Projecting Where Jalen Suggs Will Be Selected After 2021 NBA Draft Lottery
Suggs #Suggs
Michael Conroy/Associated Press
The NBA draft lottery is over, and the Detroit Pistons hold the No. 1 pick after the ping-pong balls fell their way.
The Houston Rockets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors hold the second through fourth picks, respectively.
That group is very lucky. A talented quartet of prospects stands out over the rest of the field.
The presumptive top four of this year’s NBA draft consists of Oklahoma State point guard Cade Cunningham, USC big man Evan Mobley, Gonzaga point guard Jalen Suggs, and Jalen Green of the G-League Ignite. That group comprises the top four in Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype’s June 4 NBA mock draft database.
The general consensus among analysts is that Cunningham will go first. At No. 2, Houston is a wild card. The Rockets could take Mobley, who is widely considered the No. 2 prospect.
But the Rockets already have a young and promising big man in 25-year-old Christian Wood, who just averaged 21.0 points and 9.6 rebounds and is under contract through 2023.
The guess here is that Suggs goes second to the Rockets as the team looks for another floor general and leader to take the place of 2017-18 NBA MVP James Harden. Houston can’t really go wrong choosing Suggs or a potential star shooting guard in Green, and the Rockets could also just pick the potential best player on their board in Mobley to form a possibly dominant frontcourt.
But Suggs is going to make a team very happy. The 20-year-old averaged 14.4 points on 50.3 percent shooting, 5.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists for the Bulldogs, who won their first 29 games before falling to Baylor in the national championship.
The floor general authored one of the greatest shots in NCAA tournament history when he sprinted down the court and launched a deep, running three-pointer to vault Gonzaga past UCLA, 93-90 in overtime of the Final Four.
Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report, who placed Suggs fourth on his latest big board, wrote on May 27 that his “athleticism, passing, defense and intangibles point to a zero-risk prospect with a high-end role-player floor.”
Sam Vecenie of The Athletic is even higher on Suggs, placing him second on his big board.
Suggs won’t slip No. 4 after his fantastic collegiate career coupled with the glowing remarks and reviews from numerous analysts. But for the Rockets to choose their next franchise leader in Suggs, who should fit right into Houston.