Scouts will have a close eye on Banchero's defensive intensity and off-ball awareness, as his inconsistency on that end of the floor is a big reason why he has taken a back seat to two-way prospects such as Holmgren and Smith. 7-2, 230 Center. 11 Rutgers | Wednesday | 9:10 p.m. | truTV, What to watch for: Wesley is a dynamic shot-creating guard who burst onto the scene as a surprise one-and-done and has piqued the interest of NBA scouts with his ability to go get a bucket off the dribble like few guards, sharing some similarities to a guard such as James Bouknight at the same stage. He is a capable spot shooter from 3 at 42%, is elite rising up in midrange spots and is slithery downhill to the rim while also showing the ability to make some basic reads. NBA Draft 2023 Best Remaining Players - ESPN Draftcast You have come to the Philippines Edition, for other ESPN editions, click here. NBA.com is part of Warner Media, LLCs Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network, *Translations are limited to select pages. There are only four sub-6-foot-1 guards who play at least 15 minutes per game in the NBA this season, meaning Chandler will have to be viewed as a special talent to warrant a high draft pick. Minnesota Timberwolves (from Nuggets), Azuolas Tubelis | Sophomore | Arizona | 6'9" | PF/C | Age: 19.9, Kofi Cockburn | Junior | Illinois | 7'0" | C | Age: 22.5, When: No. Sotto was eligible for the 2022 NBA Draft because he is a 19-year-old talent one year removed from playing high school basketball. His decision to make the NBA jump despite having two more years left on his Adelaide contract (with a team option on the final year) did not come as a surprise to the 36ers. Asked if this means Sotto might be limited mostly to defending in drop coverage as to being able to defend in more aggressive schemes in the NBA, Houben concurred. 2024 NBA mock draft: Why Bronny James is projected as a top-10 pick . "There's no reason Sotto would not have the potential to be a productive contributor on the offensive end of the floor," Houben said. Thanks for reading our 2022 NBA Mock Draft. Williams doesn't quite look the part at first glance, standing no taller than 6-foot-10 in shoes with a 260-pound frame, average length and a below-the-rim style that forces him to rely on skill, strength and effort on both ends. -- Givony, Justin Lewis | Sophomore | Marquette | 6'7" | SF/PF | Age: 19.9, When: No. 9 TCU | Friday | 9:57 p.m. | truTV, Tyler Burton | Junior | Richmond | 6'7" | SF | Age: 22.0, 53. "Continuing to find ways to maximize the value he gets out of his physical tools while he continues to work on improving the processing and shooting seems to be the current path for Kai," Smith offered. -- Schmitz, Trevor Keels | Freshman | Duke| 6'5" | PG/SG | Age: 18.5, When: No. Kai Sotto is projected to land in the second round of the NBA rookie draft, according to the recent mock draft of US-based outlet Sports Illustrated. 8 North Carolina vs. No. 5 Iowa vs. No. He's been somewhat streaky at times from beyond the arc, but has found more success as of late after hitting a midseason slump, while consistently doing all the little things his team needs to win games. Few others like Makur Maker, Kai Sotto, Zaire Wade, Henri Drell and Samson Ruzhentsev are also there. ", Scouting Report: Kai Sotto | The Jump (2:08), Grading Sotto: How the Philippines' prospect's offense stacks up in the 2022 NBA draft. "More minutes, along with another year of skill development and physical training, could only help his stock in the eyes of NBA evaluators.". 1 overall seed Gonzaga to its first NCAA men's basketball title. 32 NFL players who could change teams this offseason, What NBA Finals runs from LeBron, Giannis can teach Jayson Tatum, Sizing up the player of the year winners in all 32 Division I men's conferences. If Sotto goes undrafted in June, a couple of alternative routes await. Adelaide (109.9 defensive rating, sixth among 10 teams) held them to just 0.72 PPP during those possessions (league average is 0.86 PPP allowed), per InStat -- an indication that the big man pushed back when smaller attackers targeted him in the two-man game. NBA draft scouts. ", Scouting Report: Kai Sotto | The Jump (2:08), Kai Sotto's defense and experience may put him behind other international prospects. "With Kai's progression throughout the season, it was within expectation Kai would declare for the 2022 Draft. LIVE NBA MOCK DRAFT! In Adelaide, Sotto mostly subsisted on cuts and as a roll man in the pick and roll -- two of four play types where he derived most of his offense. -- Schmitz, Oscar Tshiebwe | Junior | Kentucky | 6'9" | C | Age: 22.2. What to watch for: Branham is a long-armed, 6-foot-5 off guard who can score the ball at all three levels and defend his position, and he holds some untapped upside as a secondary ball handler in the Caris LeVert mold. The 2.18-meter center -- who only turns 20 on May 11 -- just finished his first season with the Adelaide 36ers in Australia's National Basketball League, where he averaged 7.52 points and 4.48 rebounds across 23 games. Sotto posted up a lot -- about 19.3 percent of his offense came from the block, per InStat, which was the second-highest figure from his portfolio -- but Adelaide only scored 0.68 PPP during those trips, well below the league average of 0.89. In 24 games, he shot 49.6% from the floor, 35.7% from 3-point range and 68.1% from the free throw line -- numbers that have drawn polarizing opinions from those who have followed Sotto's journey with close interest. On the other hand, Michael Houben -- a scouting expert for the Australian independent basketball publication "The Pick and Roll" -- was not as optimistic and called his defense "a very clear limitation at this point in time for Sotto.". After not appearing in any major mock drafts for the past few months -- including ESPN's big board, which lists the 7-foot-3 center as the 11th-best prospect at center -- the Filipino talent cracked Sports Illustrated's post-combine top 60 released on May 24 and is reportedly in line for a workout with NBA teams. People will realize . He said that some of the Sotto's deficiencies on defense, however, are fixable. He's an excellent finisher one of college basketball's most prolific dunkers, and a much-improved offensive player in general. "Further growth as a passer as he matures and the games slows down for him will also be extremely helpful, as he has shown a certain level of vision at previous levels of play.". Data from InStat state that Adelaide hemorrhaged points when Sotto defended the roll man in the pick and roll (16 percent of his defensive possessions, second most) and gave up 1.37 PPP -- way above the league mean. NBA rumors: 2022 top draft prospect Kai Sotto signs with NBL club 2 years ago - via Twitter ShamsCharania Shams Charania: Kai Sotto a 7-foot-2 prospect from the Philippines is signing. A deep NCAA tournament run could earn him looks in the late lottery, similar to what we saw from Joshua Primo last year. In 24 games, he shot 49.6% from the floor, 35.7% from 3-point range and 68.1% from the free throw line -- numbers that have drawn polarizing opinions from those who have followed Sotto's journey with close interest. Hes been focused on basketball all is life and it shows in his skill level, passing and great understanding of the game. What to watch for: Williams is one of the best passing bigs in the country and a true hub that you can run the offense through from both the post and the perimeter, at least in college. Filipino big man Kai Sotto needs to ramp up his on-court work as he still ranks low in several NBA mock drafts. . -- Schmitz, Blake Wesley | Freshman | Notre Dame | 6'5" | SG | Age: 18.9, When: No. "I think mock draft boards are great for the general public's . MANILA, Philippines - Kai Sotto will get a shot at impressing NBA teams ahead of . -- Givony, Keegan Murray | Sophomore | Iowa | 6'9" | PF/C | Age: 21.5, When: No. 1 pick who looked unfazed by the pressure of MSG or the player who looked tentative down the stretch of a few Duke losses during conference play? Should the stars align . In honor of March Madness, ESPN's NBA draft experts Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz have complied a mock draft with just players participating in the NCAA tournament. What to watch for: Sochan is the prototypical "initiator" modern big who can defend 4s and 5s while bringing the ball up the floor in transition and creating for himself and others in the half court, looking like Baylor's version of Boris Diaw when he's at his best. He also posted the sixth-highest block rate (5.3 percent) among 76 players who played at least 350 minutes, according to the website. 7 Murray State vs. No. He's a magnet for fouls attacking the rim, is highly switchable on the perimeter and is always around the ball as a cutter and offensive rebounder. He went to the Miami School in Hamilton, Ohio. "I think mock draft boards are great for the general public's reference but don't entirely represent the full picture. LSU was delivered a major blow when Eason's coach, Will Wade, was dismissed Saturday due to recruiting violation allegations, and the Tigers will need their best player to emerge as a leader on and off the court. "While his late season performances certainly helped, it felt like only a glimpse of his potential, and with those flashes, it felt like another season in the NBL would have seen him play a bigger role that could've highlighted his game even more," Houben said. ", Scouting Report: Kai Sotto | The Jump (2:08), Grading Sotto: How the Philippines' prospect's offense stacks up in the 2022 NBA draft. "Kai is a positive influence who brings energy and effort to the team at practices and games everyday. We're less than three weeks away from draft night. He is an ambidextrous, straight-line driver who also can play some pick-and-roll and punish smaller defenders with turnarounds over either shoulder. Scouts will want to see if he can turn that talent into consistent and efficient production - on both ends -- in do-or-die games that matter before anointing him a surefire first-round pick. "I think he's very unique compared to all overseas and American prospects. 12 Richmond | Thursday | 3:10 p.m. | truTV. -- Mike Schmitz. 2019 NBA champion Jeremy Lin believes all is not lost for Kai Sotto after the Philippine prospect missed out on being picked up in the 2022 NBA draft. He is a streaky shooter who gets a lot of his offense in the post, on midrange pull-ups, in transition and while using his aggressiveness, physicality and smarts attacking out of the pick-and-roll. If not, is he a skilled enough shooter, passer and ball handler to be an asset on the perimeter? Houben and New Zealand-based scout Tim Smith cited players like projected lottery pick Ousmane Dieng, Hugo Besson of France, Australia's Makur Maker and Luke Travers, Lee Hyun-Jung of Korea, and China's Zeng Fanbo and Guo Haowen as names likely to get called ahead of the Filipino big man. As the NBA draft draws closer, some teams have shown an increasing interest in Sotto's potential. Editor's Picks. "Kai is a positive influence who brings energy and effort to the team at practices and games everyday. Andrew Gaze and Nat Edwards breakdown 218cm Kai Sotto's impact on the Adelaide 36ers, areas of improvement and future prospects. How scouts feel about his confidence and aggression will go a long way in determining whether NBA teams view him as the next productive college upperclassmen turned draft-day steal la Herb Jones and Ayo Dosunmu. In the eyes of these experts, Sotto lags behind his fellow international draft prospects and might have to wait a bit before being able to get a shot at playing in the NBA. NFL draft questions for teams in the top 10: Will the Colts trade up? His passing and floor vision has garnered some attention over the years, but the potential has yet to fully materialize, as Sotto tallied more turnovers (32) than assists (14) in his first year with Adelaide. (2:02). Even. Some of those improvements have reflected in Sotto's frame, one that he has filled out over the past couple of years and enabled him to keep up in a highly-physical NBL. 11 Michigan | Thursday | 12:15 p.m. | CBS, What to watch for: The Mountain West Conference player of the year, Roddy emerged as a potential All-American and one of the most versatile and unique college players as a junior. Today, we're focusing on the rest of his game: His defense, his intangibles on and off the floor, and his potential future paths.