Kevin O'ConnorNBA Senior AnalystWed, April 22, 2026 at 3:25 PM UTC·33 min readThis is a chaotic week in the basketball world.
The transfer portal is churning. Friday is the NBA draft declaration deadline, and a handful of potential first rounders — Duke's Patrick Ngongba, UConn's Braylon Mullins, and both Florida's Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh — have already elected to return to college. Others remain undecided, weighing NIL offers against draft slot expectations. The Portsmouth Invitational just wrapped up, quietly reshuffling the second round. Front offices are still trying to sort out who's actually in this class. At least they know the draft order, now that the NBA has determined tie-breakers.
Oh and by the way, the Pistons, Celtics, Spurs, Knicks, and Nuggets all just dropped one of their first two games at home in the first round.
So this mock matches the wild mood. We're maximizing the chaos today. What happens if all three teams with the 14% flattened odds fall out of the top four? What happens if — gulp — the Thunder move into the top four? Here’s my full two-round mock draft with analysis for every single pick. Let’s get to it:
Artūras Karnišovas and Marc Eversley got fired. And Billy Donovan decided to decline his option as head coach. But what really changes? The team felt no different under them than it did with Gar Forman and John Paxson leading the front office. The common denominator: The Reinsdorf family is still in charge. But maybe all they really need is some lottery luck to escape the middle. If the Bulls are lucky enough to move up from the ninth-best odds, it’d be hard to imagine them taking anyone but Dybantsa, who led the nation in scoring as a freshman by averaging 25.5 points for a top-25 team.
At 6-foot-9, players his size are not supposed to move with the herky-jerky elasticity that Dybantsa does. He can dunk over defenders. He can stop on a dime and fade away from midrange. And he can catch fire from behind the line too. BYU head coach Kevin Young said Dybantsa’s scoring talent is “in rare air with some of the greats.” Over the course of his freshman year, he began to make dramatic progress as a passer, too, as shown with his cross-court, pinpoint passes to find shooters. But with the Bulls, there’d be less of a need for his playmaking with point guard Josh Giddey on the roster. Matas Buzelis can handle the ball too. And all of them are tall. The three of them would have the upside to become an unstoppable trio given their blend of size and skill.
Front office executives around the NBA increasingly believe that Wilson could be the second player taken in June’s draft. While his exact spot won’t be clear until after the Draft Lottery, once each pick is determined, some teams value the high-flying North Carolina freshman above the more ground-bound Cam Boozer from Duke. Others view Wilson as having similarly high upside as Kansas guard Darryn Peterson with dramatically lower downsides due to Peterson’s availability concerns.
If there’s one thing the Hawks could use it’s an athletic big to pair in the frontcourt with Onyeka Okongwu, or serve as an alternate lone big on the floor. And Wilson is arguably the most gifted athlete in the draft class. He's 6-10 with springs for legs, and when he's flying above the rim, finishing through contact, and chasing down everything in his area code, he looks like a future cornerstone. But the case against Wilson is pretty clear too. Despite all his positives, he hasn’t shown consistency as a shooter at any level. That would matter less on the Hawks, though, given they can utilize lineups with shooting at every other spot on the floor. Wilson’s other defining traits on their own would provide star-level upside to an already emerging Atlanta roster.
The Kings need a leader. Boozer fits the bill. He’s a do-it-all offensive talent who can post up, run pick-and-rolls, set screens, spot up, and crash the boards. He doesn’t need to rely on bully ball to make an impact as a scorer or passer. That said, the acquisition would almost certainly signal the end of the Domantas Sabonis given their overlapping strengths and weaknesses. Defensively, some of the questions about Boozer popped up in Duke’s Elite 8 loss to UConn: He wasn’t big enough to defend Tarris Reed, and he got smoked by Alex Karaban on a key 3-pointer on the perimeter. But he plays hard and has improved at every weakness in his game so far. That approach is exactly the type of player Sacramento needs to bring into its organization.
Can you imagine? There’s a 7.1% chance the Thunder move into the top four. While OKC could still find a difference-maker in the 12th spot, moving up would undoubtedly be the most chaotic possible event on lottery night. Because here, there are possible franchise-changers, including Peterson with his gifted shot-making upside. He can pull up from anywhere and get to his spots. Plus he’s 6-6 and plays with a fluidity that just screams superstar. After playing a largely off-ball role at Kansas, he could shine in similar responsibilities early in his career for the Thunder. This would give him the ability to play with one or both of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams. Not to mention he’s a defensive playmaker with the tools to guard multiple positions and the approach to impact the game even if he’s not scoring. Between the cramping saga, the missed time, the lack of apparent athletic pop, and the stretches where he played heavy minutes but struggled to produce offensively, there’s a lot to be concerned about. But the pre-draft period could answer any questions. And for the Thunder, he could be worth the swing anyway. Because if he’s a hit, SGA-Peterson would have the upside to be the NBA’s best backcourt for the next decade. And if he doesn’t, SGA-Williams already does.
It would be devastating for the Wizards to fall four spots for the second consecutive season. But maybe, just maybe, Wagler could end up far exceeding expectations just like he did as a freshman at Illinois. Wagler was never expected to be a one-and-done, and yet he led Illinois all the way to the Final Four. He's not an elite vertical athlete, as evidenced by his zero dunks on the year. But he is 6-6 with a long wingspan, has elite footwork, can decelerate on drives, and has an excellent feel for the game. He and Tre Johnson could grow into a dynamic duo for the Washington backcourt for years to come.
Tyrese Haliburton told Pacers fans not to get used to no games being played in April, May, and June. Odds are he’s right. But it sure would help to keep their top-four protected pick that was sent to the Clippers in the Ivica Zubac deal. But in this mock, congrats Los Angeles!
That said, picking here would be an odd spot for the Clippers. They already have Darius Garland at point guard. And the players most projected in this range are also small guards. Are we sure an upside forward like Karim Lopez or a national champion like Yaxel Lendeborg won’t leapfrog them?
Nonetheless, we’re sticking with a guard in this mock. There is some logic to creating a high-powered scoring backcourt. When Brown is in the zone, he has an unstoppable pull-up jumper, shows an ambidextrous finishing ability, and makes quick reads to rifle passes before the defense has time to react. He had a 45-point breakout performance in February, but a back injury dogged him throughout his freshman year. If Brown had stayed healthy, he might feel like less of a reach at this spot over guards typically projected ahead of him. And maybe he’ll play his way into that through pre-draft workouts. But for now, the absences muddy the evaluation and leave real questions about his consistency that may not get answered until he’s fully healthy.
Acuff is a wiry scorer who can get a bucket from anywhere on the floor with a quick trigger, slippery handle, and a feel for manipulating defenses. He can also thrive off-ball as a shooter and cutter, which would be vital for a Nets roster already full of ball-handlers. Acuff would have the highest upside of them all, though. He entered college with a scoring reputation, but has emerged as a skilled, low-turnover playmaker; he looks like a future All-Star who can toggle between a score-first or pass-first approach. Plus, he displays leadership qualities. The Nets are still badly in need of a lead dog. Acuff could be that guy.
Good thing the Jazz won their coin flip! But falling to this choice would put them in a strange position given it’s largely guards projected in this range. With Keyonte George already leading the backcourt, drafting another one might be less than ideal. But Burries doesn’t need the ball to make an impact. He stays pedal to the metal with hustle plays all over the floor. He also flashes stardom as a shot-creator, which helped him earn his spot as a potential lottery pick. He plays with physicality and can beat you from all three levels. He's a methodical creator rather than an explosive one. If he doesn’t turn into a star scorer, Utah has plenty of other on-ball talents anyway which would allow Burries to slide in as a Swiss Army knife in the backcourt.
After staying stagnant most of the year with the eighth-best odds, Dallas and New Orleans picked up some late wins to help the Grizzlies slip into the sixth spot, which comes with 3% better odds at the first pick, and 11% better odds at the top four. This difference better positions the Grizzlies to find their replacement for Ja Morant. And the answer could be Flemings, who entered the season as the least-heralded of Houston's stacked freshman class, but played his way into the top-10 conversation while his higher-ranked teammates played their way out of it. He’s a 6-4 ball-handler who can get to his spots, make advanced passes, and limit turnovers in a way that resembles a veteran guard. If he lands with Memphis, he could grow alongside a center like Zach Edey, a wing like Cedric Coward, and a long list of young talents still under 25 years old.
Beating the Blazers, Lakers, and Bulls over the last nine games of the season has to sting, at least if you’re a Mavericks fan who was rooting for better lottery odds. Falling two spots on lottery night would especially hurt. But Philon could be an extraordinary consolation prize. The Alabama sophomore is a shifty, score-first point guard who turned into one of the best guards in college basketball as a sophomore. He doubled his scoring output with buttery floaters, a deceptive handle, and a feel for running an offense, while also beginning to shore up the shooting questions that once clouded his projection. If he lands with Dallas, it’s hard to imagine a better situation. Kyrie Irving could serve as a mentor, and Philon could grow alongside a future MVP candidate in Flagg.
Bucks general manager Jon Horst has historically taken younger, theoretically higher upside prospects. Once that player turned into Giannis Antetokounmpo. Other times he’s turned into Thon Maker. Drafting Lendeborg, who will be 24 as a rookie, would go against the grain. But every player’s journey is different. Despite his age, he offers do-it-all upside. He fills the stat sheet with points, boards, and everything else, he can play multiple positions, and he has a 7-foot-4 wingspan at 240 pounds with a genuine handle. Lendeborg got better every year as a 3-point shooter in college and ended up making 37.2% on 4.5 per game as a senior. The heart he showed playing through injury to help lead Michigan to a national championship cannot be understated. Whether or not Giannis is in Milwaukee’s future plans, Lendeborg would offer a path forward.
The Warriors are awaiting Steve Kerr’s decision on his status as head coach of the team, but general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. received a contract extension. He’s at the controls once again. By draft night, he’ll have clarity about Kerr’s future — and likely about the futures of Stephen Curry and Draymond Green too — but it may not impact his approach with the player he selects. One player who has gone under the radar throughout the pre-draft process, since he spent two seasons in the NBL’s Next Stars program, is Lopez. He averaged 12 points and six rebounds playing his games against grown men, and got better in each of his two seasons. He's a smart cutter who finds scoring lanes within the flow of the offense, a solid shooter, and a versatile defender. That two-way versatility would work well with the Warriors, who need to replenish the roster with some upside. If Green sticks around long term, he could actually be quite a good mentor for Lopez, given they’re both hard-nosed players who make a winning effort at all times on the court.