Outside Blazers, what moves do people expect teams to make?
Just my thoughts:
No. 1: Boston Celtics select Markelle Fultz. Really a no brainer, best player available plus his only major competitor has made it awfully clear that he doesn't want to play there.
No . 2: LA Lakers select Lonzo Ball, with the outside chance of De'Aaron Fox. Russell moving to SG has to happen as Lakers will almost 100% draft a point guard. LaVar has been trying to sell Ball there for a while but I feel that Fox might turn out to be much better in the workouts. Basically, if Fox can show that he can shoot, he will be a better prospect insantly. I still feel it's going to be Ball.
No. 3: Philadelphia 76ers, this is a tough one. Most mock ups have them selecting Josh Jackson here but I don't see him as a great fit. If Ball falls there, they will take him but if he doesn't, IMO it makes more sense for them to go for a pure scorer like Tatum or a point guard of the future like Fox than Jackson. Still feel they will take Jackson.
No. 4: Phoenix Suns take Jayson Tatum (or Josh Jackson). If Jackson falls there, they will take him. If he doesn't, they should take Tatum. They need a small forward and they don't really need a point guard when they have Bledsoe.
No. 5; Sacramento Kings take De'Aaron Fox. This IMO is almost nailed on, as long as Lakers do not take Fox at 2. If Fox falls here, he'll be selected 100%, Kings need him and he's excellent fit next to Hield. If Fox doesn't fall here, I am expecting Kings to take Tatum (because Fox going higher IMO means that Tatum is available at 5) and then hope that Ntilikina or Smith Jr are available at 10 - very small chance of that happening, so I guess they'll try hard to move up.
No. 6: Orlando Magic select Dennis Smith Jr. I don't think they are that sweet on Payton, and Smith has potential to be properly great. Alternatives are Malik Monk and Jonathan Isaac but I reckon Smith will be considered BPA here.
No 7: Minnesota Timberwolves, I think they will try to trade down from here as they still need to give time to Dunn at point guard (so no Smith/Ntilikina), and don't really need another slasher (Isaac). I think Monk would be good fit there but they also need to give LaVine minutes. Won't be surprised if #7 gets traded to Sacramento for #10 and getting rid of Pekovic contract. Then Sacramento could select Isaac here.
From no. 8 it's basically the best player available for 3-4 next picks. IMO good fits are Markkanen at Kings (if they get Fox at 5), Collins at Denver, Mitchell at Hornets.