NBA Mock Draft 2016: Round 1 Projections, Prospects’ Post-Lottery Landing Spots

Now that all 30 teams know where they will be picking in the 2016 NBA draft on June 23 after Tuesday night’s lottery, they have a much better understanding of what their futures are going to look like.

LSU’s Ben Simmons and Duke’s Brandon Ingram have been the consensus top two players for months, taking some drama out of the equation. There will certainly be some misdirection from the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers with the top two picks, but everyone knows what they are going to do.

Beyond Simmons and Ingram, there is talent available, but this is not the kind of class that is going to easily churn out stars. It’s a good crop of players—some with incredibly high ceilings—but teams and fans will have to be patient while the development process takes shape.

The draft is all about providing optimism for the future. Let’s look at where that will come from with a new mock draft:

Lottery Winner: Los Angeles Lakers

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There is little doubt Ingram will be the second player taken in the draft. The big question before the lottery was whether he’d be going to the Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers or Boston Celtics.

The Celtics are obviously the best team among that trio, having made the playoffs each of the last two years and winning 48 games last season.

But when Boston’s logo came up for the No. 3 pick, Ingram was either going to be the face of the Sixers’ or Lakers’ future. Both are storied franchises with rich traditions that have fallen on hard times of late and have front offices seemingly out of sorts on a daily basis.

Yet the Lakers are more likely to move forward successfully now that they are out of the huge shadow cast by Kobe Bryant’s salary and retirement tour. They have young talent to build around, such as D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle.

What the Lakers don’t have is a true face-of-the-franchise player who will carry them into the future. Simmons is the star of this draft class because he’s been hyped since his high school days, but as Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ Advance Media pointed out, Ingram bears a striking physical resemblance to a former MVP:

During his college days at Texas, [Kevin] Durant measured in at 6-foot-9, 215 pounds, with a 7-foot-4 wingspan. Ingram has a nearly identical body, coming in at 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-3 wingspan. The one difference is weight, as Ingram weights just 195 pounds, but with his broad shoulders, it is expected he will be able to put on muscle rather easily.

It’s unfair to say right now that Ingram will be another Kevin Durant. But it’s not out of the question given the way the two are …

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