ESPN NBA Draft expert has Bennedict Mathurin, Dalen Terry rising in latest mock draft
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has former Arizona star Bennedict Mathurin being selected No. 5 overall by the Detroit Pistons in his latest mock draft.
The countdown to the 2022 NBA Draft is in its final stages, with the draft set to begin Thursday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn (on ESPN and ABC at 5 p.m. PT). Following the NBA Combine last month, Mathurin was sitting just outside the top-10 in Givony’s mock draft, but the reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year has supposedly been killing it on the private workout circuit since then.
Here’s what Givony wrote on Mathurin:
Mathurin drew strong reviews on the private workout trail, excelling in competitive action, individual drills and interview sessions everywhere he visited and boosting his stock into the mid-lottery in the process. Detroit’s front office and coaching staff is said to be especially interested in the All-American and Pac-12 Player of the Year’s intriguing combination of current productivity and future upside at just 19 years old, as well as his potential fit with Cade Cunningham thanks to his ability to shoot coming off screens and his prowess operating in the open court. NBA teams say they will also be monitoring the Pistons’ plans for Jerami Grant, who is entering the final year of his contract and may be on the move as early as draft night.
It seems the 5-10 range could be Mathurin’s most likely landing zone, with the floor rising. The New York Knicks, possibly in the market for Kyrie Irving and Givony’s projected landing spot for Mathurin in the lead-up to the Combine, are reportedly looking to move down or out of the draft, according to Givony.
The draft expert has three other guards being selected with the five picks immediately after Detroit in his most recent mock, so Mathurin might not fall too far if the Pistons pass on him at No. 5.
A little further down, Givony has Dalen Terry projected to go 21st overall to the Denver Nuggets.
Terry has steadily risen throughout the process after most prognosticators had him slotted as an early second-rounder when he initially declared.
Givony has big man Christian Koloko still in the same range he has been in—36th (sixth pick of the second round) to the Portland Trail Blazers.