2019 NBA mock draft: First round

Williamson is the can't-miss prospect of this decade. He's a unique combination of LeBron James's athleticism, young Shaquille O'Neal's power and Charles Barkley's body (if Barkley had been 6-foot-7). Zion checks virtually every box a prospect can check. He is incredibly efficient (he destroyed the season NCAA player efficiency rating record), and he has a sense of the moment. He's an elite shot-blocker. And, perhaps most impressively, he plays harder than anyone else on the court. His seemingly unlimited ceiling in the NBA will depend on his health and whether he can develop a respectable jump shot. Knicks fans would treat him like a messiah if their team wins the lottery.

Perhaps a bit unfairly, Barrett, the consensus No. 1 player in the draft class heading into the college season, had a number of flaws exposed while playing alongside Zion Williamson this year. Yes, Barrett has the tendency to put the blinders on when he drives to the basket, and his shot selection is questionable at times. However, this kid is special in the open court and an excellent rebounder for his position, and he can develop into a top-notch scorer in the half court. He’s an alpha-dog and a maniacal worker as well. Those who were looking for the next James Harden are going to have to temper their expectations a bit — think of him as a lefty version of DeMar DeRozan with a little better passing instincts. He could still go No. 2 with some great predraft workouts.

After a strong NCAA Tournament performance in which he recorded a triple-double in the first round and scored 28 points against a tough Florida State defense, Ja Morant is the consensus No. 2 player in this class. However, with his slight frame and unorthodox shooting release, the Cavaliers might pass on Morant because they drafted Collin Sexton last year and need to spread talent to different positions. The Suns, on the other hand, have needed a point guard for the past three seasons. Morant could team with Devin Booker to form one of the most offensively gifted backcourts in the league.

Here’s where a team could really get a steal. Garland came into the year as the No. 1 point guard prospect in his class but missed most of the season with a torn meniscus. Assuming he'll return to full health, this kid has a game modeled after the likes of Trae Young and Damian Lillard. His pretty shot and unlimited range jump off the screen at you. Whether it's a spot up shot or an off-the-dribble shot, Garland does a good job of gathering himself with a strong base, squaring his shoulders to the basket and shooting a repeatable shot every time — it's reminiscent of Lillard's shot mechanics. Garland clearly played some shooting guard growing up because he's a good cutter without the ball as well. From a playmaking standpoint, he already has all of the dribble moves you could ask for and seems to see the court nicely. Like Young, he'll have to learn to avoid overdribbling and improve his defense, as his slight frame will have opponents licking their chops at the thought of running him through pick-and-rolls all night. Any point guard-needy team like the Bulls should strongly consider rolling the dice on Garland.

Whichever team selects De'Andre Hunter is essentially getting the Malcolm Brogdon of three-and-D wings. He's going to be able to contribute immediately with solid yet unspectacular results. His two-way presence and consistency is going to be invaluable to a contender. He's a fundamentally sound player who has a great feel for defensive principles as well as an understanding for offensive spacing and off-ball cutting. He'd be a perfect fit for a team with an established pecking order in place at the top of its roster and the need for a polished two-way player to be the team's third or fourth-best. The Final Four Most Outstanding Player would seem to be a perfect fit in Atlanta at No. 5.

If it weren't for Zion Williamson, Brandon Clarke would have the highest season player efficiency rating (37.73) since the inception of the statistic in 2009. For anyone who watched Clarke this March, his strengths jump out at you. He's a 6-foot-8 explosive leaper who can rim-run and block shots at an elite level. He plays a lot like Pascal Siakam — he's everywhere on defense, can switch onto anyone, makes hustle plays and can grab a rebound and push the ball up court. His ceiling will be determined by whether he can extend the range on his rebuilt jump shot out to the three-point line. If a team in the top half of the lottery is convinced he can, Clarke is a threat to go as early as No. 4.

The 6-foot-6 playmaking wing has the look of an NBA player on a college court. He’s a little taller, a little rangier and a little spryer than his peers. The game also seems to move a little slower for him than for everyone else on the floor. Admittedly, the first time I saw Culver play extensively was against Duke in the regular season, and it immediately became clear that he was close to or on the same level as RJ Barrett. The title game may have hurt his stock a little bit, but Culver’s all-around game and willingness to facilitate on offense give him a high floor as an NBA prospect. If his tough two-point shot-making skills eventually translate to three-point shot-making in the pros, then he'll end up being one of the best players in this draft.

For any podcast listeners out there, Coby White plays basketball like he's listening to podcasts on the 1.5x speed setting — he plays fast and he makes quick decisions. Such a playing style has two distinct outcomes in the pros: He could become a great score-first pick-and-roll player as a ball-handler's ability to instantly process the defense and create a good shot is paramount; or, Mr. White could end up in the coach's doghouse for turning the ball over too often. My sense is that White will excel if he's drafted by a team that plans to make him into a modern-day Jamal Crawford early in his career. Let White develop his already advanced bucket-getting abilities, then ask him to round out the rest of his game after he's carved out a niche in the league. Memphis will need young, talented guards, assuming it deals Mike Conley this offseason. White certainly fits that description.

If the Hawks end up with two top-10 picks, why not swing for the fences with one of them? Bol Bol is the biggest boom-or-bust prospect in this draft because of his unique skill and body combination. At 7-foot-2 but only 220 pounds, Bol Bol will enter the NBA as one of the skinniest players in league history (much like his late father, Manute Bol). Also like his father, Bol Bol's insane height and wingspan make him an elite rim-protector without much effort. But unlike his father, Bol Bol is an excellent offensive player who can score from three levels. That was on full display in his nine games with Oregon, where he averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds with scintillating 56-52-76 shooting splits. On raw talent alone, Bol deserves to be a top-five pick in this draft, but scouts have cooled on him as of late because of his foot injury. (Once 7-footers' feet start getting hurt, they tend to stay hurt.)

Doumbouya isn't much of a household name, but maybe he should be. His highlight reel suggests that he could be the next Pascal Siakam with his ability to outrun other big men, finish acrobatically at the rim, handle the ball in transition and even knock down some three-pointers with his high-arching jump shot. However, the scouting profiles on Doumbouya suggest that he'll be a little clueless in his first couple of seasons in the league (he started playing basketball at age 14) and that his effort levels are inconsistent at this time. He'll be in the mix at the back end of the lottery and could be an ideal long-term fit next to Karl-Anthony Towns.

I know, I know — if Cam Reddish is available with this pick, the Lakers will almost assuredly draft him due to his Klutch Sports ties. (If they don't, it means they are probably trading the pick.) Anyway, every year there are players who fall in the draft because of their age or athleticism or whatnot who then become immediate contributors on playoff teams and leave people wondering: How did we miss on this guy? An early candidate for the "Hiding in Plain Sight" contributor is 6-foot-9, fifth-year senior wing Cameron Johnson. Johnson is already an elite shooter who posted 51-46-82 (FG-3FG-FT) shooting splits this past season at Chapel Hill. At 23 years old, he seems like an ideal plug-and-play, three-and-D wing for a playoff contender. You can teach a lot of things in basketball, but height and a sweet stroke aren't among them. Expect Johnson to either be a late riser on draft night or a late-first-round steal for a smart playoff team with a good eye for talent. 

Consider me a skeptic of Reddish. On one hand he's built like the prototypical modern NBA wing and flashes signs of superstar level skills. He's definitely had some big moments like the three-pointers during Duke's huge comeback at Louisville. On the other hand Reddish doesn't seem to have a good basketball IQ and never really stepped up for the Blue Devils when Zion Williamson was injured. He projects to be a Jeff Green-type player at the next level: someone talented enough to swing an Eastern Conference Game 7 with 19 points but inconsistent enough to score only 21 points the entire Finals series to follow. He shouldn't go in the top five, but he's the type of high-upside player the middling Hornets should be shooting for this late in the lottery.

Hachimura has the skills, athleticism and pedigree to be a good NBA player. At a 6-foot-9 and a stout 235 pounds, Hachimura can bang with most bigs in the post, but he also has the ability to blow past them or knock down a face-up jumper if given too much space. Like any talented big man entering the NBA today, his offensive potential will likely hinge upon whether he can consistently knock down three-pointers and spread the floor for his teammates. Do not be surprised if Japan's first basketball prodigy winds up going in the top 10 on draft night. If he slips, a team like the Heat should be happy to swoop in and take him.

Langford is a guy who, if he wasn't a highly decorated recruit out of high school, would almost certainly be staying at Indiana another year to improve upon his fairly lackluster freshman campaign. (He averaged 16.5 points, shot 44.8 percent from the field and only 27.2 percent from three.) A team with a great reputation for developing prospects, such as Boston, might talk itself into Langford though because of his reputation as a scorer and his decent touch around the rim. Plus, he played through a thumb injury most of the year and just looks like he was born to play two-guard in the NBA. (Look at that wingspan!) At the same time, Langford doesn't really have any elite skills. His shooting mechanics are disjointed, he doesn't have great handles or much creativity on drives and he doesn't jump off the screen as a defender or playmaker. Draft at your own risk, Boston!

JR Smith-Nick Young-Jordan Crawford. That's the best-average-worst case scenarios for Porter in the NBA. All three of those guys were talented, athletic and inconsistent in their play and behavior. Smith's ceiling made him a worthy gamble if your team had the right infrastructure. Young's ceiling made him kind of worth the gamble. Crawford's ceiling was not worth the gamble. When you watch Porter's highlights and see him making athletic plays and tough shots off the dribble, he looks like a future star. By the same token, when you look at the inconsistent game logs and read about his maturity issues, it makes you wonder whether he's worth the headache. The Pistons are bound to be competing for the eight seed for the rest of Blake Griffin's prime, so why not take a shot on a high-risk, high-reward prospect like Porter?

Despite DJ Augustine's Game 1 playoff heroics against Toronto, the Magic desperately need a franchise point guard. Luckily for them, Alexander-Walker should be available at pick 16. You may notice that Alexander-Walker has a lot of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in his game — that's because the two are cousins! He's tall (6-feet-5), long (6-feet-9), ambidextrous and plays at his own pace. He's not a great athlete, but his feel for the game and high skill level make up for it. He'd need a year or two to develop into a legitimate playmaker in the league, but that's why keep a veteran like Augustine around. Alexander-Walker also projects to be a multipositional defender.

Simple as they may be, the Jaxson Hayes-Jarrett Allen comparisons are a good starting point for figuring out what type of prospect Hayes will be. Like Allen, Hayes is an awesome athlete who projects to be a great rim-runner and rim-protector. (He averaged two blocks in only 23 minutes per game.) Hayes is even more raw than Allen was in college though, as he averaged only 10 points and five rebounds and over three fouls per game in limited minutes. However, some of Hayes' struggles can be attributed to him hitting a late growth spurt in high school and still learning how to control his "new" body (which still might be growing). What better way for Hayes to develop than to have him learn from Allen? It may seem counterintuitive to have two similar centers like this, but grabbing a player who could be molded into one of the best in the draft class at 17 might be too good of a value to pass up. Grab the best prospect, and figure the rest out later.

Herro looked like a lottery pick against Houston in the Sweet 16 but completely disappeared against Auburn the following round of the NCAA Tournament. Although he struggles to create his own shot at times, Herro will be a dynamic shooter in the NBA and is the type of player who could shoot up draft boards during his predraft workouts if he tests well and shows signs of improvement with his ball-handling. The Pacers could sure use some scoring pop and shooting (as seen by Game 1 at Boston), and Herro could be part of that solution.

Instead of focusing on the things Washington can't do (like shoot free throws), NBA teams would be smart to notice all of the little things Washington does extremely well. For instance, this guy is always around the ball, whether he's getting offensive rebounds, tip-outs, blocked shots, loose balls, etc. That's an intangible trait that only good basketball players possess. He's also a gamer and always seemed to show up big in Kentucky's toughest games. (Check out his stats in the tournament during his career at Kentucky.) He won't be a star in the NBA, but he projects to be a great role player and should be able to contribute off the bench for a playoff team almost immediately. In other words, he's the ideal Spurs player.

Does this guy scream Marvin Williams or what? Little definitely picked the wrong school to go to for his sole season in college, considering he spent the entire season behind Luke Maye and Cameron Johnson. I remember this guy going toe to toe with Zion and Barrett at the high school all-star games last year. What happened to that guy? Did Roy Williams hold him back, or is he just a really good athlete with average skills and a limited basketball IQ? He's going to be a bit of a project in the league, but the Celtics have a ton of draft picks and the ability to be patient with developmental projects, so why not roll the dice on this kid and see if you can turn him into Jaylen Brown instead of Williams.

Johnson is 6-foot-6 and 210 pounds of straight bulldog. His physical playing style combined with his tenacity and effort make him an ideal prospect for a playoff team looking to solidify its depth at wing with a kid who projects to be a high-level role player in the NBA. While his offensive abilities are a little behind his defensive abilities, he should be able to at least be able to attack closeouts with powerful drives to the rim and knock down open three-pointers at the very least. With a little discipline and the right coaching, Johnson could turn into an excellent wing defender in the league.

Williams' stock was at its apex heading into March Madness after being named SEC Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. Although he put up solid numbers and had a few big moments during the tournament, he took a backseat to Admiral Schofield and Tennessee's guards when it mattered the most. Thus, his stock probably dipped back into the late-teens, early-20s range. Williams definitely won't be a bust, but his ceiling as an impactful player will be tied to whether he knocks down threes and switches onto perimeter players on defense. He was never really asked to do that in college, but it'll be mandatory in the NBA. He'd be another solid choice for the Celtics here and should be able to get rotation minutes all season.

Schofield is a man with a name to match his game. Yes, he's a senior and yes he looks like he's a Big Mac away from being too heavy to play wing in the NBA, but man, this guy competes and brings it every night. Look no further than his second-half performance against Purdue in the NCAA Tournament. He can knock down threes at a consistent enough clip to play on the perimeter on offense and is strong enough to guard up a position in small-ball lineups on defense. I'd be shocked if he isn't a rotation player in the NBA for seven to eight years (which is tremendous value for this late in the first round). 

Okpala isn't your typical prospect out of Stanford. He's an athletic, raw wing with three-and-D upside in the league. He's 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-2 wingspan and is pretty comparable to a young Trevor Ariza. Despite averaging 17 points and six assists per game, he struggled with consistency this season, especially against some of the more athletic PAC-12 and non-conference teams. Some also question whether his basketball IQ will catch up to his body. Assuming he stays in the draft, he'd be a nice wing for a team like the Sixers to draft and stash in the G-League until he's ready to make NBA contributions in a year or two.

Okeke couldn't have picked a worse time to blow out his ACL, as he was giving North Carolina the business in the Sweet 16, and his draft stock was improving by the bounce. Now he almost must declare for the draft because the risk of returning to college and not looking like the player he was during Auburn's run through the SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament is far too great. As long as his knee checks out (no long-term damage), some team in the late first round might take a flyer on him. At 6-foot-8 and 230 pounds, Okeke can defend threes, fours and small-ball fives on defense and can stretch the defense with his 39 percent shooting from three-point land. He can also beat big men off the dribble, which was on full display the past two months. Okeke is an ideal modern forward in today's NBA. 

Dort is a "thicc" guard with a lot of two-way capability. One thing scouts have to like is that he seemed to play up to the competition any time Arizona State played a tournament-level opponent. His shooting needs to come a long way, as he shot only 31 percent from three despite a large sample size. If he can steady his mechanics and develop at his own pace, he could easily be a playoff contender's version of Norm Powell in the pros. The Cavaliers need talent at every position, and Dort could at least provide a little more defense than the likes of Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson.

What is it with super-"thicc" power guards playing at Iowa State? First it was Deonte Burton, and now it's Talen Horton-Tucker. Standing 6-foot-4 and weighing 240 pounds, Horton-Tucker is a unique from a physical standpoint for a guard in this draft. He's powerful and has broad shoulders, so once he gets a step on a defender, he's tough to slow down or block. As one might expect, he's comfortable around the basket and has a nice face-up game with an array of up-fakes and step-back moves in his arsenal. He can pass a little bit, too. While his shot needs work, he's an intriguing talent who could be used in small-ball lineups in the NBA. Let's give him to Kenny Atkinson and see what he can get out of him.

Would prime Tony Allen have a place in today's NBA? If so then Matisse Thybulle could be a steal for a team drafting near the end of the first round, as he's the best wing defender to enter the NBA in years. Thybulle averaged an absurd 3.5 steals and 2.2 blocks this past season, but only nine points and three rebounds. The odd thing is that his jump shot isn't broken, and there's some belief that he could eventually develop into a Danny Green-type player on offense. Hey, if you're getting that type of player at this point in the draft, you must be pretty pleased with the job your scouting department did.

Edwards' Kemba Walker impersonation during March Madness certainly did his draft stock some favors. Instead of being viewed as a chucker, like he was for much of the Big Ten regular season, Edwards is now being seen as a player who can carry an average Purdue team to the cusp of a Final Four almost entirely on his own. The unlimited range and impressive shot-making ability he displayed this March were truly amazing and probably solidified his draft stock as a late-first-, early-second round pick. Every team could use a spark plug guard off the bench, and Edwards certainly fits that mold. He'd be an ideal long-term replacement for Patty Mills in San Antonio.

Fernando is an absolute physical specimen who should be drafted in the first round on his potential as a rim-running and rim-protector center. Fernando is 6-foot-10 with a 7-foot-4 wingspan and big-league hops. His highlight reel of huge dunks and blocks is reminiscent of prime Dwight Howard or DeAndre Jordan. But you guessed it: He's still raw and inconsistent in all other facets. You draft him hoping that he figures it out and surprises people, like Andre Drummond, but you know that the chances of him being a plus-player in the NBA are a coin flip at best. At pick No. 30, why not take a risk if you're the Bucks.