With the 2018 NBA draft in the rearview mirror, it's time to shift our full attention to next year's crop.
A lot has happened since we last updated our 2019 mock draft, including, most importantly, players' decisions on whether to stay in the 2018 NBA draft or not.
We've attended sessions of Nike's prestigious AAU circuit, the EYBL, have been to high school showcases like the Pangos All-American camp, scoured the international ranks at the Euroleague ANGT Tournament and the NBA Global Combine, and just got back from the FIBA Americas U18 Championship.
That has given us a good starting point to begin to evaluate next year's draft, as well as the 2020 crop. We'll continue that process over the course of the summer, attending the FIBA U17 World Championship, and the A and B divisions of every FIBA Europe junior championship, including the U16, U18 and U20 tournaments. We'll cap that off with the Nike Skills Academy, the Steph Curry Camp and the Basketball Without Borders Europe camp in August. Be on the lookout for our first projection of the 2020 NBA draft in the fall.
Storylines to watch
A number of college players decided to return to school at the early-entry deadline, including Jontay Porter, P.J. Washington, Tyus Battle, Lindell Wigginton, Shamorie Ponds, Kris Wilkes, Jalen McDaniels, Carsen Edwards and Jarrey Foster, giving this group some much-needed depth to fall back on. They join the likes of De'Andre Hunter, Daniel Gafford and Rui Hachimura, projected lottery picks who decided to skip testing the waters altogether.
Charles Bassey and Ashton Hagans, the No. 3 and No. 17 recruits in ESPN's 2019 high school rankings, reclassified to 2018, and became eligible for next year's draft in turn. Jalen Lecque, currently ranked No. 10, could elect to do the same still.
The lack of star power in the 2018 high school class, combined with the influx of college players, may cause you to believe we're headed for an older 2019 draft class, but that hasn't materialized yet at this stage.
The average age of players projected to be picked in the first round of our 2019 mock is 20.2 on draft day, exactly the same as the 2018 NBA draft first round.
That's fairly normal, as we often give the benefit of the doubt to younger players who we anticipate will end up improving in these types of forecasts, including the 12 freshmen and 11 rising sophomores in our mock. Only four juniors and one senior are currently projected to become first-round picks, which is highly unlikely to remain the case this time next year. We saw older players like Jerome Robinson, Aaron Holiday, Donte DiVincenzo, Grayson Allen and Chandler Hutchison work their way into fringe top-20 status as this year's draft process moved on, and we expect that to happen next year as well, we're just not sure with whom yet.
Only four centers overall are projected to be picked in the first round as a whole, which is perhaps a better reflection of the changing nature of today's game than the big man top-heavy 2018 draft crop.
Five of the top seven players drafted in 2018 were centers, something that certainly won't be the case in 2019. Depending on how you define 6-foot-6 Zion Williamson, the first real center won't come off the board in 2019 until the No. 10 pick, if our current projections hold up.
Finally, it doesn't look like Europe is returning to the prominence it once held in churning out first-round picks year after year, as we have seen in the past. Only two first-rounders in 2018 came from outside the United States and/or the NCAA system, and 2019 isn't looking much better, with only two such players (Sekou Doumbouya and Luka Samanic) currently being forecasted in the top 30.
A number of draft picks have already moved hands in 2019
Cleveland's first-rounder is owned by Atlanta, protected Nos. 1-10 through 2020. It converts to second-round picks in 2021 and 2022 if not conveyed. LeBron James' impending free agency has huge implications for the Hawks as well for that reason.
Sacramento's first-rounder is owned by Boston, protected only for the No. 1 pick (in which case it heads to the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston gets Philly's pick). This is a significant asset considering the fact that the Kings are currently projected to finish 29th in ESPN's early power rankings.
The Clippers' first-rounder is also owned by Boston. It is lottery protected in 2019 and 2020. This pick is unlikely to convey in 2019 unless the Clippers surprisingly make the playoffs next season (projected to finish 20th).
Boston owns the Grizzlies' first-rounder as well. It is protected Nos. 1-8 next year, Nos. 1-6 in 2020 and unprotected in 2021. The Grizzlies expect to be a little better next season (23rd in the power rankings), but if things go south, an all-out tanking job may be necessary to salvage this pick.
Milwaukee's first-rounder will be conveyed to Phoenix if if falls Nos. 4-16 next year, and Nos. 8-30 in 2020. The pairing of Giannis Antetokounmpo and new head coach Mike Budenholzer makes it difficult to fathom this pick not rolling over to 2020. The power rankings have the Bucks finishing 12th.
The Hawks own the Mavericks' 2019 first-rounder -- top-5 protected -- after acquiring the pick in the Trae Young-Luka Doncic trade on draft night.
ESPN's post-Finals Power Rankings were used to project draft order. Track all traded draft picks here.