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Five Questions entering the 2021 NBA Draft

The NBA Draft in late July?

You better believe it.

Check out the breakdown below for five questions entering the 2021 NBA Draft:

1. Are four prospects clearly above the rest of the field?
That seems to be the general consensus from most NBA executives. Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green (G-League Ignite), USC’s Evan Mobley, and Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs are expected to comprise the first four picks in some order and the majority of decision makers feel that there is a tangible drop off once those four prospects are off the board. It will be a major shock if the Detroit Pistons don’t select the 6-8 Cunningham with the first overall pick.

2. Which player outside of that quartet is most likely to be a star?
UConn’s James Bouknight. The New York native was like Tom Hanks in Cast Away at times last season because of a lack of a consistent supporting cast. If he joins an NBA team with capable scoring around him, he’ll quickly instead become like Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men. A 6-5 guard with tremendous length, Bouknight logged 30 minutes or more on 20 separate occasions during his two years in Storrs and only scored in single digits once during that span. The ceiling is high with this kid — very high.

3. Who is being overlooked?
Oregon’s Chris Duarte. I’ve said it many times before and I’ll say it again: How would Duarte have been perceived last season if he played for Duke or Villanova and not the Ducks? That isn’t a slight on Oregon, who has been one of the top programs in the country under Dana Altman, but the truth is that many people don’t consume much of the Pac-12’s inventory because of the league’s television deal. An elite two-way guard, the 24-year old Duarte is ready to help an NBA team win right now. A 6-6 wing, Duarte averaged 17.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.9 steals last season while shooting a blistering 53.2 percent from the field, 42.4 percent from three-point range, and 81 percent from the free throw line. Don’t be shocked if he winds up as a late lottery pick on Thursday night in Brooklyn.

4. What teams are most likely to make a deal?
Oklahoma City, New York, and Houston. All three own multiple picks in the first round, with the Thunder possessing five picks among the first 35 selections. Also, keep an eye on Golden State, who boasts two lottery picks (7, 14) and could use those assets as part of a bigger deal. It will be a major surprise if all four of these teams are not active on the phones.

5. Which potential second-round pick is destined to be a steal?
Iowa’s Joe Wieskamp. The 6-6 wing may have been slightly overlooked at the college level because he played on the same team as the sport’s National Player of the Year in Luka Garza, but that doesn’t mean that Wieskamp isn’t capable of having a quality professional career. An efficient offensive player who averaged 14.8 points last season while shooting 49.1 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from three-point range, Wieskamp can defend his position and also rebounds at a high level. He averaged 6.6 rebounds last season as a junior and tallied 10 boards or more on four separate occasions.

On The Side

  • Betting against Baylor’s Davion Mitchell would be a mistake. The top perimeter defender in college basketball made a combined 34 three-point shots during the first two years of his college career while shooting just 30.6 percent from long distance. He made 63 last season while shooting 44.7 percent. That’s a significant jump.
  • For the third straight year, Florida State will have a player selected in the first round of the NBA Draft who didn’t start for the Seminoles in the previous season. 6-9 forward Scottie Barnes could go as high as fifth overall to Orlando. Patrick Williams and Mfiondu Kabengele were also first round picks in 2020 and 2019 respectively.
  • If Oklahoma City takes UConn’s James Bouknight with the sixth overall pick, the 6-5 guard will immediately having a connection with the organization: Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault was a student manager for the Huskies under Jim Calhoun from 2003-07.
  • Two off-the-radar picks that can help an NBA team next season: Illinois’ Ayo Dosunmu and Houston’s Quentin Grimes.
  • Two feast or famine picks: Texas’ Kai Jones and Kentucky’s Isaiah Jackson. It will either be Yom Kippur or a New Year’s Eve party catered by Peter Luger’s.

Leftovers