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Hoops Rumors 2015 NBA Draft Primer

June 25th 2015 at 11:30am CST by Eddie Scarito

After months of speculation, the 2015 NBA Draft is finally upon us. While this year’s draft class doesn’t bring with it the same level of hype as 2014’s, there are still a number of players who can change the face of a franchise and develop into tomorrow’s superstars. No draft pick is ever a sure thing, and careers will be made as well as broken based on the moves made this evening. There should also be a significant amount of trade talk revolving around the draft, and there are quite a few teams that could end up dealing away draft picks in exchange for veteran players or future assets.

Hoops Rumors will be relaying all of the breaking news and rumors throughout the day and covering the selections as they happen during tonight’s big event. We’ll also be hosting a live chat in which we’ll answer reader questions, share insights, and critique each selection as it is made. Join us beginning at 6pm Central time to participate. To get you prepped for all that is to occur this evening, we whipped up this handy reference guide featuring a wealth of information to keep you up to speed on all that you need to know for tonight’s draft.

Full Draft Order

First Round

  1. Timberwolves
  2. Lakers
  3. Sixers
  4. Knicks
  5. Magic
  6. Kings
  7. Nuggets
  8. Pistons
  9. Hornets
  10. Heat
  11. Pacers
  12. Jazz
  13. Suns
  14. Thunder
  15. Hawks (via Nets)
  16. Celtics
  17. Bucks
  18. Rockets (via Pelicans)
  19. Wizards
  20. Raptors
  21. Mavericks
  22. Bulls
  23. Trail Blazers
  24. Cavaliers
  25. Grizzlies
  26. Spurs
  27. Lakers (via Rockets)
  28. Celtics (via Clippers)
  29. Nets (via Hawks)
  30. Warriors

Second Round

  1. Timberwolves
  2. Rockets (via Knicks)
  3. Celtics (via Sixers)
  4. Lakers
  5. Sixers (via Magic)
  6. Timberwolves (via Kings)
  7. Sixers (via Nuggets)
  8. Pistons
  9. Hornets
  10. Heat
  11. Nets
  12. Jazz
  13. Pacers
  14. Suns
  15. Celtics
  16. Bucks
  17. Sixers (via Pelicans)
  18. Thunder
  19. Wizards
  20. Hawks (via Raptors)
  21. Magic (via Bulls)
  22. Mavericks
  23. Cavaliers (via Trail Blazers)
  24. Jazz (via Cavaliers)
  25. Spurs
  26. Pelicans (via Grizzlies)
  27. Nuggets (via Clippers)
  28. Sixers (via Rockets)
  29. Hawks
  30. Sixers (via Warriors)

Mock Drafts

Below are links to not only all the versions of our own mock drafts, but to those from a number of prominent prognosticators, as well:

Hoops Rumors

Miscellaneous Mock Drafts

Hoops Rumors Prospect Profiles

The hype surrounding this year’s draft class didn’t quite equal the attention 2014’s received, but there are still plenty of young players for teams and fans to get excited about. While there are a number of players at the top of the draft rankings who have superstar potential, the remainder of this year’s crop offers some intriguing possibilities. The Hoops Rumors staff took a look at a number of projected first round candidates, sorted by their rankings on the DraftExpress list of the top 100 prospects for 2015. Just click on a player’s name to view his profile:

Draft Prospect Q&A Series

Countless words are dedicated to draft prospects this time of year, as NBA observers try to get a feel for the dozens of new players who’ll soon become a part of the league. There’s no shortage of analysis of their strengths, weaknesses and how they would fit with each team, but sometimes, the best way to understand what a player can do is to talk to him.

That’s what our Zach Links has been doing during the weeks leading up to the draft. Prospects in play for a lottery pick and those just hoping to be drafted have shared their thoughts with Zach, and we’ve passed that along to you. Here are the soon-to-be pros we’ve heard from so far. Click each name to see the interview:

NBA Executive Draft Histories

Having one of the top selections in any draft doesn’t guarantee that a team will snag a future All-Star. Team executives and scouts still have the difficult task of making the correct call with their picks. With this in mind, we at Hoops Rumors have begun to take a look back at the draft history of the primary basketball executive for each NBA team. Their names, reputations, and possibly employment will be on the line as a result of the decisions they make this evening, and we’ve been examining what they’ve done in previous years in charge of a club’s front office.

Top Ranked Prospects By Position

For quick reference I’ve listed below the DraftExpress top-5 ranked prospects at each position:

Center

  1. Karl-Anthony Towns  (Kentucky)
  2. Jahlil Okafor (Duke)
  3. Willie Cauley-Stein (Kentucky)
  4. Myles Turner (Texas)
  5. Robert Upshaw (Washington)

Power Forward

  1. Kristaps Porzingis (Latvia)
  2. Frank Kaminsky (Wisconsin)
  3. Bobby Portis (Arkansas)
  4. Trey Lyles (Kentucky)
  5. Kevon Looney (UCLA)

Small Forward

  1. Justise Winslow (Duke)
  2. Stanley Johnson (Arizona)
  3. Kelly Oubre (Kansas)
  4. Sam Dekker (Wisconsin)
  5. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (Arizona)

Point Guard

  1. D’Angelo Russell (Ohio State)
  2. Emmanuel Mudiay (Guangdong)
  3. Cameron Payne (Murray State)
  4. Tyus Jones (Duke)
  5. Jerian Grant (Notre Dame)

Shooting Guard

  1. Mario Hezonja (Croatia)
  2. Devin Booker (Kentucky)
  3. R.J. Hunter (Georgia State)
  4. Rashad Vaughn (UNLV)
  5. J.P. Tokoto (North Carolina)

Salary Cap Hit Associated With Each First Round Pick

Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors calculated, via the scale amounts listed on Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ, the expected salaries for each pick of this year’s first round at the standard 120% of scale. Each season in the four-year rookie contracts is reflected as well as the total:

likelysalariesfor2015firstroundpicks

 

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