For The Win mock draft: Thunder get Keon Johnson with pick 16
Many draft analysts see Keon Johnson as a likely top-10 pick in the upcoming NBA draft, but his raw play makes him a candidate to drop a bit. One expert thinks Johnson could find himself all the way out of the lottery.
In For The Win’s mock draft, Bryan Kalbrosky had the Oklahoma City Thunder taking Johnson with pick No. 16.
Johnson set a record for the best max vertical leap ever recorded at the combine. Crazy athletic and with an ability to get to the rim on offense and play solid defense, the Tennessee freshman has a high ceiling. But there’s also certainly a floor.
“His ability to fly well above the rim makes him an interesting developmental project with jaw-dropping athleticism. Oklahoma City will have that kind of patience in their rebuild.”
The Thunder would be thrilled to get Johnson at No. 16. He’s certainly a candidate for top-10 in the draft. His game will require development, but he has potential to be a very good NBA player.
Scottie Barnes at No. 6
Johnson was the headliner of this mock draft not because he was the Thunder's first pick, but because the player OKC did take at No. 6 has been mocked to the team so often already. Florida State forward Scottie Barnes was selected by the Thunder near the top of Kalbrosky's mock draft. The analyst called Barnes a "can't-miss prospect."
"I’m especially excited about the potential of Scottie Barnes, who is someone I believe to be a can’t-miss prospect because of his defensive versatility and his elite feel for the game. His jump shot still needs work but Barnes is someone whose long-term development I want to buy stock in now."
In a post-draft lottery Q&A, Kalbrosky spoke to the Thunder Wire in detail about why he thinks Barnes would be the perfect fit. Read it here.
No. 18: Josh Primo
At pick 18 in the mock draft, the Thunder went with 6-foot-6 Alabama guard Josh Primo. The freshman's main calling from his season with the Crimson Tide was his 38.1% shooting from beyond the arc. That's in part because he didn't play a big role in the offense. Kalbrosky thinks his college track record is similar to that of Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker:
"Some of the most common talking points about Joshua Primo are: he is the youngest player in this class, he is an excellent scorer who didn’t really get a chance to show what he could in college, he boasts maturity far beyond his years. That sounds an awful lot like Devin Booker coming out of Kentucky."
There's also a connection to Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, according to Kalbrosky.
"He also shares an AAU coach with OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, another star from the UPlay Canada pipeline."
First-round talent in the second
In the second round, the Thunder got a player who Kalbrosky thinks could be a candidate to be selected with one of OKC's mid-first-round picks. Roko Prkacin, the 6-foot-9 wing out of Croatia, was available at pick No. 34. Kalbrosky wrote:
"Players as tall as Roko Prkacin who can pass as well as he does who are as young as he does don’t come around very often, and when they do, they get drafted in the NBA."
In the Q&A, Kalbrosky spoke highly of Prkacin and saw him as a player who would excite the Thunder in particular. In that interview, the analyst said: "Clearly the Thunder value dudes who are big but can handle the ball. Him next to (Aleksej) Pokusevski would be silly and fun and would give Oklahoma City these crazy options." Prkacin averaged 13.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting just above 49% from the field and 39% from 3. He's definitely in that positionless, versatile, tall guy mold that general manager Sam Presti covets.
Draft-and-stash candidates
Prkacin could be a draft-and-stash player. With the 36th pick, Kalbrosky slotted the Thunder to take another. Vrenz Bleijenbergh, a 6-foot-10 20-year-old out of Belgium, shot 37.5% on 4.8 attempts from 3 last season.
"Even if he is used as a draft-and-stash option, Vrenz Bleijenbergh is an intriguing basketball player because he is an incredibly willing shooter for someone his height."
The Thunder have so many draft picks and so many young players under contract, it wouldn't hurt them to take a guy who doesn't need to play in the States next season. That's why Oklahoma City used its final pick on a player who will likely stay overseas as well. Ariel Hukporti, a 7-foot tall 19-year-old out of Lithuania, was taken at No. 55 in the draft.
"Teams with surplus draft picks that aren’t going to be able to roster everyone they draft will find themselves seriously considering Ariel Hukporti, a big man with great size who can continue his development overseas."
Hukporti averaged 10.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 0.9 steals in 23.5 minutes per game this past season. [mm-video type=video id=01fa45cwvhyz59xe3mxk playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01f5k5xtr64thj7fw2 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fa45cwvhyz59xe3mxk/01fa45cwvhyz59xe3mxk-99c483fa3475dca91d84cdeeaa9c0437.jpg]
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