Old North Banter NBA Mock Draft: Zion goes first, Culver goes fourth

The Timberwolves were left in a state of disarray following Jimmy Bulter’s departure to Philadelphia and it showed on the court as the team that made the playoffs just one season ago failed to do so. Doumbouya is projected as a top-10 prospect so the Timberwolves will take the best player available and grab him. Not much is known outside of basketball circles about Doumbouya, but he is an elite defender and can defend 1-4 with relative ease and can close out on most shooters, but his sporadic shooting and his turnover-assist ratio will be the reason why he slips to the Timberwolves.

Bol was a top 5 draft prospect before his foot injury, which has caused this prospect to drop among most draft boards. Daniel Lacy has given a much more in-depth analysis if y’all would like to give it more of a read, but for now, we’ll keep this simple. The Hornets need depth at the five and currently, Cody Zeller is their best player at the position. Bol put up monster numbers (21 ppg., 9.6 rebounds and 56.1-percent from the field) and was a force. He is incredibly light at 208 pounds and can be a defensive liability. The combination of raw talent and unknown variables makes him the perfect player for the Hornets to take, at least as of late anyway.

Despite Rui Hachimura, Brandon Clarke and PJ Washington still being on the board to this point, the Head will try to move on from Justise Winslow and select Langford to fill out some depth at small forward. Langford had a modest season for the Hoosiers, averaging 16.5 ppg and just over five assists per game, but struggled mightily from beyond the arc, only hitting 27-percent of his shots from downtown. Despite the poor shooting from deep, Langford was an effective shooting, having a near 50-percent effective field goal percentage, making the pick worth the risk for the Heat.

The Heat passing on Clarke gives the Celtics the perfect opportunity to swoop in and take the power forward out of Gonzaga in the last of the lottery. Clarke would be the ideal replacement for Marcus Morris, who will be turning 30 during the 2019-2020 season and is an unrestricted free agent this offseason. While Clarke is one of the older players in this draft along with Hunter, he has experience and could be plugged in as a starter relatively quickly. In addition to having a solid offensive game, Clarke improved his defensive numbers every year he played in college, averaging over three blocks per game his final season in college.

While the Pistons already have a plethora of power forwards on the roster already, the potential of finding a worthwhile Kentucky prospect is usually too much for teams to resist and Detroit will take the flyer on Washington. Washington vastly improved his three-point shooting from his freshman season to his sophomore season. increasing his three-point field goal percentage from 23 percent his freshman year to over 40 percent his sophomore year. His offensive skillset alone makes him a solid pick for a team that will look to make another playoff appearance in 2020.

Halfway through this NBA Mock Draft, lets move it along.