NBA Draft: Magic Get Top Pick

With the NBA Lottery coming up on May 20th, the order of the lottery teams is still undetermined. However, there are plenty of mock drafts out there that you can look at that have the Utah Jazz drafting fourth in this year’s NBA Draft. As great as that is, there is a very, very slim chance that the Jazz actually draft fourth overall.

There are a lot of different scenarios where the Jazz could land in this draft. The Jazz could be anywhere from the first overall pick, to the seventh. In this “What If” scenario, we take a look at one of the possible scenarios where the Jazz could land in the draft and who they could take. See the results below.

1. Orlando Magic – Andrew Wiggins The Magic have a 15.6% chance to win the lottery. If they do, they could have a hard time passing up Wiggins. They really like Dante Exum and Marcus Smart, as they are going to be needing a point guard. However, a potential superstar like Wiggins is something they would be stupid to pass up.

2. Boston Celtics – Joel Embiid The Celtics have an interesting off season ahead of them. They, like the Jazz, are in rebuild mode. With Rajon Rondo running the team, and having another good piece in Jeff Green, they still have a long ways to go. However, Embiid would fill a big need for the Celtics.

3. Philadelphia 76ers – Jabari Parker This is the worst news for Jazz fans. Not only would they miss out on Parker, who is nearly a perfect fit for the Jazz, but the 76ers could really rub salt in the Jazz fans’ wound when they have a good season next year. Michael Carter-Williams would be ecstatic to see Parker on the same team as him.

4. Milwaukee Bucks – Julius Randle The Bucks have a lot of needs to fill. After an absolutely awful season, they don’t have a ton of bright spots. If they do have any, it could be in Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek player who just finished up his rookie season has a lot of potential. Also, if Larry Sanders can return to form, adding Randle to that mix would give the Bucks a pretty nice front court presence.

5. Utah Jazz – Dante Exum Most Jazz fans don’t really want to see this pick happen, mainly because nobody really knows who this kid is. Exum is from Australia and is regarded as possibly the best player to come out of the country, including Kyrie Irving. Exum has been rumored to want to play point guard. The Jazz already have Trey Burke, but if Exum could come in and play the shooting guard position alongside Burke, the Jazz’s back court would be pretty nice.

6. Los Angeles Lakers – Aaron Gordon There are a lot of mixed feelings about Gordon. Some people think he is extremely athletic and a potential All-Star, while others think he is overrated and is going to be a bust in the NBA. One thing is for sure though, if Gordon ends up becoming a great player, and he is on the same team as Kobe Bryant, you can bet the Lakers won’t be a laughing stock again next season.

7. Sacramento Kings – Marcus Smart The Kings could use somebody in this draft class that can create plays. Smart is excellent at getting to the hoop. Another aspect of Smart’s game that the Kings could really use is his defense. Smart is a solid defender and the King’s can use all the help they can get.

8. Detroit Pistons – Noah Vonleh I personally can’t really say much about Vonleh. I didn’t really get to watch a lot of Indiana’s games this season. The game that I did get to watch, however, Vonleh got into early foul trouble and didn’t see the court a ton of minutes. From what I have heard though, Vonleh is extremely talented and could be a solid pick in this draft. Detroit is a mess, however, they have some solid talent on their roster if they can ever get it together.

9. Cleveland Cavaliers – Doug McDermott I was really hoping that McDermott wouldn’t get this high in the draft because I wanted the Jazz to take him with their 23rd pick. However, when you can shoot lights out like McDermott can, your draft stock is going to rise quickly. The Cavaliers kind of blew it last draft when they took Anthony Bennett number one overall. If they land McDermott in this draft, that should be ten times better than last year’s draft turned out for them.

10. Philadelphia 76ers – Gary Harris This kid out of Michigan State is solid. He can really shoot the ball, and can really shoot the ball well from three. With the 76ers looking to rebuild, already landing Parker in this scenario, teaming them up with Carter-Williams and another solid piece in Thaddeous Young, the 76ers could be solid in the East next season.

11. Denver Nuggets – Tyler Ennis Regarded as possibly the best point guard in this draft, Ennis would be a great pick up for the Nuggets. Already having Ty Lawson run the point for the team, Ennis would be an ideal back up for him. The Nuggets could also run some sets where Ennis and Lawson got on the court at the same time. Also, with all the injuries that the Nuggets had this season, getting all those players back and adding Ennis to the bench could help the Nuggets a lot.

12. Orlando Magic – Dario Saric He has fell a little bit since mock drafts first started coming out. He used to be ranked up near the seventh and eighth pick. The problem is that since he is overseas, he isn’t seen as much as the college players in the states. However, Saric has been said to play similar to Magic Johnson, and what team wouldn’t want that?

13. Minnesota Timberwolves – Nik Stauskas Something that the Timberwolves could use is more shooting. Stauskas can bring exactly that. He may be the best shooter in the entire draft, aside from McDermott. On top of that, you know that Minnesota is more than likely going to draft a guard because, well, that’s just what they do.

14. Phoenix Suns – Zach LaVine Phoenix was a complete and utter surprise to basically everyone in the NBA. Nobody had the Suns predicted to win as many games as they did. Former Jazz man and now Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek did a fantastic job in his first season and finished second in the Coach of the Year voting to Gregg Popovich. The Suns could potentially have four first round picks in this draft so they could add some talent to an already good roster.

This is something that I will do all the way up until the lottery, because there are so many different scenarios that could happen for the Jazz. Once the lottery is over with and we know the exact draft order, then we will work on more mock drafts for that. Keep up with The J Notes for all that and more Jazz coverage. Also, be sure to check out all of our NBA Playoff coverage.