Until Thursday’s rumored press conference, Kentucky fans will not know for sure which current players will be declaring for the NBA draft. In the meantime, mock drafts are assuming all seven of the potential Kentucky draftees will declare — but only five will be picked.
The SBNation blog SLC Dunk is collecting all mock drafts into one consensus table. Their update yesterday complied all the mock draft changes applied after the end of the NCAA Tournament. Only five of the potential seven Wildcats make their top 60 players:
- Karl-Anthony Towns (Consensus #2) — Karl has passed Jahlil Okafor in many of the drafts as the best talent. He remains at the #2 spot due to the likelihood of the Knicks getting the first pick and the Knicks not liking Karl’s butt.
- Willie Cauley-Stein (Consensus #8) — CBSSports.com writer Sam Vecenie projects Willie getting picked 6th overall by the Sacramento Kings, putting him at the starting power-forward position next to DeMarcus Cousins. The Boogie and Willie reality TV show will kill on TV Land.
- Devin Booker (Consensus #14) — Yes, Devin got roasted on defense at times. NBA teams like to think they can teach defensive techniques better than college coaches. Devin has an incredible shooting release that, once he hones it with professional practice, could be deadly in a pick-and-pop team. Consider him the long-lost Splash Cousin.
- Trey Lyles (Consensus #15) — Has the shooting touch of a stretch power-forward with the size of a normal power-forward. He has lottery pick (or just-out-of-the-lottery steal) written all over him. (He should really take a bath.)
- Dakari Johnson (Consensus #32) — This high in the second round Dakari would have a chance to get a guaranteed contract and give him the time he needs to develop the strength and mobility to play in the league. There’s also no harm in returning to Kentucky and spending a year as the primary post-threat in Calipari’s offense. We Kentucky fans would prefer for him to stay to increase our depth (and allow us to keep making #buttheadlaugh jokes).
In the next 15 Players (#61-#75) Andrew Harrison is mentioned at Consensus #67. Aaron Harrison is not mentioned. Earlier this week an unnamed NBA General Manager told 247Sports.com that there’s no way the Harrisons would be picked in the first round. Other NBA sources have said over the years that the brothers don’t score consistently enough to overcome their relative lack of quickness when defending NBA guards.
Not being drafted isn’t the end of Aaron and Andrew’s chances. If a team in the late second round has a need at point guard to fill, they could take a chance at drafting Andrew. If the brothers go undrafted, they could still be invited to training camps and sign deals to develop either on a NBA roster, in the D-League or in a foreign league. Unfortunately the Harrisons will be sacrificing their amateur status in the NCAA’s eyes, even if they do declare for the draft, do not return to school before the NCAA’s mandated cut-off date and are still not drafted. (Miss you, Randolph Morris!)
