NBA 2022 Simulated Draft: The Last First Round Screenings Originally Appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Last Thursday, the Golden State Warriors were proclaimed champions of the 2021-22 NBA season.
This Thursday, what is sure to be an exciting low season begins in earnest with the 2022 NBA Draft.
Here’s NBC Sports Chicago’s latest projection on how the first round will shake up, including the Chicago Bulls adding front-line help with the 18th overall selection:
1. Orlando Magic: Jabari Smith, F, Auburn
Age: 19
Statistics 2021-22: 16.9 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.1 rpg, 1 bpg | 42% 3P
The Magic will have to deliberate from mid-May on this decision to alter the franchise, and the consensus says they can’t go wrong with any of the top three strikers. At Smith, they get a NBA-ready front-runner with a tempting defensive advantage to add a growing young core.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder: Chet Holmgren, F, Gonzaga
Age: 20
Statistics 2021-22: 14.1 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 3.7 bpg | 60.7% FG, 39% 3P
Holmgren was one of the most dominant two-way forces in college basketball last season: a shot-blocking threat with a versatile offensive game that includes passes, ball handling, and outside shots. It would connect splendidly alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey, potentially pushing Oklahoma City into the next phase of its reconstruction.
3. Houston Rockets: Paolo Banchero, F, Duke
Age: 19
Statistics 2021-22: 17.2 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.1 rpg | 47.8% FG, 33.8% 3P
Banchero would be a consolation prize for Houston, who dropped to third place during the May draft lottery despite finishing the season with the worst record in the league. He is a day 1 ready-made shooter with the advantage of becoming an offensive center as a scorer and game creator for others.
4. Sacramento Kings: Jaden Ivey, G, Purdue
Age: 20
Statistics 2021-22: 17.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3.1 apg | 46% FG, 35.8% 3P, 74.4% FT
Sacramento found good fortune in the lottery, moving from the seventh worst record in the league to the fourth overall selection. And with his eyes set on a playoff spot after the mid-season change in February for Domantas Sabonis, this selection is a candidate to be moved for immediate help.
The story goes on
However, whoever ends up calling the selection, expects Ivey to come off the board. He is an atomic athlete with game potential that few in this draft class have.
5. Detroit Pistons: Keegan Murray, F, Iowa
Age: 21
Statistics 2021-22: 23.5 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 1.9 bpg, 1.3 rpg | 55.4% FG, 39.8% 3P, 74.7% FT
Murray burst onto the scene in his second season, more than tripling his scoring average and emerging as a two-way elite prospect. It would slide perfectly into Detroit’s forward rotation alongside Saddiq Bey, adding much-needed defensive versatility and shots.
6. Indiana Pacers: Shaedon Sharpe, G, Kentucky
Age: 19
Statistics 2021-22: N / A
Sharpe is perhaps the biggest enigma of this project, having given up his freshman season in Kentucky to focus on preparing for the pros. But the goal-scoring talent he showed in high school, which he dropped out of, was the country’s third recruit for 247 Sports, sure to attract the attention of a lottery team that needs it. Here, he would represent a home run swing from a Pacers team that needed star talent and would pick in the top 10 for the first time since 1989.
7. Portland Trail Blazers: Dyson Daniels, G, G League Ignite
Age: 19
Statistics 2021-22 (Showcase Cup): 11.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 4.4 apg, 1.9 rpg
This is another option with a lot of chances of being turned upside down on draft night, as the Trail Blazers are looking to re-use Damian Lillard. But in the event that they retain the selection, Daniels ’defensive prowess and playing potential would make him a sublime fit with Portland’s current squad and also a staple for advancing.
8. New Orleans Pelicans (via Lakers): Bennedict Mathurin, G / F, Arizona
Age: 20
Statistics 2021-22: 17.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1 rpg | 36.9% 3P
Long, athletic and full of energy, Mathurin would fit in perfectly with the elastic young core of the Pelicans. And his annoying defense and scalable shot could make him exactly the two-way wing mark that all teams covet.
9. San Antonio Spurs: Jeremy Sochan, F, Baylor
Age: 19
Statistics 2021-22: 9.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.3 rpg | 47.4% FG, 29.6% 3P
Sochan has the tools to be the elite at the defensive end of the court, but questions about his outside shot cloud his overall projection. Enter San Antonio, and its excellent reputation for developing menacing jumpers and defensive wings.
10. Washington Wizards: Johnny Davis, G, Wisconsin
Age: 20
Statistics 2021-22: 19.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.2 rpg
Even with Bradley Beal heading the roster, the Wizards could use more shooting creation on the backcourt. Davis, the player of the year of the 10 Great Rulers, provides it en masse and offers a perimeter defense element to begin with.
11. New York Knicks: Jalen Duren, C, Memphis
Age: 18
Statistics 2021-22: 12 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 2.1 bpg | 59.7% FG
With Mitchell Robinson about to enter the free agency and the rest of the image of the front track, led by Julius Randle, uncertain, it would not be a bad time for New York to take a turn in a center of the future. Duren also offers a lot of “best prospect available” potential, due to his age and multifaceted skills, which includes showy tire protection, an athletic advantage, and even some competition in the game.
12. Oklahoma City Thunder (via Clippers): AJ Griffin, G / F, Duke
Age: 18
Statistics 2021-22: 10.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1 apg | 49.3% FG, 44.7% 3P
With his second lottery pick, the Thunder could catch a fly over the great talented Griffin, who offers shots off the NBA right away, but has to work on other areas of his game, especially on the defensive end. In Oklahoma City, he would have many opportunities to play with mistakes.
13. Charlotte Hornets: Mark Williams, C, Duke
Age: 20
Statistics 2021-22: 11.2 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 2.8 bpg | 72.7% FT
The Hornets have been looking for a founding center for years and can find it if Williams is their choice. At 7 feet 2 and 7-7 wingspan, the Duke product is an otherworldly tire protector with athletics to thrive in Charlotte’s high-octane attack led by LaMelo Ball.
14. Cleveland Cavaliers: Malachi Branham, G, Ohio State
Age: 19
Statistics 2021-22: 13.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2 apg | 49% FG, 41.6% 3P
Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen are thought to be patrolling the painting for the next decade in Cleveland, and the Cavaliers couldn’t be happier with the couple. But if last season’s rise and fall revealed anything, it’s that this team needs more perimeter shot creators to reach the next level. There aren’t many left on the board who fit this bill better than Branham, who thrives in the midfield and also has potential off the ball as a 3-point shooter.
15. Charlotte Hornets (via Pelicans): Ochai Agbaji, G / F, Kansas
Age: 22
Statistics 2021-22: 18.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg | 40.7% 3P
Agbaji spent four years in Kansas, so it’s a little bigger than a typical potential selected in the top half of the first round. But his defensively stable wing profile with a drop shot will give him instant value at the NBA level.
16. Atlanta Hawks: Tari Eason, F, LSU
Age: 21
Statistics 2021-22: 16.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.9 bpg, 1.1 rpg | 52.1% FG
Eason’s athleticism, defensive disruption, and inside goal ability (along with a physical appearance that gives him a skill for free throw line travel) have teams in love with his potential. And it’s a skill set that would combine well with an Atlanta team that needs defensive energy, especially if John Collins is changed during the offseason.
17. Houston Rockets (via Nets): Ousmane Dieng, G, New Zealand Breakers
Age: 19
Statistics 2021-22: 8.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.1 apg | 39.8% FG
In Dieng, the Rockets would get a flyer on a high game creator to pair up with Jalen Green. His size (6 feet-10) and his ball skills represent a tempting combination in a league that year after year is leaning toward positionless basketball, and the Rockets would be in no hurry to develop it.
18. Chicago Bulls: EJ Liddell, F, Ohio State
Age: 21
Statistics 2021-22: 19.4 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2.6 bpg | 49% FG, 37.4% 3P
This is another choice that could be on the move if the Bulls find a deal to their liking that can improve the team immediately. But if they keep the selection, Liddell is very well on the line between rising and preparing for rotation. His sturdy defense and his sudden-ready shooting (he improved his 3-point percentage each season in Ohio State) would add two-way versatility to a front-runner who needed reinforcements.
2022 NBA Draft Profile: EJ Liddell, Ohio State
19. Minnesota Timberwolves: TyTy Washington, G, Kentucky
Age: 20
Statistics 2021-22: 12.5 ppg, 3.9 apg, 3.5 rpg | 45.1% FG, 35% 3P
An astute goal scorer and game creator, Washington would be a cautious turn to a future back-and-forth teammate for Anthony Edwards. Meanwhile, Patrick Beverley and D’Angelo Russell could take on core responsibilities, while Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns also bear heavy offensive loads, as the Kentucky product develops.
20. San Antonio Spurs (via Raptors): Blake Wesley, G, Notre Dame
Age: 19
Statistics 2021-22: 14.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.3 rpg | 40.4% FG, 30.3% 3P
The Spurs showed a penchant for dirty, high-potential creators by pulling out Josh Primo at the end of the 2021 draft lottery. Wesley has a similar profile. He burst onto the scene when he was a freshman at Notre Dame, becoming the first and done in the history of the show by the weight of his physical tools and the dynamic game without dribbling. If he can improve his scoring efficiency to the next level, he could end up with a huge value at the end of the first round.
21. Denver Nuggets: Jalen Williams, G / F, Santa Clara
Age: 21
Statistics 2021-22: 18 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4.2 apg | 51.3% FG, 39.6% 3P
Williams is a multidimensional wing that adapts to the modern mold because of its ability to handle, facilitate and, of course, score, especially considering the drastic improvements to its 3-point shot in its youth season in Santa Clara . It would be the offensive Swiss army …