6. TRADE | Bulls trade No. 11, future first-round pick to Hornets for No. 6
Bulls select Donovan Clingan, UConn
Unless the Charlotte Hornets are in love with a prospect at pick six, moving back to nine and banking a first-round pick in a potentially-better class would be worth it, especially considering the outlook of the Chicago Bulls’ future.
Meanwhile, the Bulls would get a nice young center to pair with Coby White. Chicago is one of the teams that was reportedly interested in trading up to draft Clingan, and in this hypothetical, that’s exactly what they’d do.
7. Ron Holland, G League Ignite | Portland Trail Blazers
After trading up to snag Zacharie Risacher, the Trail Blazers would follow up the move by grabbing one of the more raw prospects in the class. This is a complete upside swing for Portland, but in this draft, why not?
8. Dalton Knecht, Tennessee | San Antonio Spurs
Just a few picks after grabbing Stephon Castle in hopes of him being their point guard of the future, the Spurs would get a guy who is ready to contribute to winning now. Dalton Knecht is an NBA-caliber shooter and scorer, and he hasn’t even played a minute yet.
9. Devin Carter, Providence | Memphis Grizzlies
Like the Bulls, the Memphis Grizzlies are supposedly interested in trading up for Clingan. However, in this mock, they’d grab Devin Carter instead—a defensive-minded guard who would get to study behind Marcus Smart.
10. Nikola Topic, Serbia | Utah Jazz
The recent news of Nikola Topic’s ACL injury have hurt his draft stock, but the Utah Jazz are in a place where they should be willing to take a chance on his upside.