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NBA Mock Draft 2015: Complete First Round, Trades and Analysis

By Ben Mehic

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Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

26) San Antonio Spurs (John): Justin Anderson (Traded to Washington)

I originally made this pick for San Antonio mainly because Anderson is EXACTLY the type of player San Antonio Spurs head coach loves. Anderson has NBA-ready (6’6″, 231) size from day one, plays superb weak side help defense, and (maybe most importantly) appears to be a high character team first guy that thrives in San Antonio.

With all of that said….Justin Anderson would be a PERFECT fit for the Wizards at this spot. In addition to everything I just listed, Anderson could step into the backup forward role behind Otto Porter (assuming Paul Pierce jumps ship to the Clippers). With a young nucleus of John Wall (24), Beal (21), Porter (21) and Anderson (21), the Wizards would be positioned to contend in the Eastern Conference for a long time.

Also, with Anderson being from nearby Fredericksburg, VA, he would be loved and embraced immediately by the notoriously fickle Wizards fan base as a native son. With Wizards head coach Randy Wittman promising to use more small-ball lineups next season, Anderson would play a huge role right away.

Trade: Wizards receive Justin Anderson for the rights to Satoransky (Yesss!!) and Montrezl Harrell

Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

27) Los Angeles Lakers (Oz): Terry Rozier

The Lakers were gifted Jordan Clarkson last year (actually they deserve credit for investing in the second round of the draft and developing Clarkson) and now they continue to solidify the backcourt with Terry Rozier.

The sophomore point guard is more scorer than playmaker but with Jordan Clarkson’s combo guard skills, the need to draft a “true” point guard here is lessened and the Lakers can go with a player who might give some more scoring punch to the second unit next year.

Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

28) Boston Celtics – Washington Wizards: Montrezl Harrell (Traded to San Antonio)

I selected Montrezl Harrell for the Wizards here although we originally drafted Bobby Portis for them at 16.

The needs wouldn’t be as great at that point, but Harrell provides a different dimension with his defense athleticism at the center position. That and you can never have enough bigs. BUT I really wanted Justin Anderson who went two spots earlier so I decided to offer DJ the rights to Tomas Satoransky with Harrell for Justin Anderson.

San Antonio is a team that does their homework so I expect they’d be aware of Tomas’ improvements since being drafted and they have a need in the backcourt with Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili getting up there in age.

For the Wizards, Justin Anderson provides assurance in case Paul Pierce does leave, can guard every position on the floor outside of the center, can shoot, and would provide a much needed boost to this team’s overall athleticism.

If Anderson can become an effective corner 3-point shooter, I’m not sure why he can’t develop into a Harrison Barnes’ type of three/four.

Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

29) Brooklyn Nets (Ben): Rakeem Christmas

Mason Plumlee is on the trading block and Rakeem Christmas would give the Nets a solid backup big man.

Similar to Plumlee, Christmas is athletic, rebounds well and has potential on the defensive end of the floor. He improved his scoring during his time at Syracuse, and I think he has NBA-ready tools. The Nets don’t have much front court depth, and Christmas is the best big man available at this spot.

Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

30) Golden State Warriors (John): J.P. Tokoto

Every year, there seems to be a head scratcher or reach in the NBA Draft that has the basketball world saying ‘Uh…what?’ This would be that pick! Ok, so full disclosure: I’m a Tar Heel fan. I watched most (if not all) of UNC’s games this past season and usually when Juan Pierre Tokoto played well, the Tar Heels looked like a well oiled machine capable of winning it all.

Unfortunately, Tokoto had an up and down season for UNC. Too many times, you could tell he was over thinking what he was supposed to be doing rather than letting the game flow naturally. Well, playing under Golden State’s run and gun could potentially change all of that.

Tokoto excelled for UNC when the game turned into a track meet and every game for Golden State was essentially a track meet. Even as a rookie head coach for Golden State, you could look at Steve Kerr’s lineups and tell what kind of player he preferred. A 6’6″ – 6’9″ player that played excellent defense and could be used in a variety of ways, which would be perfect for J.P.

What could be better for Golden State to replace Iggy in the lineup with…..Iggy lite? Tokoto has a chance to better one of the best values in the whole draft.

Next: Wizards Draft Primer: The European Prospects

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