Thursday’s NBA Draft Lottery provided a shakeup in the draft order as thee lottery often does. The Timberwolves nabbed the top spot, jumping two places to do so, while the Warriors fell one spot to the No. 2 pick. The biggest winners on the night were the Hornets and Bulls as the latter moved up five spots to take the No. 3 pick and the latter jumped three spots to get the No. 4 pick.
With some clarity in the NBA Draft after the lottery, mock drafts begin to carry more weight. Both DraftExpress and Stadium’s Jeff Goodman released mock drafts in the immediate aftermath of the lottery results and both had LaMelo Ball going first overall to the Timberwolves.
DraftExpress’ mock draft, at least at the top, mirrored its mock draft from Tuesday with Ball landing in Minnesota, though at the No. 1 pick instead of the No. 3 pick. Stadium’s mock draft from Jeff Goodman also had Ball as the top pick to the Timberwolves.
Ball was not heavily linked to the Timberwolves prior to the lottery given Minnesota’s position in the lottery and Ball’s position on most big boards. Only a handful of mock drafts slotted Ball to the Timberwolves in recent months.
