Ty's 2021 NBA Draft Preview

The NBA draft is tonight.

I'm pumped.

This class is really, really good. There are three dudes that all could be the number one overall pick. I watched a ton of college basketball last season because I missed the tournament when they rightfully canceled it last year at the start of this ongoing pandemic. I know a good amount of these players because I watched them all play last season. And I devoured the NCAA tournament, where a good amount of these guys made deep runs. I will do my preview like I do my other previews. I am not doing a mock draft. I like to talk about some prospects I like, some I'm not so high on and a few "sleepers". This was kind of tough because, as I said before, this draft has great top talent, solid middle ground players and some good sleepers that could go much later in this draft than they should. I do fully believe this class will have multiple all stars, guys will long NBA careers and, maybe, an MVP caliber player or two. Let's get to it.

I will start with the players I like most in this draft. For starters, all of the G League Ignite guys I like. I am on board with what all of them did. I love that they skipped six months of college to get paid and play against former pros and guys still trying to make it in the league. They got real experience against players that are better than pretty much everyone in college.

I, like most other people, love Jalen Green and Johnathan Kuminga. Kuminga may need a bit more time to develop, but he did average double figures in the G League bubble, and given the right situation, maybe the Warriors, he could really thrive. Green has been ready to go from the jump. He was the first to join the G League, and he was just as advertised. He is a scorer, a play maker, a willing defender, a good passer and he will be a day one starter. He is one of the few that I think has the ability and talent to be a multi time all star and possibly an MVP.

As far as college players, I love Evan Mobley, Cade Cunningham, Moses Moody and Usman Garuba. Mobley has the skills to be a more talented Dwight Howard. Howard was once great by the way, but Mobley has the jumping ability, the dunking, the rim protecting and he can shoot. He may be a little too thin right now, but when he puts on weight he is going to be a force. I think he may be the best player in this class.

Cade Cunningham is, quite possibly, the most NBA ready player at the moment. He dominated in college, was dominant in high school, seems humble and coachable and can score in bunches. He is really, really good. He should be the first pick. If Detroit passes on him that would be a big time mistake.

Moses Moody is a good scorer and he can be an instant offense off the bench guy right away. I see a lot of Immanuel Quickley in Moody. Whatever late lottery team gets him, maybe Memphis, is going to get instant bench scoring.

Usamn Garuba is going to go in the late teens to 20's, and whatever playoff level team gets him is getting the best defender in the league. He was playing professionally overseas, so like the Ignite guys, he has been facing top level talent for at least a year now. Garbua is going to be a very good late first round pick.

Now to the players I am not so crazy about. This first one pains me because you all know I love my Wolverines, but I do not get the lottery love for Franz Wagner. Wagner is a great defender, a willing defender, coachable and a very solid passer. But he does not have a very good shot. That can be worked on, but what if he ends up with the Kings? Or Pacers? Or Magic? He is going to be asked to do too much too fast. He needs time to develop a jump shot. He is going to play right away because of his defense, but he would be so much better off going to a team like the Spurs or Grizzlies or Warriors. He needs to find a team loaded on offense so he can focus on defense.

I watched Scottie Barnes completely disappear in a tournament game against Michigan. So the love for him, especially lately, baffles me. He is hyper athletic and has a non stop motor, but for him to be mocked as high as five, I don't get that at all. He is another guy that needs time. He needs the right team. He needs to go somewhere he can develop. He is about two to three years away.

Corey Kispert is Jimmer Fredette 2.0. He is no more than a shooter. He offers no defense, no passing, no ball handling. He is just a shooter. So for him being mocked in the 10-14 area, that is wild. I do not doubt he is going to be able to score, but his ceiling is JJ Redick, except Redick used to be a competent defender. Just look at some guys in the Kispert mold. We have Fredette and Doug McDermott and Nik Stauskas. Those guys were not worth their draft position, and two of them are out of the league. And McDermott is a bench guy. That is Corey Kispert to me.

Jalen Johnson is a complete mystery to me. I get why he left Duke early last season, but I have not heard about him since. Is he as good as his recruiting ranking? Did he leave Duke to prepare for the draft? Do teams like him? Has he been promised a spot in the lottery? None of this is known to me and many other NBA fans that do not have access some other writers do. Any team that takes him will have a total project on their hands, and that doesn't always work out well.

As for my sleepers, I do have a few. First it is time to give love to my Wolverines. I think however Isaiah Livers gets into the league, he is going to be a beast of a bench player. Livers was the heart and soul of Michigan the past two years. He can shoot, rebound, defend and plays hard every night. He was the guy on Michigan that I was never nervous or worried about. He has this calming nature when he plays basketball. I also think that Ayo Dosunmu is going to be a great fit for whatever playoff team takes him late in the first round. He would be an excellent backup to Mike Conley in Utah. He would be a nice complement to James Harden in Brooklyn. The Lakers would kill to have him take over for Dennis Schroeder if he doesn't re-sign. Dosunmu is a very good player. I mentioned the G League Ignite team, and they have Isaiah Todd and Dashien Nix to go along with Kuminga and Green. Nix is going to be a solid rebounder and Todd, if he develops a decent shot, could be a solid player on a good team.

I am pumped to see where everyone lands tonight. I love the draft and I love seeing who picks who. The draft is great, and the NBA does it best. Let's go.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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