
Getty Duke's Zion Williamson and Murray State's Ja Morant
Putting together mock drafts prior to the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery can be entertaining, but there’s also plenty of unknown. Specifically, we have no idea where each team in the lottery will land, and the common theme is simply to put the teams in order of their record.
It’s a fair approach to take, but in an effort to try to get a more random outlook based on the team’s NBA lottery odds, we’re going to take a different angle with the latest mock draft. Instead of tossing the New York Knicks the No. 1 pick (which is still likely), we’re going to use the Tankathon mock draft simulator which will set the lottery order.
From there, we’ll roll out a mock draft featuring both the first and second rounds. Before that, let’s start with the odds prior to the draft lottery on Tuesday, May 14.
2019 NBA Draft Lottery Odds
The finalized 2019 NBA Draft Lottery odds are pulled from Tankathon. The structure can be seen below, but the trio of teams with the worst NBA records (New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns) all get a 14 percent chance at the No. 1 selection. They also have a 52.1 percent chance to receive a pick between one and four.
Here’s how the final lottery outlook shapes up, with all info from Tankathon.
Team | Record | Top 4 Chances | No. 1 Pick Chances |
New York Knicks | 17-65 | 52.1% | 14.0% |
Cleveland Cavaliers | 19-63 | 52.1% | 14.0% |
Phoenix Suns | 19-63 | 52.1% | 14.0% |
Chicago Bulls | 22-60 | 48.0% | 12.5% |
Atlanta Hawks | 29-53 | 42.1% | 10.5% |
Washington Wizards | 32-50 | 37.2% | 9.0% |
New Orleans Pelicans | 33-49 | 26.3% | 6.0% |
Memphis Grizzlies* | 33-49 | 26.3% | 6.0% |
Dallas Mavericks* | 33-49 | 26.3% | 6.0% |
Minnesota Timberwolves | 36-46 | 13.9% | 3.0% |
Los Angeles Lakers | 37-45 | 9.4% | 2.0% |
Charlotte Hornets | 39-43 | 4.8% | 1.0% |
Miami Heat | 39-43 | 4.8% | 1.0% |
Sacramento Kings* | 39-43 | 4.8% | 1.0% |
*Notates teams who may have to trade draft picks depending on where they land, or regardless of position.
NBA Mock Draft: Round 1 With Simulator
We opted to use the Tankathon simulator for the draft order (based off lottery odds) and had quite a few changes. Among the biggest included a shake-up in the top-five with the Chicago Bulls landing the No. 1 pick, Memphis Grizzlies moving to No. 3 and Los Angeles Lakers holding the No. 4 selection.
It’s worth noting that two of the three trades which featured lottery protections played out, which we’ll notate below, but here’s a look at trades:
- Memphis Grizzlies send Boston Celtics pick if outside of top-eight (did not happen)
- *Dallas Mavericks send Atlanta Hawks pick if outside of top-five
- **Sacramento Kings send Boston Celtics pick (would go to Philadelphia if No. 1 overall)
TEAM | PLAYER |
No. 1 Chicago Bulls | PF Zion Williamson, Duke |
No. 2 New York Knicks | SG RJ Barrett, Duke |
No. 3 Memphis Grizzlies | PG Ja Morant, Murray State |
No. 4 Los Angeles Lakers | SG Jarrett Culver, Texas Tech |
No. 5 Cleveland Cavaliers | SG Cam Reddish, Duke |
No. 6 Phoenix Suns | PG Coby White, UNC |
No. 7 Atlanta Hawks | SF De’Andre Hunter, Virginia |
No. 8 Washington Wizards | C Jaxson Hayes, Texas |
No. 9 New Orleans Pelicans | PF Rui Hachimura, Gonzaga |
No. 10 Atlanta Hawks (via DAL)* | SG Romeo Langford, Indiana |
No. 11 Minnesota Timberwolves | PF Brandon Clarke, Gonzaga |
No. 12 Charlotte Hornets | PG Darius Garland, Vanderbilt |
No. 13 Miami Heat | PF PJ Washington, Kentucky |
No. 14 Boston Celtics (via SAC)** | PF Cameron Johnson, UNC |
No. 15 Detroit Pistons | SF Nassir Little, UNC |
No. 16 Orlando Magic | G Tyler Herro, Kentucky |
No. 17 Brooklyn Nets | PF Sekou Doumbouya, Guinea |
No. 18 Indiana Pacers | SF KZ Okpala, Stanford |
No. 19 San Antonio Spurs | C Bol Bol, Oregon |
No. 20 Boston Celtics (via LAC) | G Kevin Porter Jr., USC |
No. 21 Oklahoma City Thunder | SG Keldon Johnson, Kentucky |
No. 22 Boston Celtics | SG Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Virginia Tech |
No. 23 Utah Jazz | C Goga Bitadze, Buducnost |
No. 24 Philadelphia 76ers | PG Carsen Edwards, Purdue |
No. 25 Portland Trail Blazers | SF Louis King, Oregon |
No. 26 Cleveland Cavaliers (via HOU) | SF Talen Horton-Tucker, Iowa State |
No. 27 Brooklyn Nets (via DEN) | G Luguentz Dort, Arizona State |
No. 28 Golden State Warriors | C Bruno Fernando, Maryland |
No. 29 San Antonio Spurs (via TOR) | SF Matisse Thybulle, Washington |
No. 30 Milwaukee Bucks | C Naz Reid, LSU |
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NBA Mock Draft: Round 2
TEAM | PLAYER |
No. 31 Brooklyn Nets (via NYK) | F Grant Williams, Tennessee |
No. 32 Phoenix Suns | F Admiral Schofield, Tennessee |
No. 33 Philadelphia 76ers (via CLE) | PF/C Charles Bassey, Western Kentucky |
No. 34 Philadelphia 76ers (via CHI) | SF Dylan Windler, Belmont |
No. 35 Atlanta Hawks | PF/C Mfiondu Kabengele, Florida State |
No. 36 Charlotte Hornets (via WAS) | PF/C Daniel Gafford, Arkansas |
No. 37 Dallas Mavericks | PG Shamorie Ponds, St. John’s |
No. 38 Chicago Bulls (via MEM) | PF Chuma Okeke, Auburn |
No. 39 New Orleans Pelicans | G Ty Jerome, Virginia |
No. 40 Sacramento Kings (via MIN) | C Jontay Porter, Missouri |
No. 41 Atlanta Hawks (via LAL) | SG Terance Mann, Florida State |
No. 42 Philadelphia 76ers (via SAC) | PF/SF Jalen McDaniels, San Diego State |
No. 43 Minnesota Timberwolves (via MIA) | PG Ky Bowman, Boston College |
No. 44 Atlanta Hawks (via CHA) | SF/PF Isaiah Roby, Nebraska |
No. 45 Detroit Pistons | SF Jordan Nwora, Louisville |
No. 46 Orlando Magic (via BKN) | C Neemias Queta, Utah State |
No. 47 Sacramento Kings (via ORL) | SF Ignas Brazdeikis, Michigan |
No. 48 Los Angeles Clippers | PF Dedric Lawson, Kansas |
No. 49 San Antonio Spurs | PF Luka Samanic, Croatia |
No. 50 Indiana Pacers | PG Jalen Lecque, NC State/High School |
No. 51 Boston Celtics | PG Jaylen Hands, UCLA |
No. 52 Charlotte Hornets (via OKC) | PF Killian Tillie, Gonzaga |
No. 53 Utah Jazz | PG/SG Jaylen Nowell, Washington |
No. 54 Philadelphia 76ers | C Tacko Fall, UCF |
No. 55 New York Knicks (via HOU) | SG/SF Aubrey Dawkins, UCF |
No. 56 Los Angeles Clippers (via POR) | SF/PF Jaylen Hoard, Wake Forest |
No. 57 New Orleans Pelicans (via DEN) | SG CJ Massinburg, Buffalo |
No. 58 Golden State Warriors | SF/PF Eric Paschall, Villanova |
No. 59 Toronto Raptors | SG/SF Miye Oni, Yale |
No. 60 Sacramento Kings (via MIL) | PG Kyle Guy, Virginia |
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