Mock Draft has three Wolverines going in first round
The NBA Draft lottery took place Tuesday night, officially establishing the pecking order for the June 26 draft. The Sporting News Sean Deveney was the first to update his mock draft and has three Wolverines going in Round 1.
After the Big 3 of Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker and Joel Elmbiid go off the board with the first three picks to the Cleveland Cavs, Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers, a run on shooting guards takes place beginning with the ninth selection.
Advertisement
That's where Deveney has the Charlotte Hornets selecting Michigan State product Gary Harris. The 76ers at No. 10 pick up Kentucky's James Young and with the 12th pick, Deveney sees the Orlando Magic selecting former U-M two-guard Nik Stauskas.
"What was up with the 12.1 percent body fat anyway? It might not hurt Stauskas that he had that extra layer because he was still able to perform well in the athletic drills [at the NBA Draft Combine], ranking second at his position in lane agility," Deveney wrote. "That hasn't entirely erased the question of whether Stauskas can defend at an NBA level, but it helped his cause.
"Orlando is in need of perimeter shooting threats outside of Arron Afflalo."
Surprisingly, Deveney's next Wolverine to come off the board is power forward/center Mitch McGary at No. 26 to the Miami Heat.
"Seen the playoffs lately? Then you know that the Heat need some size. Sure, they could look to guard against the possible loss of Mario Chalmers this summer with a point guard, but point guards are not hard to find," he writes. "The Heat would benefit from developing a young big man, and McGary - if medical reports on his surgically repaired back look OK - would be the kind of value puck the Heat need to uncover."
And with the No. 28 pick, he sees the Los Angeles Clippers taking small forward Glenn Robinson III.
"Robinson helped himself at the [NBA Draft] combine as he confirmed the athleticism he showed from time to time with the Wolverines," Deveney wrote. "The question is why he does not nominate more with his natural skills. Still, for a Clippers team looking for athleticism on the wing, Robinson is a good pickup."
If Deveney's mock draft proved accurate, Michigan would boast more first-round picks this year than any other college team ahead of Kansas, Michigan State, Duke and Syracuse, which would feature two each.
Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
If you're not a subscriber and would like to read all of our great content plus interact on our premium message board with our staff and thousands of other U-M fans, sign up here
Bring TheWolverine.com to your mobile platform. Download the app for either the iPhone or Android platforms.
Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @JB_Wolverine, @Balas_Wolverine, @Spath_Wolverine, @AReid_Wolverine, and @TimS_Wolverine.
And share this story:
Click Here to view this Link.