NBA Draft 2016: Mock Draft and Fringe 1st-Round Prospects to Watch

We all know about LSU's Ben Simmons and have wondered whether Duke's Brandon Ingram could unseat him as the 2016 NBA draft's top pick.

Dragan Bender, Buddy Hield, Kris Dunn, Jamal Murray—these are the names you already know. The NBA draft is generally the most top-heavy of the four major sports. Stars are mostly found in the lottery, and teams (cough, Philadelphia 76ers, cough) have mortgaged entire seasons just to get close to the high lottery.

What about the players who are hanging near the end of the first round? It would be a lie to say for every Tim Duncan (No. 1 pick, 1997) there is a Manu Ginobili (No. 57 pick, 1999), but teams can find stars anywhere in the first round. At the very least, a few guys drafted after No. 20 will be vital role players for contenders in the years to come.

Where would the Cleveland Cavaliers be without Matthew Dellavedova or the Oklahoma City Thunder without Andre Roberson? OK, probably the same place. But those guys and others are sources of cheap labor and valuable cogs in the rotation.

With that in mind, let's take a look at some fringe first-rounders for June 23's draft.

Mock Draft

Pick	Team	Player	Position	School
1	Philadelphia 76ers	Ben Simmons	F	LSU
2	Los Angeles Lakers	Brandon Ingram	SF	Duke
3	Boston Celtics	Dragan Bender	PF	Croatia
4	Phoenix Suns	Henry Ellenson	PF/C	Marquette
5	Minnesota Timberwolves	Jamal Murray	PG	Kentucky
6	New Orleans Pelicans	Buddy Hield	SG	Oklahoma
7	Denver Nuggets	Jaylen Brown	SG/SF	California
8	Sacramento Kings	Kris Dunn	PG	Providence
9	Toronto Raptors	Skal Labissiere	PF/C	Kentucky
10	Milwaukee Bucks	Jakob Poeltl	C	Utah
11	Orlando Magic	Denzel Valentine	SG/SF	Michigan State
12	Utah Jazz	Marquese Chriss	PF	Washington
13	Phoenix Suns	Furkan Korkmaz	SG	Turkey
14	Chicago Bulls	Wade Baldwin IV	PG	Vanderbilt
15	Denver Nuggets	Domantas Sabonis	PF/C	Gonzaga
16	Boston Celtics	Malachi Richardson	SG	Syracuse
17	Memphis Grizzlies	Dejounte Murray	SG	Washington
18	Detroit Pistons	Deyonta Davis	PF	Michigan State
19	Denver Nuggets	Tyler Ulis	PG	Kentucky
20	Indiana Pacers	Demetrius Jackson	PG	Notre Dame
21	Atlanta Hawks	Malik Beasley	SG	Florida State
22	Charlotte Hornets	Diamond Stone	C	Maryland
23	Boston Celtics	Thon Maker	PF/C	Australia
24	Philadelphia 76ers	DeAndre' Bembry	SG/SF	Saint Joseph's
25	Los Angeles Clippers	Taurean Prince	SF	Baylor
26	Philadelphia 76ers	Cheick Diallo	PF	Kansas
27	Toronto Raptors	Timothe Luwawu	SG	France
28	Phoenix Suns	Ivica Zubac	C	Bosnia
29	San Antonio Spurs	Malcolm Brogdon	SG	Virginia
30	Golden State Warriors	Stephen Zimmerman	PF/C	UNLV

Notable Fringe First-Rounders

Thon Maker, PF/C, Australia

Maker may be the most interesting player in the draft. After becoming a nationally known phenom via a series of viral mixtapes, Maker entered his name in the draft before playing a single minute of college basketball. He was able to do so by taking a fifth year of high school rather than entering college in 2015, making him technically one year removed from graduation.

Maker the mixtape star looks like a phenom. He's a 7-footer who handles the ball like a guard, knocks down threes with ease and swats weak shots into the stands. Cutting together his best plays turns Maker into this generation's can't-miss superstar who looks like he's from another planet.

Maker the basketball player is a different story. He's three steps beyond raw. If we were giving him NBA 2K ratings, his basketball IQ would rank among the lowest for first-round prospects. It's obvious Maker has spent most of his life skating on his size and athleticism. When you watch him play, he blows defensive rotations, makes strange spacing decisions and chucks up a lot of bad shots.

It seems Maker has had more people interested in getting him to the NBA than readying him for the sport. Still, his upside is massive, and he appears to be impressing pro scouts so far. He measured as the second-tallest player (7'0 ¾" with shoes) at the combine, did well in the interview portion and has some general managers seemingly ready to roll the dice. 

"I think he'll eventually be a 5 in our league," one GM told ESPN's Chad Ford. "He's got the size. He plays really hard. He's a tough kid. I think his defense will come along a lot quicker than the offense."

No player who will be available in the 20s has more upside in this class. The Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers all have multiple picks. One of them should and likely will roll the dice on Maker.

Diamond Stone, C, Maryland

John Flavell/Associated Press

If this were 1986, Stone would be a top-10 selection. He's a low-post brute with a refined game underneath the basket, strong rebounding ability and solid passing skills. While his defensive effort is inconsistent, the 19-year-old can block shots and has flashed a good basketball IQ for his age.

One problem: It's 2016. Players like Stone are relics. His ground-bound game is ripe for getting blocked in an era of long-armed athletic freaks, and he's not quick enough to defend guys out on the perimeter.

Imagine an actual stone covering a Stephen Curry pick-and-roll; it might have a better chance.

Not helping matters was Stone's measurements at the combine, which put him at 6'10 ¼" in shoes. That's right in line with Al Jefferson, but he has a much wider frame. Stone (254 lbs) is going to need to keep his frame on the slim side if he hopes to have any chance of defending NBA bigs, so his body filling out as he gets older might not be a good thing.

The best comparison for Stone is Jared Sullinger, who has carved out an NBA niche despite lacking size and athleticism. Sullinger isn't a good three-point shooter, but he's developed enough of a mid-range game that defenses respect it. Starting 73 games on a 48-win team isn't a bad outcome for a player whom many were concerned would be out of the league because of back problems.

Stone doesn't have the same injury concerns and shot 76.1 percent from the free-throw line last season; he has a workable stroke. He's unlikely to ever be a star the way some hoped he would be, but his path to becoming a solid NBA role player is clear. 

Stephen Zimmerman, C, UNLV

Zimmerman is sort of the anti-Stone. On the plus side, he's a legit 7-footer who moves fluidly in the open floor, stretches defenses beyond the three-point arc and blocked two shots per night at UNLV. On the minus side, he has few low-post moves in his repertoire, his frame needs to mature a lot to reach NBA-level strength, and he had exactly one 20-point game while playing mid-major basketball.

Keeping his name in the draft was an interesting move. Perhaps more than any other one-and-doner, he would have benefited from returning for another season. If he had added a little strength, improved his post-game fluidity and knocked down a few extra jumpers, Zimmerman would have been a legit top-20 pick a year from now. 

Now, he'll be lucky to land in the first round in a weak class. If I were running a team, though, he'd be worth a flier. He has enough natural skills and size to be worth a risk, given the low ceilings of players who will be drafted in this range. Playoff teams such as Golden State and San Antonio can afford to sit him as a rookie and foster his skills behind the scenes. The Warriors especially might end up with a promising young big duo if they select Zimmerman and Kevon Looney ever develops.

Zimmerman and Maker are similar in that their destination will be paramount to their NBA success. A good team with a nurturing staff and strong infrastructure could turn them into long-term starters. An impatient disciplinarian with no time for rookies could cause them to flame out.  

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