France’s Alex Sarr is No. 1 and Reed Sheppard goes No. 2 in Gary Parrish’s latest mock draft
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Twenty-one players have so far received invitations to sit inside the green room at Barclays Center for next week’s NBA Draft, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. That obviously doesn’t mean they’ll be the first 21 players off the board — or even that all of them will become first-round picks. But these invitations do often serve as indicators of how things are at least expected to unfold. And, for what it’s worth, all 21 invitees are represented in the first round of my latest updated 2024 NBA Mock Draft.
I still have Alex Sarr going No. 1.
Yes, needless to say, it could instead end up being Zacharie Risacher, Donovan Clingan or Reed Sheppard. Ask 10 different evaluators what the Hawks should do with the first pick, and you’ll get at least three or four different answers. It’s an unusual situation for sure. But every round of texts or calls I make still leave me with the impression that Sarr remains regarded as this draft’s best prospect — not by a wide margin, and not even clearly, but more so than anybody else. Atlanta might not ultimately land in that same place; as always, we’ll see. But most franchises do believe in Sarr — again, not as a can’t-miss prospect or undeniable star, but simply as the best prospect in this draft. And unless I hear something different between now and next Wednesday when commissioner Adam Silver steps to the microphone to announce the first pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, I’m likely to leave the versatile big at the top, right where I’ve had him now for a while.
