NBA Draft 2016: Latest Mock Draft, Biggest Boom-or-Bust 1st-Round Prospects

The drama in this year’s NBA draft begins with the third pick, as it’s widely assumed that LSU’s Ben Simmons and Duke’s Brandon Ingram are going to be the first two players taken. 

This is also a year for the draft in which there’s a steep talent drop-off after Simmons and Ingram. It’s a volatile class with talent, and there doesn’t appear to be a lot of future superstars. That makes for great intrigue, in addition to making teams do a lot more homework than they otherwise might to make sure they get the right players for their systems. 

With two days before the draft lottery, here’s the latest mock draft and a look at the biggest boom-or-bust players who will hear their names called on June 23. 

Buddy Hield, Oklahoma

It’s hard to believe there was a time during the NCAA tournament when some were discussing Buddy Hield as the No. 1 overall pick. 

Former NBA center Mychal Thompson told Josh Peter of USA Today in March that he saw no reason for Hield not to be in the conversation with Simmons and Ingram.

“I don’t know what else they want this young man to do,” Thompson said. “He can do everything you ask of an NBA guard. He moves without the ball like J.J. Redick. He shoots like he’s a member of the Golden State Warriors. He can create his own shot. He’s got a high basketball IQ. He can move his feet defensively.”

You can understand why. Hield was playing on national television in front of a wider audience than normal, scoring 36 points against Virginia Commonwealth in the round of 32 and 37 points against No. 1-seeded Oregon to help Oklahoma reach the Final Four. 

The Final Four game against Villanova, though, was a disastrous way for Hield’s college career to end. He scored nine points on 4-of-12 shooting in 36 minutes. 

There are dangerous extremes that come with Hield’s performance. He can be an outstanding shooter on any given night, as he was against Oregon, but certain teams figured out how to stop him. The aforementioned Villanova did it, as did West Virginia in the Big 12 tournament when he scored just six points and made one field goal. 

Per Peter, Thompson went on to say how Hield “is suffering from bias” that caused Stephen Curry to fall into Golden State’s lap with the seventh pick in 2009.

Leave Curry out of any conversation people have about college shooters, as no one thought he would become what he is today. If they did, he would’ve been in the legendary predraft conversation like LeBron James was in 2003.

Instead, look at what Hield is: a talented shooter with a good work ethic who isn’t that impressive on defense and will often settle for contested shots.

The ability to shoot gives Hield a chance to become something …

continue reading in source www.bleacherreport.com