2015 NBA Mock Draft 3.1

The 2015 NBA Draft is tonight, so here's what is likely to be my final version of my Keck Thoughts Mock Draft. Like last week's update, I've read and heard enough that I've made plenty of changes. Unlike the first two versions, I'm going to go through the entire Top 10 just because.

Prefacing this one last time that I have no first-hand knowledge of who will be drafting whom. What I've done is scoured the interwebs and read about as many mock drafts as I could by people who have done them and done them well for a long time, read up on the rumors and rumblings from around the league by people in the know, briefly chatted with a couple of guys at work who really know this stuff, and then included my own intuition to make my final picks. This is not scientific by any means.

Again, I should also note that I have not mocked any trades that have not yet been made. I hate it when other mock drafts do this, so I refuse to do it myself. So without further ado, here are some Keck Thoughts on the NBA Draft.

KECK THOUGHTS NBA Mock Draft 3.0


1.) MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES: Karl-Anthony Towns, C/PF, Kentucky 

Minnesota President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Flip Saunders has been publicly saying they will take the Best Player Available, even going so far as to say the Portland Trailblazers and Houston Rockets missed out on Michael Jordan in 1983 because they drafted for need instead of just taking the best player. Towns is the best player in this draft and he's the right pick here. (Previous pick: Karl-Anthony Towns)

2.) LOS ANGELES LAKERS: D'Angelo Russell, PG, Ohio State 

Call me a believer. Just as the draft is about to begin I'm buying the rumblings that the Lakers believe they can get one of the big frontcourt free agents this year, whether it's Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge or Greg Monroe. Because of that they're leaning towards taking the best point guard in the draft, hoping he's the next James Harden. (Previous pick: Jahlil Okafor)

Possible Pistons Pick: Stanley Johnson or Devin Booker?

The 2015 NBA Draft is tomorrow and as we get closer and closer to the event actually unfolding, the more it sounds like the potential targets most people believe the Pistons want will be gone when their pick rolls around at #8. Ideally the Pistons would love if Mario Hezonja or Justise Winslow would fall to them at 8, but most mock drafts have them going earlier than that.

If Hezonja and Winslow (or any of the other top 7 players) are indeed gone by the Pistons' selection, and assuming the Pistons don't wind up trading up or down, it sounds like the choice will ultimately come down between two players: Arizona small forward Stanley Johnson and Kentucky shooting guard Devin Booker.

Let's take a look at each player and see what their pluses and minuses are, and how those might fit/not fit for the Pistons.

Stanley Johnson, SF, Arizona
Height: 6' 6.5"
Weight: 232 lbs.
Wing Span: 6' 11.5"
College Stats (1 season): 28.4 MPG, 13.8 PPG, 44.6 FG%, 37.1 3FG%, 74.2 FT%

Johnson is generally regarded as the third-best small forward in this year's draft behind Hezonja and Winslow. Johnson is the biggest of the three and probably has the most NBA-ready body of the three (if not in the whole draft), and with a good height of 6' 6.5" and a wingspan of 6' 11.5", he's probably the perfect physical fit for what the Pistons want out of the small forward position. Listening to interviews he's made during the draft season, he sounds like he has a good head on his shoulders and he seems to relish the opportunity to play for Detroit. That doesn't hurt.

2015 NBA Mock Draft 3.0

The 2015 NBA Draft is tonight, so here's what is likely to be my final version of my Keck Thoughts Mock Draft. Like last week's update, I've read and heard enough that I've made plenty of changes. Unlike the first two versions, I'm going to go through the entire Top 10 just because.

Prefacing this one last time that I have no first-hand knowledge of who will be drafting whom. What I've done is scoured the interwebs and read about as many mock drafts as I could by people who have done them and done them well for a long time, read up on the rumors and rumblings from around the league by people in the know, briefly chatted with a couple of guys at work who really know this stuff, and then included my own intuition to make my final picks. This is not scientific by any means.

Again, I should also note that I have not mocked any trades that have not yet been made. I hate it when other mock drafts do this, so I refuse to do it myself. So without further ado, here are some Keck Thoughts on the NBA Draft.

KECK THOUGHTS NBA Mock Draft 3.0


1.) MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES: Karl-Anthony Towns, C/PF, Kentucky 

Minnesota President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Flip Saunders has been publicly saying they will take the Best Player Available, even going so far as to say the Portland Trailblazers and Houston Rockets missed out on Michael Jordan in 1983 because they drafted for need instead of just taking the best player. Towns is the best player in this draft and he's the right pick here. (Previous pick: Karl-Anthony Towns)

2.) LOS ANGELES LAKERS: Jahlil Okafor, C, Duke 

The closer you get to the actual draft the crazier things around the league become. On the precipice of the draft the popular word is that the Lakers were not impressed with Okafor when he came in for a second workout, but were impressed with D'Angelo Russell. That said, I think Okafor is still the pick because he fills a big need for L.A., he's the most NBA-ready post player to come out of college in a long time, and if the Lakers do end up trading for Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, you can bet the Kings will want Okafor to replace him. (Previous pick: Jahlil Okafor)

2015 NBA Mock Draft 2.0

The 2015 NBA Draft is one from tonight, and as we get closer to the actual draft the rumors and rumblings around the league are continuing to swirl and… rumble, I guess. Regardless, I've read enough that I've made a few changes in my first update. Again, because I only really care about who the Detroit Pistons can and will be drafting with the 8th overall selection, I've only mocked the first eight picks.

Prefacing again that I have no first-hand knowledge of who will be drafting whom. What I've done is scoured the interwebs and read about as many mock drafts as I could by people who have done them and done them well for a long time, as well as read up on the rumors and rumblings from around the league by people in the know, and then included my own intuition to make my final picks. This is not scientific by any means.

I will make one more update a week from today on the day of the draft, so there may be some changes to come.

I should also note that I have not mocked any trades that have not yet been made. I hate it when other mock drafts do this, so I refuse to do it myself. So without further ado, here are some Keck Thoughts on the NBA Draft.

KECK THOUGHTS NBA Mock Draft 2.0


1.) MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES: Karl-Anthony Towns, C/PF, Kentucky 

The rumblings that Flip Saunders prefers Jahlil Okafor are slowly dying, but aren’t quite dead yet. I still think common sense will prevail and Saunders will take the post player that better fits alongside the talent Minnesota already has, and that’s Towns. (Previous pick: Karl-Anthony Towns)

2.) LOS ANGELES LAKERS: Jahlil Okafor, C, Duke 

The Lakers are apparently debating between 3 players: Okafor, D’Angelo Russell and Kristaps Porzingis. Russell and Porzingis have perked their ears after impressive workout showing, and while both would fill needs for the Lakers, I think Okafor is still the best option because he’s the most pro-ready post player to come out of college in a long time. (Previous pick: Jahlil Okafor)

2015 NBA Mock Draft 1.0

The 2015 NBA Draft is two weeks from tonight, and because I needed something to entertain myself the other day I decided to write up my own short little mock draft. This isn't a comprehensive, full first round mock draft though. Because I only really care about who the Detroit Pistons can and will be drafting with the 8th overall selection, I've only mocked the first eight picks.

I should preface this post with the obvious and state that I have no first-hand knowledge of who will be drafting whom. What I've done is scoured the interwebs and read about as many mock drafts as I could by people who have done them and done them well for a long time, as well as read up on the rumors and rumblings from around the league by people in the know, and then included my own intuition to make my final picks. This is not scientific by any means.

I will also be updating this mock draft two times before the real draft - the first update will be one week from today and the second will be the day of the draft. So there may be some changes.

I should also note that I have not mocked any trades that have not yet been made. I hate it when other mock drafts do this, so I refuse to do it myself. So without further ado, here are some Keck Thoughts on the NBA Draft.

KECK THOUGHTS NBA Mock Draft 1.0


1.) MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES: Karl-Anthony Towns, C/PF, Kentucky 

There’s lot of chatter about Timberwolves President/Head Coach Flip Saunders preferring Duke’s Jahlil Okafor over Towns, but Towns is the player with the higher ceiling. He’s the better defender and he has more range than Okafor, which makes him a better fit alongside Nikola Pekovic, Gorgui Dieng and Ricky Rubio.

2.) LOS ANGELES LAKERS: Jahlil Okafor, C, Duke 

Los Angeles is praying that Towns falls to them, but Okafor is a great consolation prize. He’s the most pro-ready post player in the draft to come out of the draft in a long time, and he’ll make a really nice building block alongside 2014 first-round pick Julius Randle in the frontcourt.

Suh Long! Farewell! What Do the Lions Do Now?

On Saturday afternoon the news broke that Lions free agent defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh had reached an agreement in principle with the Miami Dolphins on a record-breaking 6-year, $114 million contract that will guarantee Suh $60 million. While Suh can't officially sign the contract until 4:00pm EST today, it's probably a safe bet another team (like the Lions) won't be able to swoop in and change Suh's mind.

So let's assume Suh is officially no longer a Detroit Lion. It's a huge blow to the Lions defense, which was the 2nd-best defense in the entire NFL in 2014. The Lions basically built their defense around Suh considering his dominance at the DT position, so it leaves a large hole to fill through free agency and the draft.

That said, losing Suh gives the Lions somewhere close to $17 million in cap space they can spend on free agents to fill some holes they have at multiple positions like offensive line, cornerback and, of course, defensive tackle.

So in this post not only will we take a look at which free agents the Lions might go after, we'll be taking a look at why the Lions might consider switching from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4 defense now that Suh leaving. In fact, after the jump that's the first part we're going to tackle.

Where Could Ndamukong Suh Sign?

While the deadline to decide whether or not to place the franchise tag on star defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh wasn't until 4:00pm EST, the Detroit Lions announced they had made up their mind and were going to let Suh go untagged. Thus came the conclusion to the first part of the Suh free agency saga and the beginning of the next part. 

Suh is now scheduled to become a free agent on March 10th, should he and the Lions not come to a contract extension between now and then. Should Suh hit the market he'll arguably become the largest defensive free agent since Reggie White left the Philadelphia Eagles for the Green Bay Packers. 

Suh will be looking to become the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history. Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt currently holds that title with the 6-year, $100 million deal he agreed to with Houston back in September, which also came with a staggering $51.8 million signing bonus. As I mentioned in my post about Suh back in January, I predicted Suh would land at least a contract of 6 years, $102 million overall with a $52 million signing bonus. If he actually hits the free market, he'll probably make even more.

I still think the Lions have a real shot at re-signing Suh because they have exclusive negotiating rights with him until Saturday, March 7, when a three-day negotiating period opens for the rest of the league. But it's going to take a big contract to bring him back, which is why I think they're first going to have to let him see what his market is and they try to win him back.

So after the jump let's take a look at where Suh might actually wind up should he leave the Honolulu Blue behind, starting with a peak at the 20 teams that have more cap space than the Lions do. These numbers are each team's estimated cap space according to Over The Cap.