The 2018 NBA Draft tips off tonight in Brooklyn at 7 p.m. on ESPN. Ohio State forward Keita Bates-Diop will likely be the only Buckeye drafted.
With only hours remaining until the Phoenix Suns are on the clock with the No. 1 overall pick, we took a look at 12 different mock drafts to see where the Big Ten Player of the Year might land.
The picks range from No. 16 (Suns) to No. 34 (Atlanta Hawks), with most having Bates-Diop pegged for the late first round. Nine teams ranging from the west coast (Los Angeles Lakers) to the east coast (Brooklyn Nets) are listed as potential landing spots.
| PICK (TEAM) | WRITER | PUBLICATION | COMMENT (IF ANY) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 (Phoenix Suns) | David Aldridge | nba.com | " In the multi-positional modern NBA, Bates-Diop will be a boon to any team with his potential as a switcher on pick and rolls. KBD also comes from a rock-solid family; he’d fit right in as the Suns continue to re-establish a winning culture, and give new coach Igor Kokoskov his own multi-positional switching group to throw at the likes of the Dubs and Rockets, with Bates-Diop joining Josh Jackson and T.J. Warren—presumably, with Ayton—trapping and funneling everything and everyone to the big man." |
| 21 (Utah Jazz) | Michael Scotto | The Athletic | "The Big Ten Player of the Year could provide needed insurance to Utah’s frontcourt with Derrick Favors entering the free agent market this summer and Alec Burks, Thabo Sefolosha and Jonas Jerebko all coming off the books in 2019." |
| 22 (Chicago Bulls) | Ricky O'Donnell | sbnation.com | |
| 22 (Chicago Bulls) | Jordan Schultz | Yahoo! | "Bates-Diop, the Big Ten Player of the Year, is a fantastic wing rebounder (8.7 per game) who provides scoring punch and spreads the floor as a shooter. Bates-Diop possesses an excellent 7-3 1/2 wingspan and near 8-11 standing reach, which allows him to shrink driving lanes and cause deflections." |
| 24 (Portland Trail Blazers) | Matt Norlander | CBS Sports | "Bates-Diop is a gamble (was last year a sign of good things to come, or did Chris Holtmann squeeze the most out of Bates-Diop in his first year at OSU?) but when you've got a tweener forward with range and a fully developed body, you can go for it in this spot. " |
| 25 (Los Angeles Lakers) | Jeremy Woo | Sports Illustrated | "Bates-Diop’s shooting ability and length are traits teams can latch onto, although he’s not a great athlete nor is he a perfect fit as a small-ball four. The Lakers as constituted could use more shooting, and the hope is he might be a player who’s easy to plug into lineups given his ability to make jumpers and rebound. He has a shot to go in the 20s, but his game is an acquired taste to a lot of scouts. The Lakers now have three draft picks and may stash the others, but this is a chance for them to pick up a roster player." |
| 26 (Philadelphia 76ers) | Sam Amick | USA Today | "A good athlete with defensive versatility, he may have an adjustment as he tries to find his spots on offense at the next level." |
| 28 (Golden State Warriors) | Brad Rowland | uproxx.com | "Everyone seems to be projecting Golden State to take a wing and Bates-Diop fits the bill if the Warriors want an NBA-ready contributor. He’s more of a 4/3 combo player than he is a pure a wing but Bates-Diop was great at Ohio State this season and has a lot of the traits that teams would want in the modern game. Is he a great athlete? No, but the Warriors could use another option in their small-ball schemes and it also might be a “best player available” choice." |
| 29 (Brooklyn Nets) | Jonathan Givony | ESPN Insider | “Bates-Diop increased his stock dramatically with a breakout season, moving among all of the frontcourt positions for an overachieving Ohio State team and looking like an ideal fit for the modern NBA — if he can find a way to rev his motor into a higher gear at the professional level." |
| 30 (Atlanta Hawks) | Kevin O'Connor | The Ringer |
"Combo forward who can space the floor and defend multiple positions. Shades of: Jonas Jerebko, Brian Scalabrine, Bobby Simmons." |
| 34 (Atlanta Hawks) | Chris Stone | Sporting News | |
| 34 (Atlanta Hawks) | Jonathan Wasserman | Bleacher Report | "The Big Ten Player of the Year, Bates-Diop has evolved into a versatile scorer with a three-point shot and post game. Defensive inconsistency, a lack of explosiveness, a previous leg injury and age (22) are his big drawbacks." |
