The general belief is the Hawks, if they use this pick, will take 7’1 center Alex Sarr out of Australia. Atlanta is in a unique position, as they could opt to blow things up and trade Trae Young to acquire more draft picks and reload the roster after another disappointing season.

If they do opt to go the college route with the top pick, options would include a pair of defensive focused prospects from UConn in Donovan Clingan and Stephon Castle, or a Young replacement in Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham.

Clingan would be a perfect replacement for Clint Capela entering the final year of his deal, making him the most logical college option at No. 1.

Pick: Donovan Clingan – UConn

Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher are considered the top two picks as of now, but in a draft with very little consensus it is certainly possible Washington goes outside the box.

The Wizards have a developmental wing in Bilal Coulibaly and could use a young point guard to build around. They also shot under 35% as a team from three last year, making Rob Dillingham a quality option out of the college ranks thanks to his youth, upside, and outside shooting ability.

Pick: Rob Dillingham – Kentucky

Houston has a ton of youth already on the roster, but could use more floor spacing from the backcourt. Reed Sheppard is an undersized combo guard, but paired with a bigger point guard in Amen Thompson this fit makes a ton of sense.

Sheppard may not have star potential, but as a rotation piece for Houston alongside Thompson, Jalen Green, Cam Whitmore, Jabari Smith Jr, and Alperen Sengun it’s easy to see this working well for the franchise as they look to climb out of their lengthy rebuild and into contention.

Pick: Reed Sheppard – Kentucky

A theoretical world where Dillingham and Sheppard are already off the board, and San Antonio is only picking among college players, is a rough situation for the Spurs. They are perhaps the most guard-needy team in the NBA, and while Nikola Topic makes a ton of sense for them if he is around at four, in this scenario they get among the most polarizing prospects in the entire class: USC’s Isaiah Collier.

Collier was once considered the clear No. 1 option in this class, but turnover issues and a poor season by the Trojans cratered his stock. Collier is a realistic option for San Antonio at No. 8 if they go elsewhere with the fourth pick, as the upside is still sky-high and learning from coach Gregg Popovich could help unlock it.

Pick: Isaiah Collier – USC

Detroit simply needs to add more talent to an ugly roster, although they will want to avoid ball dominant guards as that won’t work well alongside Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey.

Colorado forward Cody Williams is the ideal college candidate for the Pistons. He is young, full of upside, and stands 6’8 with the ability to space the floor. There’s a lot of projection needed to see Williams as an All-Star caliber NBA player, but Detroit is in a position to take the risk especially with the fit alongside Cunningham, Ivey, and Ausar Thompson a logical one.

Pick: Cody Williams – Colorado

Charlotte has a pair of ball dominant shooters on the roster in LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, so adding UConn’s Stephon Castle as a defensive focused wing makes a lot of sense.

Castle has yet to prove he can contribute as an outside shooter, but his length, athleticism, defense, and ability to attack the rim play nicely off of Ball and Miller and give the Hornets another young piece to build around.

Pick: Stephon Castle – UConn

Portland has focused heavily on drafting and developing young guards, with a core of Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, and Anfernee Simons limiting the team’s ability to add another one.

Instead the team could focus on shoring up depth in the frontcourt, and adding a young developmental big like Kyle Filipowski makes a ton of sense. Flip is a true seven-footer who can step out and shoot the three-ball, making him a quality pairing alongside DeAndre Ayton and an eventual replacement for Jerami Grant if/when the team deals him.

Pick: Kyle Filipowski – Duke

San Antonio’s primary need is a point guard, but they could use more shooting in the backcourt as well. Enter Jared McCain, a rising Duke prospect who has displayed a bag of moves offensively to make up for his slight frame and athletic limitations.

McCain looks like a secondary ball-handler type at the next level, and on a team with a low post offensive threat like Wemby his ability to impact the game could be significant.

Pick: Jared McCain – Duke

With Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke expected to be healthy next season, and GG Jackson emerging as an immediate contributor, the Grizzlies could be ready to compete again right away in the Western Conference. Adding an instant contributor who can fill a role in Year 1 is the best path forward for Memphis, and Dalton Knecht fills that perfectly.

Knecht can help Desmond Bane and Luke Kennard as another floor spacer, giving Morant more room to operate with the ball in his hands. Memphis has had great luck drafting older college prospects in recent years (see Bane and Clarke) and Knecht is a natural fit on that roster.

Pick: Dalton Knecht – Tennessee

Utah has a handful of on-ball guards, a defensive anchor at center, and a floor spacing power forward, but they could really use a defensive guard prospect to give them an edge on the perimeter.

While Providence guard Devin Carter did show plus shot making ability and skills in the pick and roll, his high level defense, intensity, toughness, and rebounding skills as a 6’3 guard make him a very tantalizing prospect, and one who could seamlessly fit into Utah’s system.

Pick: Devin Carter – Providence

Chicago’s problem area last year was at power forward, and if they plan to keep their core together they could use a stretch four to pair alongside Nikola Vucevic and challenge Patrick Williams for minutes.

Kel’el Ware quieted a lot of his doubters with a strong finish to his sophomore season with Indiana, and his size, outside shooting, and rim protection skills should all translate to the next level – where he’d fit nicely with the Bulls.

Pick: Kel’el Ware – Indiana

Oklahoma City blasted their way out of a rebuild with a dominant 2023-24 season, led by point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and rookie center Chet Holmgren.

Holmgren is an elite rim protector, but this team could use more depth behind him in the frontcourt. Zach Edey was the most dominant college basketball player each of the past two seasons, and while he provides no floor spacing and is a question mark defensively in space, his weaknesses won’t be as big of issues with the Thunder while his strengths as a rebounder, shot blocker, and low post scorer pair nicely with the personnel already on the roster.

Pick: Zach Edey – Purdue

Sacramento could use a sharpshooting guard to play off the ball next to De’Aaron Fox, and 6’5 Baylor guard Ja’Kobe Walter could be the guy for the job. Walter didn’t do much else great last year for the Bears, but he is a big guard with room to fill out even more physically, and he’s a lights out three point shooter and straight line driver.

Paired with a dynamic lead guard in Fox and a big man creator in Domantas Sabonis, Walter could slide effortlessly into a three-and-D role for this Sacramento team right away as they look to stay competitive in the loaded Western Conference.

Pick: Ja’Kobe Walter – Baylor

Portland needs three point shooting badly, and in a situation where they already brought in Filipowski to add depth to the frontcourt finding a sharpshooting wing would round out their first round nicely.

Portland is nowhere near contention and can afford to gamble on upside, which makes Miami’s Kyshawn George an appealing option in Rip City. George shot just under 41% from three as a 6’8 19-year-old freshman last season, and could be another developmental wing prospect for Portland to gamble on. Finding a wing who can space the floor for Henderson and Sharpe is paramount to this team getting back into contention.

Pick: Kyshawn George – Miami