The order in which the teams will choose in the 2021 NBA draft is already known. The lottery, which distributes numbers to each team taking into account the position in which they have been the previous year (the further back, the more options you have to be at the top), has given the Pistons number 1. It is the second time that the Detroit franchise takes the first place in the draft, something that did not happen since 1970, in the prehistory of the competition. Then, the chosen one was Bob Lainer, a dominant 2.11 player who played up to 14 seasons in the best league in the world and became an All Star multiple times. Now the favorite for that job, almost unanimously, is Oklahoma State star Cade Cunningham.. But there is still a lot to know about the draft and there are more interesting names beyond the one who is chosen at the top.
Rockets, Cavaliers, Raptors and Magic round out the top 5 and will need to pick immediately after the Pistons. According to a mock draft made right after the lottery, the Texas franchise will most likely take over G League’s Jalen Green. In Ohio, Evan Mobley of USC can call, while Jalen Suggs of Gonzaga would go to the Raptors. In addition, Jonathan Kuminga could call upon a Magic in reconstruction, an ideal place to grow, like the rest of the teams that are in the first positions, with short-term projects that seek to look to the future by adding quality players to their ranks.
As for Garuba, many predictions placed him in 14th position, but now he has been delayed to 15th. The Warriors will have the first of those picks, plus the seventh (coming from the Timberwolves). With James Wiseman and Draymond Green on the team, the Warriors could look for outside reinforcement in the face of Klay Thompson’s return. However, some pre-lottery bets did place Garuba in the orbit of the La Bahía team, who might want to have a versatile player with a lot of progression, strong on both sides of the court, with wickers for the launch of three and very good physical aptitudes.
The other option if Garuba doesn’t go to the Warriors, all according to him mock draft published in the ESPN after the lottery, it is that it lands on the Wizards. To the team of Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal, who right now does not have a coach (Scott Brooks), it would be another possible destination, but perhaps with another structural organization, far removed from the Warriors, that could be worse than Garuba’s adaptation. One way or another, right now it’s all rumors and drills, and all we know is who’s going to choose first (The Pistons) and what the order will be during the 2021 NBA draft. The rest of things, including the fate of Usman Garuba, we will see.
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