NBA Draft 2022: Updated mock draft post combine and lottery results
16. Atlanta Hawks – TyTy Washington – Kentucky – Guard – Freshman
Coming off of a disappointing season after a conference finals run, the Hawks will look to continue to build around Trae Young. They could bolster the front-court depth and defense here, but with Clint Capela, John Collins, and Onyeka Okongwu all under contract, I think they’ll go guard.
There’s a handful of combo guards available in this range, but Washington is the highest pedigree and seems the readiest. Nothing about Washington screams NBA player when you first look at him; he’s not super big or incredibly explosive. But, he used his savviness and natural scoring instinct to produce. Washington has a plus mid-range and floater game, excelling at getting to spots and having good touch.
He needs to improve at finishing at the rim and I doubt he ever excels there, given the physical tools. Washington doesn’t strike me as a high-upside player, but I think there’s enough craft to help out a rotation and produce, and for an Atlanta team lacking backcourt depth, he could help.
17. Houston Rockets – Ousmane Dieng – New Zealand Breakers – Wing – 2003
This would be the Rockets’ sixth first-round pick in the last two years, so I see them taking a swing on the raw but enticing Dieng here. Dieng struggled tremendously at the beginning of the NBL season, but showed growth towards the end. He’s a long, rangy wing, with some ball skills. He can’t shoot it consistently yet, but it improved as the NBL season went on, giving me some long-term hope. If he puts it all together, Dieng has a real chance to be a top eight-ish guy in this class. But, there’s enough low-hanging fruit that makes me think he’ll do enough things to be a rotation player.
18. Chicago Bulls – E.J Liddell – Ohio State – Forward – Junior
After making the playoffs for the first time since 2017, the Bulls will likely look to upgrade their frontcourt. They were banged up throughout the year, but seemed to lack toughness and rebounding at times.
I thought about both Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Tari Eason here, but Liddell fits that toughness aspect better while being a bit older. He’s undersized for a four, but is an elite two-foot leaper. Considering he’s only 6’7, it’s wild he blocked 83 shots last year. Offensively, he’ll have to adjust to no longer being a high-usage player. His post-ups probably aren’t translating. But, Liddell showed tremendous improvement in other areas.
Despite a flat shot, he got himself to becoming a good three-point shooter. His passing and decision-making was also noticeably better. He’s a hard worker who can grind out rebounds and hit some open threes for a Bulls team that needs it. With the playoffs going on, teams are looking for the next Grant Williams (a small-ball playoff five) and I don’t think E.J. is as good as Williams, but he can maybe be that archetype.
19. Minnesota Timberwolves – Blake Wesley – Notre Dame – Guard – Freshman
Minnesota could address wing depth here, as that is their biggest roster hole to me right now. But with nothing super appealing on the board, I went BPA and slotted Wesley here.
Wesley was another prospect that kind of came from nowhere, slowly gaining the reins of Notre Dame’s offense. He doesn’t excel at a particular skill yet, but he flashed in a ton of different areas. Wesley has some interesting shake-off-the-bounce, intriguing pull-up shooting flashes, and he guarded pretty well.
Wesley needs to add strength and improve as finisher, but he showed some plus leaping. He’s a bit of a project and will take a year or two to be an impactful player, but with D’angelo Russel’s contract set to expire after next season and a good young core in place, Wesley is the kind of swing that could pair nicely with Anthony Edwards and Karl Anthony-Towns.
20. San Antonio Spurs – Jalen Williams – Santa Clara – Wing – Junior
Filling out their front-court depth with Sochan at No. 9, they opt for a safe plug and play option on the wing. Admittedly, I need to do more of a deep dive on Williams after an impressive combine week. He measured in well, at just under 6’6, but with a 7’2 wingspan. Williams had a productive season while showing he’s a good defender. Williams had two strong combine scrimmage games, scoring 15 points on a good percentage.
Williams isn’t a freak athlete, but has a great mix of dribbling, passing, and shooting that will help attack tilted defenses and hit shots off of lead guard creation. Stockpiling wings with these tools is super important in team creation and I doubt Williams falls out of the first round.