2018 NBA Mock Draft: Round One – Picks 16-30

2018 NBA Mock Draft: Round 1, Picks 1-15 (Walt’s)
2018 NBA Mock Draft – Real Version (David Kay’s)
Updated: Thursday, June 20, 2018. Follow me @walterfootball for updates.

  1. Phoenix Suns (from Heat): Zhaire Smith, SG, Texas Tech, 6-5, Fr.
    I forgot to mention this earlier, but it’s nice that Adam Silver is now the NBA commissioner, as David Stern never would’ve allowed the Suns to win the NBA Draft lottery. Congrats, Suns, your team won’t be dicked over by the league office going forward!


  2. Milwaukee Bucks: Chimezie Metu, PF, USC, 6-10, Jr.
    There’s no such thing as a reach in the NBA Draft once you escape the lottery. Chimezie Metu is slotted in the middle of the second round of every mock I’ve seen, but I’ve heard that the Bucks are smitten with him.




  3. San Antonio Spurs: Miles Bridges, SF, Michigan State, 6-7, Soph.
    I have no idea if Miles Bridges is related to Mikal Bridges, but according to ESPN, Mikal is 21.6 years old and Miles is 20.1 years old, which means Mikal is 1.5 years older than Miles, and that means that Mikal’s mother would’ve gotten pregnant with Miles when Mikal was 0.6 years old. If she’s both of their mothers, that is. I find all of this interesting.


  4. Atlanta Hawks: Jerome Robinson, G, Boston College, 6-6, Jr.
    Ugh, another pick for the Hawks. I think they should just get rid of two of the Hawks, Kings or Clippers. There are 30 teams in the NBA, but if they get rid of two, there will be 28. I think 28 is a much better number than 30 because it’s divisible by both four AND seven.


  5. Minnesota Timberwolves (from Thunder): Donte DiVincenzo, SG, Villanova, 6-5, Soph.
    Donte DiVincenzo was awesome in the NCAA Tournament and parlayed that into a solid NBA Combine. His 40-yard dash was much faster than expected.




  6. Utah Jazz: Kevin Huerter, SG, Maryland, 6-7, So.
    It’s an easy pick for the Jazz, as they get their dream of drafting the best white player available. I’m sure Kevin Huerter can help them win one more game against the Warriors or Rockets.


  7. Chicago Bulls (from Pelicans): Chandler Hutchison, SG, Boise State, 6-7, Sr.
    The Bulls have made a promise to draft Chandler Hutchison, so if they break their promise, that’s seven years of bad luck.




  8. Indiana Pacers: Aaron Holiday, PG, UCLA, 6-1, Jr.
    The Pacers still need to find a replacement for Reggie Miller. Here’s a guy who maybe has a 0.0000000001-percent chance of filling Miller’s shoes, with the percentage being very low because they don’t play the same position.


  9. Portland Trail Blazers: Troy Brown, SF, Oregon, 6-7, Fr.
    The Patriots once had a great role player in Troy Brown, so the Blazers will be hoping for the same success with Troy Brown’s possible son. I don’t know if the two Troy Browns are related, and quite frankly, I don’t feel like doing the research, so maybe someone can clue me in later.


  10. Los Angeles Lakers (from Cavaliers): Mitchell Robinson, C, USA, 6-11, 1999
    I’m sure the Lakers have already asked LeBron James whom he wants them to draft with this pick. James has undoubtedly been studying film for countless hours, so he’s the right person to ask.




  11. Philadelphia 76ers: Jalen Brunson, PG, Villanova, 6-2, Jr.
    The 76ers don’t have a general manager because of the Bryan Calengelo mess, so it would make sense for them to draft local players they are familiar with.


  12. Boston Celtics: Grayson Allen, SG, Duke, 6-4, Sr.
    Grayson Allen worked out for the Celtics recently. If he didn’t act like an a**hole during his trip to Boston, perhaps the Celtics will be interested in drafting him.




  13. Golden State Warriors: Gary Trent Jr., SG, Duke, 6-6, Fr.
    Holy hell, I remmeber Gary Trent Sr. The Blazers drafted him, and when I was a teenager, I had his rookie card. It’s still definitely in my closet somewhere. I feel super old that the 19.3-year-old Gary Trent Jr. is heading into the NBA.


  14. Brooklyn Nets (from Raptors): Landry Shamet, G, Wichita State, 6-4, Jr.
    The Nets just robbed the Hornets in the Dwight Howard deal (go here for my NBA Trade Grades for more.) Perhaps that’ll mean that they’ll make a smart choice and not select a freshman from a big-name program who declared early for some stupid reason.


  15. Atlanta Hawks (from Raptors): Anfernee Simons, G, USA, 6-4, 1999
    There should also be a committee to make sure that teams no one cares about like the Hawks don’t have three or more draft picks. This mock draft would’ve taken so much less time if I had to make 28 super-creative write-ups instead of 30. I hope Adam Silver is reading this so he makes the appropriate changes for 2019.

    If you’ve made it this far, I don’t know how you did it. But thanks for reading. If you’d like an NBA Mock Draft with actual analysis, check out our real 2018 NBA Mock Draft.






  16. Back to Walt’s 2018 NBA Mock Draft: Picks 1-15


    Or… Visit a 2018 NBA Mock Draft with actual NBA analysis.






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