Is 2021 The Year To Have Two First-Round Picks In The NBA Draft?

The 2020 NBA Draft has so far delivered as promised. There appears to be no clear-cut superstar, but instead a deep group of players who will be starters and role players for the next decade.

That should not be the case with this year’s class.

While there’s still no set date for the 2021 NBA Draft, its prospects are busy jostling for position to get their names mentioned as early as possible for when the biggest night of their lives becomes a reality.

Who are some of the interesting prospects?

By now, the draft appears to have some heavy hitters.

Cade Cunningham, the presumed top pick, is a 6’7 playmaker from Oklahoma State who could turn into a franchise player at the pro level. Cunningham’s combination of size, strength, playmaking, and shotmaking abilities are both rare and intriguing. He can get to every spot he wants on the floor, despite not having elite athleticism.

His game isn’t entirely unlike those of Luka Doncic and Paul Pierce, meant not as a comparison but rather as a telling sign of how uses his intelligence and fundamentals to get an edge on the court. Cunningham will excel via footwork, ball-fakes, shooting, and reading defenses more than he will sky through the air for lobs.

Don’t let his modest 3.8 assists per game fool you. Cunningham is currently playing on a team that has very little spacing (6.4 made three-pointers per game on 33.1% accuracy) and no clear-cut number two guy next to him. His situation is a bit similar to that of Cole Anthony’s last year at UNC.

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One guy who does have a solid foundation around him is Gonzaga point guard Jalen Suggs. The 6’4 explosive guard has weapons all over, chief among them being senior forward Corey Kispert, who is also a projected first-round pick.

Suggs is a disrupter. He’s extremely quick both with and without the ball, a tough defender who gets into the face of opponents, and he can go off for 25 points if he needs to. He’s currently the most dangerous wild card in college basketball, and it should come as no surprise if he and his Gonzaga teammates win it all.

In NBA terms, Suggs will probably have less leeway to pick his spots as he does now, but his raw athleticism and ability to finish around the rim should be enhanced by playing on a court more spread-out with great shooters and an overall higher level of talent. By next season, he should accumulate plenty of end-to-end highlights.

In short, Suggs is built for the pro level and could hit the NBA hardwood like a firecracker.

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USC big man Evan Mobley round out the projected Top 3 selections of the 2021 draft. At 7-feet with long arms and great anticipation, Mobley is rather unique. His shot release is smooth, high, and functional. While he has only hit seven three-pointers during this season, he hasn’t been used as a high-volume shooter from outside, which probably will change when he hits the NBA.

Mobley is currently beating opponents via a combination of face-ups, dribble drives, putbacks, midrange shots, and his ability to get to the line (6.1 attempts per game). His slight frame of just 210 pounds remains a work in progress, but it hasn’t turned him less aggressive when going at players who have a good 25-30 pounds on him.

Defensively, Mobley is a high-impact shot-blocker who swats almost three shots per game due to his length and athleticism. That presence should transfer over to the NBA, even if teams at the next level will prioritize steady positioning over block counts.

Mobley might take longer to round out his game than Cunningham and Suggs, but down the line could become a highly impactful two-way player at the big spot.

The best of the rest

The above three are the most known commodities at this point, but that does not mean the intrigue of the draft ends there. Not by a long shot.

Both Jonathan Kuminga and Jalen Green, who signed with the G-League Ignite, thus shunning college programs, have simply not played competitive basketball to the same extent this season, yet are regarded highly by their respective high school careers.

Sharife Cooper, a freshman point guard out of Auburn, is currently destroying box scores in every game he plays and is arguably the best playmaking talent in the draft. His 21.3 points, 8.1 assists, and 9.7 nightly free throw attempts should gather a ton of interest, especially with teams in need of a lead guard.

International big men, Usman Garuba and Alperen Sengun, are also intriguing options. Garuba, a defensive-oriented big from Real Madrid, is a dominating paint presence who has considerable experience in the second-best league in the world. Sengun plays for Turkish powerhouse Besiktas, where the 18-year-old is currently dropping over 20 points and 10 rebounds per game – unheard of numbers in that caliber of a league for someone that young.

The 2021 draft also offers plenty of wings, who can slide in-between both forward positions.

Scottie Barnes out of Florida State and Jalen Johnson out of Duke project as NBA combo forwards given their on-ball abilities and playmaking, and both are candidates to get picked in the lottery. The aforementioned Corey Kispert is also included in that group, although his age (22 come draft time) could become a factor in him dropping down later in the draft.

If scoring is your thing, this draft got that covered as well. Moses Moody out of Arkansas can fill up the cup (16.6 points) from the off-guard spot, while his physical presence allows him to crash the boards and play up a position to the three if need-be. UCONN guard James Bouknight (20.3 points) and LSU combo guard Cameron Thomas (22.3 points) are both bucket getters who can produce large point totals in a hurry, even if the latter is in dire need of improving his shot-selection.

Is this the year to go all-in on youth?

So let’s get back to the initial premise. Is this the year to acquire multiple first-round picks?

While the draft is never a sure thing, it does appear that this class grows deep enough that acquiring an additional pick, especially in the Top 20, could be greatly beneficial for rebuilding teams.

Most teams that go through a youth movement have a moment where they cash in on the draft in order to get more bites at the apple. It would make sense that this year would be an attractive year to do just that.

Of course, every team will put different stock into what they think of certain players, and some teams might reach an internal conclusion that there’s no reason to actively seek additional picks outside a certain range. So trading for more picks might not be a solution for all teams, especially if the price attached is too steep – which it might be.

That said, the level of talent in this class will likely warrant significant interest for teams looking to make a push for the future. Would the Houston Rockets, who are looking to restructure their team after moving on from James Harden, want to accelerate that process by moving off some established pieces for the future?

What about the Detroit Pistons, who seem a bit stuck in the mud and could use a proper talent injection? If they win the lottery and select Cunningham, would it not make sense to try to acquire another high-lottery pick, if the opportunity is there, to flank Cunningham with a partner in his age group?

There are a lot of moving subplots and fluid situations all around the league, and many differ from one another. Some teams might understand they’re sitting on a valuable pick, but wish to compete soon, meaning they could get a haul by moving off of it. So the logic goes both ways.

At least compared to 2020, where there was a cap in terms of the available talent, the 2021 class should be far more bankable, and as a result, rebuilding teams should certainly make a lot of phone calls.