto Raptors (via Denver Nuggets)	Marquese Chriss, PF, Washington
10	Milwaukee Bucks	Jakob Poeltl, PF, Utah
11	Orlando Magic	Skal Labissiere, PF, Kentucky
12	Utah Jazz	Furkan Korkmaz, SG, Turkey
13	Phoenix Suns (via Washington Wizards)	Timothe Luwawu, SG, France
14	Chicago Bulls	Tyler Ulis, PG, Kentucky
15	Denver Nuggets (via Houston Rockets)	Denzel Valentine, SF, Michigan State
16	Boston Celtics (via Dallas Mavericks)	Taurean Prince, SF, Baylor
17	Memphis Grizzlies	Wade Baldwin IV, SG, Vanderbilt
18	Detroit Pistons	Domantas Sabonis, PF, Gonzaga
19	Denver Nuggets (via Portland Trail Blazers)	Ante Zizic, C, Croatia
20	Indiana Pacers	Malachi Richardson, SG, Syracuse
21	Atlanta Hawks	DeAndre Bembry, SF, St. Joseph's
22	Charlotte Hornets	Demetrius Jackson, PG, Notre Dame
23	Boston Celtics	Deyonta Davis, PF, Michigan State
24	Philadelphia 76ers (via Miami Heat)	Malik Beasley, SG, Florida State
25	Los Angeles Clippers	Caris LeVert, SG, Michigan
26	Philadelphia 76ers (via Oklahoma City Thunder)	Dejounte Murray, PG, Washington
27	Toronto Raptors	Patrick McCaw, SG, UNLV
28	Phoenix Suns (via Cleveland Cavaliers)	Stephen Zimmerman, C, UNLV
29	San Antonio Spurs	Cheick Diallo, PF, Kansas
30	Golden State Warriors	Thon Maker, PF, Australia

Sleepers

You can always break up sleepers into a few categories.

There are the amazing athletes who haven't quite polished their game just yet but intrigue teams with their seemingly limitless upside. There are the raw projects who didn't get a ton of playing time or are coming from overseas but could blossom in a few years. There are players who were beset by injuries that limited their playing time, players who were forgotten about at smaller schools, and players who have one defined skill set but could take the next jump to stardom if they add another skill to their repertoire.

The list goes on, but the point is, sleepers potentially come at you from every angle. 

Take Caris LeVert, for instance. The Michigan star has had three foot surgeries in the past two years. That detoured an incredibly promising career at Michigan and will keep him out of the lottery. 

But if he can stay healthy, a team could be getting a steal. LeVert is a versatile player and is a dangerous weapon on the perimeter, shooting 44.6 percent from three this past season. After four years of college, he should have an instant impact immediately in the NBA and looks like a solid role player, at worst, on the wing.

If he can stay healthy, of course.

Demetrius Jackson, meanwhile, may have lost his sleeper status after this massive leap at the NBA Draft Combine, per the NBA Draft on Vine:

Jackson averaged 15.8 points and 4.7 assists for Notre Dame this past season, and he is one of the more intriguing point guards in this draft. It's possible he could slip into the lottery—which would affect his sleeper status—but it seems more likely he'll go in the 18-25 range. And he has the explosiveness to make a lot of teams regret not selecting him when they had the chance.

Dejounte Murray is a bit of an enigma, meanwhile. While he's more of a combo guard and is a good-but-not-great athlete, his aggression and ability to shift his speed to keep opponents off balance makes him difficult to guard, especially in transition. He isn't afraid to take the ball to the basket, though he isn't a powerful finisher at the rim. 

Still, he is capable of creating his own shot—and is sometimes guilty of doing that exclusively—and can also create shots for his teammates. His most upside may be as a point guard, since his jump shot is hardly consistent, though he can work on that. He isn't a great defender but plays passing lanes well.

For every strength, there is a corresponding weakness. And yet, more often than not, Murray was very productive for Washington. He's a project, no doubt, but if he eliminates a few weaknesses and continues to increase his basketball IQ, Murray could be a heck of a pick.

Speaking of projects, no two players have more of a high-risk, high-reward polarity than Cheick Diallo and Thon Maker.

The former was one of the top prospects coming into this season, before eligibility issues and a deep Kansas roster left him with very little playing time. He'll hit the NBA about as raw as can be, but he has the upside to grow into a dominant power forward given his athleticism, rebounding, shot-blocking and overall defense.

If he can polish his offensive game, he could be an excellent player on the block for many years to come. The defense is probably already there. Regardless, Diallo is probably a few years away from being a major contributor. But the upside is tantalizing. 

Ditto for Thon Maker, who tested through the roof at the combine, per Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders:

That's not enough to trust him at the next level for Sam Vecenie of CBS Sports, however:

Maker's length, perimeter shooting and even playmaking ability make him the (very) poor man's Ben Simmons in this draft. The fact that he's never proved anything against talent above the high-school level—and chose to skip the scrimmages at the combine—is a major concern for teams.

Maker is a mystery, pure and simple. A team will draft him on upside alone. In a few years, it could be the steal of the draft. Or it could be another pick late in the first round that everyone forgets about rather quickly.

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.