The NBA mock drafts generally agree on the ballpark in which Tarris Reed Jr. and Alex Karaban will be selected in the upcoming draft.
The lottery on Sunday launched the next phase of the NBA draft cycle: mock draft season.
While analysts put together mock drafts throughout the college season, they’re just guesses – especially since the first 14 picks depend on how the lottery ping pong balls fall.
But once the Washington Wizards were confirmed to have the first pick in the draft – and the remainder of the picks settled – analysts went into overdrive to put together mock drafts that match player values with team needs.
Our UConn Roundtable staff can talk forever about the strengths and weaknesses of alums Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed Jr. – both are taking part in the NBA Draft Scouting Combine in Chicago this week – but we are not experts on which NBA teams would be the best fit for the former Huskies.
For that insight, we turned to the college and pro experts from a variety of publications to see where they believe Reed and Karaban will be selected in the draft, which begins June 23 and continues June 24 in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Alex Karaban
The draft analysts from USA Today, ESPN, The Athletic, CBS Sports and NESN all agree that Karaban won’t be a target for teams in the first round.
Sam Vecenie of The Athletic projects Karaban as the first pick of the second round – No 31 overall – by the New York Knicks.
Jeremy Woo of ESPN placed him at No. 32 overall to the Memphis Grizzlies.
The other outlets did not evaluate potential second-round draft selections.
Tarris Reed Jr.
Reed began his senior season at UConn barely on the radar of the NBA, but his name began circulating in the regular season. With his strong play down the stretch and into the Big East and NCAA tournaments, Reed became one of the most talked about prospects.
This is the take on Reed from Bryan Kalbrosky of USA Today, who slid the ex-UConn center into the final pick of the first round – No. 30 – to the Dallas Mavericks.
“UConn senior Tarris Reed Jr. helped himself quite a bit during the NCAA tournament en route to an appearance in the national championship game,” Kalbrosky said. “He recorded four double-doubles during March Madness, notching 31 points and 27 rebounds against Furman. Reed also had 26 points with 9 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 steals during a win over Duke. Expect him to come into the league and find a role sooner, especially considering his paint dominance, rather than later.”
The CBS Sports mock draft from Gary Parrish slid Reed in as pick No. 23 by the Atlanta Hawks
ESPN’s Woo wasn’t as high on Reed, however, predicting the Oklahoma City Thunder would select him behind Karaban with the No. 37 pick.
The most fun projection of all came from The Athletic, which envisions a scenario in which Reed and Karaban play again at Madison Square Garden as teammates with the Knicks.
On top of the selection of Karaban at No. 31 to New York, The Athletic penciled in Reed at No. 24 to the Knicks.
Teammates again?
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