2019 NBA Mock Draft: 1st-Round Picks for Every Team and Players to Watch
Once the NFL draft concludes Saturday, the NBA draft will begin to take up more of the national conversation.
The hype is already building for the June 20 event because of where projected No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson will land.
At the moment, Ja Morant and RJ Barrett appear to be the best players available after Williamson on the draft board.
Once the top three picks are out of the way, the rest of the lottery teams will face some difficult decisions regarding prospects who will have every quality examined between now and the end of June.
2019 NBA 1st-Round Mock Draft
1. New York Knicks: Zion Williamson, PF, Duke
2. Cleveland Cavaliers: RJ Barrett, SG, Duke
3. Phoenix Suns: Ja Morant, PG, Murray State
4. Chicago Bulls: Jarrett Culver, SG, Texas Tech
5. Atlanta Hawks: DeAndre Hunter, SF, Virginia
6. Washington Wizards: Cam Reddish, SF, Duke
7. New Orleans Pelicans: Darius Garland, PG, Vanderbilt
8. Memphis Grizzlies: Coby White, PG, North Carolina
9. Atlanta Hawks (from Dallas): Nassir Little, SF, North Carolina
10. Minnesota Timberwolves: Rui Hachimura, SF/PF, Gonzaga
11. Los Angeles Lakers: Brandon Clarke, PF, Gonzaga
12. Charlotte Hornets: Nickeil Alexander-Walker, SG, Virginia Tech
13. Miami Heat: Keldon Johnson, SF/PF, Kentucky
14. Boston Celtics (from Sacramento): Sekou Doumbouya, PF, Limoges CSP (France)
15. Detroit Pistons: Kevin Porter Jr., SG, USC
16. Orlando Magic: Romeo Langford, SG, Indiana
17. Brooklyn Nets: Tyler Herro, SG, Kentucky
18. Indiana Pacers: PJ Washington, PF, Kentucky
19. San Antonio Spurs: Jaxson Hayes, C, Texas
20. Boston Celtics (from Los Angeles Clippers): Bruno Fernando, C, Maryland
21. Oklahoma City Thunder: Bol Bol, C, Oregon
22. Boston Celtics: Ty Jerome, PG/SG, Virginia
23. Utah Jazz: Goga Bitadze, C, Republic of Georgia
24. Philadelphia 76ers: Matisse Thybulle, SF, Washington
25. Portland Trailblazers: Cameron Johnson, SF, North Carolina
26. Cleveland Cavaliers (from Houston): Talen Horton-Tucker, SF, Iowa State
27. Brooklyn Nets (from Denver): KZ Okpala, SF, Stanford
28. Golden State Warriors: Luguentz Dort, SG, Arizona State
29. San Antonio Spurs (from Toronto): Grant Williams, PF, Tennessee
30. Milwaukee Bucks: Dylan Windler, SF, Belmont
Players to Watch
Cam Reddish
By all accounts, Duke will have at least two players land in the top five, but the third star freshman to come from the Blue Devils roster is in a more peculiar spot.
Cam Reddish is a part of a collection of prospects who could be taken anywhere from No. 4 to No. 10, or depending on the preferences of certain teams, he could drop a bit further.
There will be concerns surrounding Reddish because of the low percentages he shot during his lone collegiate season.
Reddish shot 35.6 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three-point range while averaging 13.5 points per game.
He was never going to take every crucial shot for the Blue Devils with Barrett and Williamson on the roster, but he didn't score more than 13 points in a single NCAA men's basketball tournament game.
In fact, Reddish scored in single digits in three of the six postseason games he participated in.
When NBA personnel break down Reddish's game to the smallest details, some will point out that stretch and question his ability in difficult situations.
Reddish is still a top prospect, but he could experience a bit of a drop depending on the preferences of teams looking at the wide array of shooting guards and small forwards.
Darius Garland
We don't know too much about Darius Garland because he missed most of his freshman season at Vanderbilt with an injury.
Garland is one of a few one-and-done prospects projected to be selected in the first round with injury concerns hovering over him.
In the few games Garland played for the Commodores, he impressed from the point guard position, with his best showing being a 33-point performance against Liberty.
Garland has the potential to be one of the best players in the draft class, and there is a chance he will be the second point guard taken after Murray State's Morant.
But during the pre-draft process, Garland will have to prove to NBA personnel that he has recovered from the knee injury that cost him valuable playing time this season.
If Garland shows that he is healthy, he could go as high as the No. 4, but if there are any doubts about his knee, he could suffer a drop into the bottom half of the lottery.
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