While most of the basketball world is focused on the NBA Finals, scouts and draftniks are in the midst of a very busy time of year as well.
The most crucial dates leading up to the draft are the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, the early entry application deadline, the lottery, the combine and the early entry withdrawal deadline. All have since come and gone, which means that we’re somehow already in the home stretch before the big night in Brooklyn on July 29.
Prospects are still frantically traveling around the country, visiting with teams for both individual and group workouts in front of key decision-makers. Still, others are currently playing for their national team on the FIBA circuit.
But as far as the public is concerned, the only new information that will be released between now and the draft will be filtered through whatever is reported by journalists. As such, until intel starts rolling in, this mock draft offers the most informed projections yet.
While these predictions are based on my conversations with NBA scouts and executives around the league, as well as my own scouting and information-gathering, they’re subject to change dramatically over the course of the next few weeks.
