NBA Mock Draft 2016: Latest Projections for Polarizing Prospects

The 2016 NBA draft isn’t until June 23 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, but with the lottery order locked in, it’s far easier to project where the top prospects might land.

At the epicenter of draft debate is the No. 1 pick conundrum the Philadelphia 76ers face. Their options are either Duke forward Brandon Ingram or LSU prodigy Ben Simmons, both of whom are offensive catalysts in their own way with the tools to be superstars.

After Ingram and Simmons, the caliber of players takes a bit of a drop, which lends to a few standouts who are particularly polarizing.

Below is a mock of the first round, followed by a breakdown of fringe lottery players who could go much higher or lower on draft night depending on which teams fall in love with them.

Analysis of Polarizing Prospects

14. Chicago Bulls: Skal Labissiere, PF/C, Kentucky

One unproductive college season makes Labissiere a tremendous draft wild card, yet the widespread perception is he’ll still wind up in the lottery. He averaged only 6.6 points and 3.1 rebounds to go with 1.6 blocks this past year.

In this mock scenario, Labissiere barely cracks the lottery threshold by going to Chicago at 14th overall.

The Bulls have aging veteran Pau Gasol armed with a player option this offseason, and Taj Gibson is entering a contract year in 2016-17.

Joakim Noah, who is nowhere near the player he once was, has told teammates, per Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, that he’s not coming back. Chicago needs help in the frontcourt to say the least.

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But with a stretch 4 in Nikola Mirotic as a good fit for coach Fred Hoiberg’s system and a promising first-round pick from last year in Bobby Portis, there’s still time for Labissiere to ease his way into the rotation. He’d likely need at least a year, maybe two, to develop into a worthy contributor.

A big-market team like the Bulls should be big players in free agency, allowing them to take more of a risk on someone like Labissiere who may need to spend time in the NBA D-League as a rookie. They could also dangle a star like Jimmy Butler as a trade chip to move further up in the lottery.

The fact Labissiere is still held in such high esteem despite lackluster numbers at Kentucky shows …

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