NBA
NBA PM: An Early 2016 NBA Mock Draft
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
An Early First Round Mock Draft: It’s never too early to take a look at the upcoming draft class, right?
The projected 2016 NBA Draft class may not be as top heavy as say this year’s rookie class, which has produced some solid early contributors. The 2016 Draft Class looks to be a two-man race at the top with LSU’s Ben Simmons and Kentucky’s Skal Labissiere as the “must have” guys; however, the next tier of players could be five or six guys deep and the middle and bottom of the draft, as it looks today, could yield some solid rotation players.
A big thing to keep in mind about Mock Drafts this early in the year is that as many as eight first-round picks could end up with other teams from previous trades, and the ninth (belonging to the L.A. Lakers) could change hands too if all the draft protection criteria are actually met. So this Mock Draft could look very different in June as a result.
So without further ado, here is what we’ll call the Kyler Mock Draft Version 1.0.
As things stand today, the Nets pick would go to the Celtics. The Wolves also owe a pick to the Celtics. The Knicks pick would end up in Toronto by way of Denver. The Celtics are also owed the Mavericks pick, while the Nuggets are owed the Grizzlies pick. The 76ers could end up picking back to back as they are owed the Thunder and HEAT’s first-round picks. The Suns round out the first round with the Cavaliers pick.
The Lakers pick is top-three protected, so if that pick fall outside the top three it will belong to the 76ers.
Keep in mind, pick debt is based on the actual pick placement, not where a team finishes so lottery luck is still a factor in who ultimately gets a pick.
Who Are The Names To Know? Check Out the Top 100 Draft Prospects powered by DraftExpress.
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