My annual live-running mock draft is here. From this point forward, any update to my 2021 NBA Mock Draft will be contained in this space based on the most up-to-the-second information that I am hearing.
Latest update, Thursday morning, Draft Day:
It’s draft day! And after a busy start to the week on Monday with a deal that saw the Pelicans and Grizzlies move around the draft board, after that it’s been…
crickets.
Sources around the league do expect activity to pick up, but there seems to be a bit of a logjam league-wide right now as we head into draft day. There is a sense that, as teams with stars that could come available this summer try to come to a decision on their future, the potential acquiring teams (who have a lot of assets to spend) are patiently in a holding pattern while waiting for more information. At some point, sources around the league expect there will be a shift in some regard as the pressure of time becomes a factor. But then again, while those sources are adamant that this draft week seems more active in regard to trade chatter than past years, years of inaction in this arena do provide reason for skepticism on whether or not anything actually gets done.
At the end of the day, there is never a day on the NBA calendar where more, pardon me, bullshit information is pushed around league circles than the day before the NBA Draft.
As referenced in last week’s mock, which should be considered something of a precursor to this one, this is considered a strong draft at the top and one with a whole lot of questions throughout the middle of the first round. There are some real wild-card players here who could go all over the board, making the mock draft a very challenging exercise this season.
