The 2019 NBA Draft order is set following the lottery. Where are all the top prospects projected to land? Find out in our brand new mock draft.
Tuesday’s 2019 NBA Draft Lottery has finalized the draft order and brought with it plenty of surprises. Thanks to a new format designed to help curb tanking by distributing odds in a more even way, we have more shakeups in the draft order than ever before.
Three teams – the Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, and New Orleans Pelicans – jumped into the top four with the Pelicans winning the top pick, something they had just a six percent chance of doing.
That means that three of the NBA‘s four worst teams (Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls) in 2018-19 are picking outside of the top four, likely putting those teams out of reach of the projected franchise-changing star each coveted. The New York Knicks are the only team that stayed in the top four yet still fell from a projected No. 1 to No. 3 overall.
New Orleans getting the top pick also throws a major monkey wrench in one of the biggest pre-draft storylines involving Anthony Davis. The All-Star big man tried to force a trade away from the Pelicans last year and both the Lakers and Knicks reportedly had interest in trading their high draft picks for him. Of course, the Pelicans now have a better draft pick than either of them.
New executive vice president David Griffin has said that he wants to try to convince Davis to stay, and selecting Zion Williamson with the No. 1 pick certainly makes staying with the franchise much more appealing.
Ja Morant and R.J. Barrett figure to round out the top three selections, but that much was expected no matter the outcome of the lottery. How will the rest of the draft shake out now that we know where everyone is picking? Here are our latest projections: