2017 NBA Mock Draft – Real Version (David Kay’s)
Updated: Thursday, June 23, 2016. 4:00 p.m. Follow me @walterfootball for updates.
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Philadelphia 76ers: Ben Simmons, F, LSU, 6-10, Fr. 
Since we all know the pick will be Ben Simmons, I’ll mention that I’ll have my dad’s thoughts on him and all of the 76ers’ moves in the Live NBA Draft Blog. You won’t be disappointed.
Speaking of the live blog, one thing people tell me that they look forward to is my dad’s reaction to whom the Sixers pick. It’s added incentive to go to my parents’ house for the NBA Draft every June.
Here are some of my dad’s past reactions to his beloved Sixers’ selections:
2015 NBA Draft:
7:04: I promised that I would give my dad’s controversial take on D’Angelo Russell. He thinks he’s the next Michael Jordan. “It’s like 1984,” he said. “Two terrible centers are going first and second, and Russell is going third. He’s the next Michael Jordan, and the Sixers are going to get him!”
With the No. 2 overall pick, the Lakers select D’Angelo Russell, PG, Ohio State
7:45: “Oh, God!” – my dad
7:47: “Okafor doesn’t want to go to the Sixers! F***ing Lakers!” Goodbye, Michael Jordan.
7:48: My dad’s changing his tune. “I think he’s going to be a trouble-maker. I don’t like him.”
7:50: “I hope Russell is going to be a bust!” – my dad
7:58: The tide has turned for my dad: “Okafor is not cocky. Not like D’Angelo Russell. He’s cocky. He’s going to bust.”
2014 NBA Draft:
With the No. 9 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, the Hornets select Noah Vonleh, F, Indiana
8:30: My dad’s a fan. “Thank God! I don’t want that loser Vonleh. We can draft Doug McDermott now!”
With the No. 10 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, the 76ers select Elfrid Payton, G, Lousiana-Lafayette
8:37: My dad’s comments:
“Who the f*** is that?”
“Why do we need another point guard?”
“It’s a trade for Andrew Wiggins. I guarantee it.”
With the No. 11 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, the Nuggets select Doug McDermott, F, Creighton
8:43: “Sixers are SOOOO DUMMMBB! FUTURE LARRY BIRD!”
8:44: “When the Sixers picked Elfrid Payton, Denver was probably dancing because they got the next Larry Bird.”
8:46: My dad, looking at the newspaper with Elfrid Payton’s stats: “He shoots 50 percent free throws!” He then handed me the newspaper.
My response: “FG stands for field goals.”
2013 NBA Draft:
8:31: Sixers dealt Jrue Holiday and a first-round pick in 201? (couldn’t hear it because Bill Simmons and Jalen Rose were yelling.)
8:32: My dad’s going nuts. “The Sixers are crazy! They are crazy! What are they doing!? Holiday… he’s the best player on the team!”
8:34: “F***ing idiots!” My dad yelled, walking to the bathroom.
8:35: “Keeping Evan Turner and giving up Jrue Holiday!? How can they do this? What a f***ing idiot team!” my dad yelled, walking out of the bathroom.
2012 NBA Draft:
8:57: My dad’s super pissed that ESPN cut to a commercial. “They’re always against the Sixers! They hate the Sixers! Always commercials when they draft!”
With the 15th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, the 76ers select Moe Harkless, F, St. John’s
8:59: Uh oh…
“Who the f**k is that? WHO THE F**K IS THAT!? SIXERS ALWAYS DO SOMETHING STUPID! ALWAYS!”
9:01: My dogs are freaking out because my sister walked in. My dad, pissed about the pick and all the noise, just freaked out: “SHUT UP! SHUT UP! IDIOTS! SIXERS AND THE DOGS ARE ALL IDIOTS!”
2009 NBA Draft:
8:49: The Sixers are just four picks away. My dad wants Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson or Wayne Ellington. Yeah, he’s not a front-runner.
8:50: With the 13th pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, the Indiana Pacers select Tyler Hansbrough, PF, North Carolina – My dad just groaned. “Oh no, my guy!”
9:03: My dad is beaming. The Sixers will have their choice of Ty Lawson and/or Wayne Ellington:
“Watch, if the Sixers draft these guys, they’re going to be good next season.”
9:09: My dad’s pretty confident they’re taking Lawson or Ellington… He also thinks they may take B.J. Mullens and trade him.
9:10: And on that note, t-minus three minutes and counting until my TV is debacled.
9:13: With the 17th pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers select Jrue Holiday, G, UCLA – Oh… no….
9:14: My dad on the pick:
“What the f***!?!??! I was afraid they’d take him. What the f***… I was afraid they were going to take him… I hope we’re going to trade him. Why didn’t they take Ty Lawson? Son of a b****. Why not Ellington? Maybe they’ll trade down. Maybe they’ll trade Holiday…”
9:16: I just told my dad Holiday averaged 8.5 ppg and shot 30.7 percent from three-point range at UCLA last year. He looks defeated.
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Los Angeles Lakers: Brandon Ingram, SF, Duke, 6-9, Fr. 
I’m willing to go out on a limb here and predict that the Lakers will take Brandon Ingram. Most people don’t have this pick happening, but my super-duper inside sources are telling me that Ingram will, in fact, be the pick. Trust me.
Enter our 2016 NBA Mock Draft Contest. Winner gets $200. FREE entry, so there’s no reason not to enter. -
Boston Celtics: Kris Dunn, PG, Providence, 6-4, Jr. 
My dad has been asking me for months what the 76ers plan on doing in the draft. That has involved this choice more than the No. 1 overall pick, as Philadelphia has been linked to Boston in a potential trade. If the 76ers do swing a deal, I hope they take Buddy Hield, the best player in the draft. No question about it.
OK, maybe there is some question, but would it shock anyone if Hield emerges as the best player four years from now, sort of like Steph Curry did in his class? I’m not saying Hield will be as good as Curry or anything, but their games are similar, and Hield carried the Sooners deep into the tournament, just as Curry did with Davidson. -
Phoenix Suns: Marquese Chriss, SF, Washington, 6-10, Fr. 
I can’t say I really heard of this guy until I began paying attention to NBA Draft coverage a few hours ago. He sounds like someone Phoenix would want. In fact, Marquese Chriss sounds like some sort of French general. The Marquese du Chriss, or something like that. Like I said, I hadn’t heard of him prior to a few hours ago, so this is all the analysis I have. -
Minnesota Timberwolves: Buddy Hield, SG, Oklahoma, 6-4, Sr. 
Note: After doing some actual research, I’ve changed some of my picks for my final 2016 NBA Mock Draft, but the write-ups are for the former selections. I’ve mention if there’s a pick change and whom the write-up is for:
Previous pick – Dragan Bender:
I’m going to quote my dad here: “Minnesota will take the best white player available.” I suppose that would be Dragan Bender, though he sounds like someone who would swear allegiance to Daenerys Targaryen. Get it, Dragon Bender? By the way, you can check out our Game of Thrones podcast by clicking the link. -
New Orleans Pelicans: Jamal Murray, SG, Kentucky, 6-5, Fr. 
The player my dad wants the most if the 76ers move into the No. 3 spot? This guy, Jamal Murray. I’ve never heard my dad rant and rave about a prospect as much as he has with Murray. In fact, I think it’s getting to a point where he would gladly kick me out of the family if he could somehow secure Murray as a son. -
Denver Nuggets: Dragan Bender, PF, Bosnia, 7-0, 1997 
Previous pick – Jaylen Brown:
Remember that time the Nuggets had the NBA Coach of the Year and then fired him? How’s that working out for them? Derp! The Nuggets can begin to bounce back by taking yet another player I know very little about. -
Sacramento Kings: Domantas Sabonis, PF, Gonzaga, 6-10, Soph. 
Previous pick – Buddy Hield:
Speaking of dumb teams firing George Karl, the Kings can at least feel good about themselves in terms of drafting the best player in the class – all the way at No. 8! Sacramento better hope that Buddy Hield’s positive energy rubs off on DeMarcus Cousins, who could still become coachable for the first time in his entire basketball career.
By the way, nice move by the Kings going back to their old logo while keeping their new-ish colors. I like it. What I don’t like is my server or coding being unable to update the logo without changing the file name. You’d think it would be simple, but it’s definitely not. -
Toronto Raptors: Jaylen Brown, SF, California, 6-7, Fr. 
Previous pick – Domantas Sabonis:
I don’t know where to go with this pick, as Toronto always seems to perplex me, but I think it would make sense for the foreign team to draft the foreign player. That’s not racist, is it? -
Milwaukee Bucks: Dejounte Murray, G, Washington, 6-5, Fr.
Another freshman guy I’ve never heard of. This is getting ridiculous. If Adam Silver did anything besides take advantage of senile owners and fix games, he would do something about this one-and-done policy. It’s horrible. Freshmen emerge from college all the time, completely unready for the pros. It hurts them, the NBA and college basketball. As with the NFL, players should be forced to stay in school for three years, and they shouldn’t be able to leave the country either. Just make me NBA commissioner now, and I’ll fix everything. -
Orlando Magic: Henry Ellenson, PF, Marquette, 6-11, Fr. 
Previous pick – Skal Labissiere:
Everyone is saying that this pick is locked in, so I’ll go this route. All I’ll say is, good luck Magic. Taking another one-and-done guy who isn’t even remotely close to being ready to contribute in the NBA is a super risky move. I hope it works out for you. -
Atlanta Hawks: Jakob Poeltl, C, Utah, 7-1, Soph. 
Previous pick – Malachi Richardson:
My dad would also say that the Jazz are ready to take the best white player available, but that actually hasn’t been their strategy of late. Without fact checking too hard, I can tell you that the last white player they drafted was Gordon Hayward – unless you want to count Enes Kanter or Gorgui Dieng.
I was ready to slot Henry Ellenson here, but then I recalled that he was white, so that’s no good. It could be Malachi Richardson, who is canceling workouts with teams, which might indiate that some team told him they’ll draft him early.
Update: The Hawks traded for this pick, rendering all the research I did for it irrelevant. All my hard work went to waste. -
Phoenix Suns: Skal Labissiere, C, Kentucky, 7-0, Fr.
Previous pick – Henry Ellenson:
In case you missed it, the Suns were given this selection as compensation for David Stern dicking them over against the Spurs in the playoffs a long time ago. Phoenix can make up for it by taking the Ellenson guy I mentioned a little bit ago. -
Chicago Bulls: Wade Baldwin, G, Vanderbilt, 6-4, Soph. 
Previous pick – Jakob Poeltl:
Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol are leaving in free agency, in all likelihood, so the Bulls need to find a big man to take their place. See, I can do real NBA analysis, too!
Speaking of free agency, it’s always baffled me that the NBA Draft occurs prior to free agency. Wouldn’t it make sense for the draft to happen afterward? Like, the NBA Draft should be scheduled July 23; not June 23. But hey, that’s just me. -
Denver Nuggets: Furkan Korkmaz, SG, Turkey, 6-7, 1997
Isn’t going to Denver like hitting the jackpot? You get to smoke weed without being arrested unjustly, and you also get to eat at Noodles and Company when you have the munchies. I’m just pissed that Noodles and Company isn’t available in the Philadelphia region. Not living next to a Noodles and Company is one of the greatest regrets of my life.
Go to 2016 NBA Mock Draft: Picks 16-30
Sorry for cutting this into two halves; I’ve received complaints about load times and putting the mock draft on two pages saves bandwidth.
Or… Visit a 2016 NBA Mock Draft with actual NBA analysis.
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