NBA Draft order adjustments for 2016 have been completed. The official 2016 NBA Draft order is now set, following the lottery that took place on Tuesday, May 17. The Philadelphia 76ers won the NBA Draft lottery, rewarding the worst team in the league with the first pick of the draft. The L.A. Lakers have the No. 2 pick, the Boston Celtics have the No. 3 pick, and the Phoenix Suns are at No. 4. No teams moved up during the NBA Draft lottery, so the order will be entirely based on records from the 2015-16 NBA season.
A new NBA mock draft from Sports Illustrated has LSU forward Ben Simmons going to the Philadelphia 76ers with the first overall selection. They then have Duke forward Brandon Ingram getting selected by the L.A. Lakers with the No. 2 pick. The rest of the top five projected players are Kentucky guard Jamal Murray to the Boston Celtics, Croatia forward Dragan Bender to the Phoenix Suns, and Marquette big man Henry Ellenson to the Minnesota Timberwolves at No. 5.
There is going to be a lot of debate about whether Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram should be the top pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. Both players have raw skill sets that could work well in the NBA, so it comes down to the 76ers figuring out which player works best in their system. The other guy will go to the Lakers with the second pick, leaving no mystery about which direction that team will go. The real drama begins with the Celtics at No. 3, as the team could possibly deal that pick during the NBA offseason.
Breaking down the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft order (listed below), the Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, and Denver Nuggets each have three picks. In addition to their own pick, the 76ers control the pick for the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder as well. The Suns have the picks that belonged to the Washington Wizards and the Cleveland Cavaliers, while the Nuggets control the former picks of the Houston Rockets and the Portland Trail Blazers. The Boston Celtics also have three selections, acquiring the picks of the Brooklyn Nets and Dallas Mavericks through prior trades.
More trades could take place as the draft draws closer, especially if teams are trying to either move up in the order or out of the first round entirely. The Boston Celtics also control five picks in the second round, giving team president Danny Ainge some real assets to work with in the offseason. While previous L.A. Lakers trade rumors suggested the team could deal this lottery pick, the team might be ecstatic to get either Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram this summer.
The Portland Trail Blazers have no picks in the draft, having dealt both selections in prior trades. The Denver Nuggets own the first-round pick of the Blazers this year, while the second-round pick is currently in the possession of Chicago Bulls. The Miami Heat also have no picks, with the Philadelphia 76ers controlling their first-round pick and the Boston Celtics owning their second-round pick.
The 2016 NBA Draft Order (First Round)
1. Philadelphia 76ers 2. Los Angeles Lakers 3. Boston Celtics (From Brooklyn Nets) 4. Phoenix Suns 5. Minnesota Timberwolves 6. New Orleans Pelicans 7. Denver Nuggets (From New York Knicks) 8. Sacramento Kings 9. Toronto Raptors (From Denver Nuggets via New York Knicks) 10. Milwaukee Bucks 11. Orlando Magic 12. Utah Jazz 13. Phoenix Suns (From Washington Wizards) 14. Chicago Bulls 15. Denver Nuggets (From Houston Rockets) 16. Boston Celtics (From Dallas Mavericks) 17. Memphis Grizzlies 18. Detroit Pistons 19. Denver Nuggets (From Portland Trail Blazers) 20. Indiana Pacers 21. Atlanta Hawks 22. Charlotte Hornets 23. Boston Celtics 24. Philadelphia 76ers (From Miami Heat via Cleveland Cavaliers) 25. Los Angeles Clippers 26. Philadelphia 76ers (From Oklahoma City Thunder via Denver And Cleveland) 27. Toronto Raptors 28. Phoenix Suns (From Cleveland Cavaliers via Boston Celtics) 29. San Antonio Spurs 30. Golden State Warriors
Both rounds (all 60 picks) of the 2016 NBA Draft will take place on Thursday, Jun 23. ESPN will carry live coverage of the event, which should bring a lot of hope to teams trying to get back into contention for an NBA title.
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