Hoops League Season 9 Mock Draft 1.0

1.       Portland Roses – Maclobio Hudson, GF, Boston College

It will be interesting to see whether Portland decides to go young, go big or even trade down here – this is a tough pick to project. The Roses are between two timelines right now: They’ve just inked Jamon Alexander to what will probably be the last contract of his career, and they’ve still got some of the S7 Finals contending apparatus intact. However, there’s no mistaking that this is an old team in need of an injection of youth. At 26, Hudson is already in his prime and will improve the team right away, but he’s young enough that he will be around after Alexander and Vun Brunson have rode off into the sunset. Hudson also fits a big need, as the Roses are short on two-way wings after having dealt off Jordan Frazier. Still, the possibility of them trading down or drafting a truly young player like TaeShaun Williams is very real, making the Roses one of the league’s most intriguing teams heading into the draft.

2.       Phoenix Firebids (via Denver Altitude) – Adam Moses, G, Koality

The Firebirds are another fascinating team to watch before the draft, but for entirely different reasons from Portland. It is rare to see a team that made the conference finals the season before also have the #2 pick – an enviable irregularity if ever there was one. Conventional wisdom says the Firebirds try to parlay this pick into a veteran or two from a selling squad, but there are reasons they may prefer to stay here. Picking Moses, already a very solid shooter, would be a cheaper way to replace the expensive in-house bench options that Phoenix has signaled they plan to sell (Benji Phillips, Skylar Murphy). Moses would be a solid contributor, but the question must be asked: would he also be too expensive given the new league contract structure? The Firebirds will have to decide for themselves. If they wind up going with Moses at #2, it will be a very solid choice.

3.       Indiana Overdrive (via Miami Tides) – Logan Justice, FC, Minnesota St.

Everyone thought they had the Overdrive figured out heading into the offseason: having failed to make the playoffs after going all-in for a second consecutive year, they would sell hard and go full-tank. Indiana instead thumbed its nose at popular opinion and convention, resigning hometown hero Shoffner to a megadeal and steadfastly refusing calls on all of its players (besides Trayvon Wilker, of course). If the Overdrive are committed to building a new squad around Shoffner, they’d do well to pick Justice, the sweet-footed big man who led Minnesota State to the Final Four this past year. Justice would allow Shoffner to play at his natural SF position and would provide good playmaking plus capable scoring and a definite size advantage at the four. He’s also got a ton of upside, making him appealing in the case that Indiana’s experimental Shoffner 2.0 project goes downhill. This is by far the easiest to predict out of the first few picks.

4.       Boston Charms – TaeShaun Williams, PG, Koality

It’s not quite time for Boston to start contending again, so it makes sense for them to take the young, fiery, high-upside Williams. The Charms have a gaping hole at shooting guard, and it would make sense for them to shift Aaron Ford (who has always seemed more comfortable creating plays for himself rather than others) to that spot while playing Williams at the 1. Williams has previously said he wouldn’t like to play in Boston, but it’s not hard to imagine the ebullient guard adjusting well to Boston’s atmosphere and enjoying the presence of multiple other young rising stars.

5.       Toronto Towers – Felipe Silva, SG, Gonzaga

Toronto obviously isn’t looking to contend in their first year in the league, so going for youth with the high-upside Silva makes a lot of sense here. It’s hard to judge the fit based on playstyle given that Toronto has yet to play a game in the HLA, but you can’t really go wrong with a two-way guard as skilled as Silva. He is also a good insurance option in case the Daren Scorpio Show goes off the rails. For expansion teams not looking to compete from day one, youth and upside ought to be the priority, and Silva has both.

6.       San Antonio Sheriffs – Francis Davidson, C, Boston College

It’s tempting to have the Sheriffs take Jordan Peacemaker here, but they’ve already got Leo Lion in position to be their PG of the future, and the two would be rather redundant next to one another. Antony King has also signaled that he wants to be the sole star in town, and the Sheriffs obviously want to keep him happy. What next, then? The Sheriffs are already a remarkably well-rounded team, but they have to pick up a backup center at some point, and Davidson is about the best one in the draft. He proved his mettle at Boston College, where he was an important piece of a Final Four team, and he’s got a diverse skillset that could make him a Swiss Army Knife-type player – every contending team’s dream.

7.       Houston Cosmos – Jordan Peacemaker, PG, Houston

Houston is clearly ready to shift into contending gear, and with the sheer number of picks and assets they have, it’s tough to see them staying here at #7. If Jordan Peacemaker remains on the board, though, it would be very hard for them to pass him up. Imagine the possibilities: Jordan Peacemaker, Sham Morant AND Papa John on one team?? The offense would be prolific, to say the least. Yes, Houston has reportedly committed to Lukasz Morawski as the starter next year, but could they really say no to the chance of creating what would immediately be one of the league’s most threatening backcourts?

8.       Vancouver Summit – Dev Doja, PG, Providence

Vancouver is another team ready to switch gears and contend, but they have some real holes on the roster, particularly at backup guard. Enter Doja, a 25-year-old PG who is very much capable of leading a backup unit. Doja isn’t a shooter, but he is an extremely capable scorer and facilitator, and Vancouver has some other guys who can put the ball in the bucket from downtown that he can work with. They’d probably need to acquire another shooter to make it work, but seeing someone other than the aging Aaron Fiedelak trying to run a second offensive unit would probably be a welcome sight for Summit fans.

9.       DC Brigade – Michael Cooper, GF, Gonzaga

The Brigade are in a curious spot, with three great young players (Dizzy Michaels, Rlo Joe, Melo Hayes) and a handful of developing ones around them, plus Alex Sinclair. They’re set to lose Adrien Russell and they already lost Lamarcus Howard this offseason, so it makes sense for them to pick up another two-way wing. Cooper is a bit raw, but he’s one of the best forwards in this draft and showed flashes of brilliance at Gonzaga. With Jaxton Scott and Koby Williams ahead of him, though, his services may not be needed from day one.

10.   Miami Tides (via Indiana Overdrive) – Yeffry Gomez, PG, Seton Hall

There’s still a lot of uncertainty for the Tides, but one thing is clear: Terrance Stafford is the franchise. Miami locked him up on a massive 4 year, $80m deal this offseason, and the franchise clearly plans to run its future through him. They’ve got some other solid young pieces, including the somehow-only-21 Karl Shanidan, Buckets McGee, Joe Kidd, and La Yason. What they do NOT have, however, is a player capable of scoring from outside. Gomez, as he proved in his Elite Eight run with Seton Hall, can certainly do that. Whether Gomez or Yason would play at the two would be an interesting question, but the Tides are young and in no rush to contend, so they have room to experiment.

11.   San Diego Surf – Jason Green, PF, Michigan State

The Surf are on the precipice of a major rebuilding project, with Lamarr Chambers, Riccardo Buzzoni and (probably) Austin Bridges all on the way out in short order. Jason Green, if he is still on the board at this point, is a natural choice. A standout freshman with Michigan State, his stingy defense and impressive offense made it easy to forget he was just 18 years old. Green may not be league-ready from day one, but the Surf will probably be able to take on some cap dumps to give him some veteran mentorship and to be placeholders until he is ready for the show.

12.   Denver Altitude (via Phoenix Firebirds) – Jalen Jacobs, SG, San Diego State

Denver’s got their guards of the future for the most part – Kerry Edwards and Lamar Rose – but they do not have guards who can shoot. Jalen Jacobs, one of college’s best shooters, is thus a natural fit. He’s got a shot that is ready-made for HLA action, and should be able to slide into the Altitude’s rotation quicky, if not immediately.

13.   Los Angeles Stars – Rob Henderson, PG, Texas Tech

There are a few directions the Stars could go in with this pick, as a couple of different weaknesses got exposed by Phoenix in their series. Among the most glaring was a lack of supporting shooting from the perimeter, as Joseph and Stronk’s uncharacteristic struggles were compounded by the lack of reliable scoring options off the bench. Henderson is not a superstar, but he is a very capable shot creator who could play the role of the microwave when needed.

14.   Houston Cosmos (via Atlanta Talons) – Cire Austin, SF, Koality

Again, this is a pick in flux given Houston’s potential to move out of it, but if they remain here, Cire Austin would be a solid choice. The Cosmos’ bench bigs are largely non-scorers and many are not particularly game-ready, but Austin certainly is, as he proved by serving as the secondary option to Adam Moses for most of the season on a championship-winning Koality team.

15.   St. Louis Archers – Simon Kurzmann, C, Koality

Being set to lose Pierre Brodeur in free agency, the Archers are short on centers, particularly defense-first centers. They also struggled with rebounding against Atlanta, as Brodeur, Oreo and even Pippy Big Pippy got stifled by Bart Jett and Caleb White. Kurzmann, the 26-year-old big who was the defensive backbone of Koality’s title run, would go a long way towards alleviating both of those problems.

16.   New York Empire – Kyler Chambers, PG, Wofford

The Empire have had a really bad run of luck with draftees of late. Both of their first rounders from last season – Kaydin Hutchinson and Jack Johnson – are no longer in the league. They could be forgiven for trading this pick away in search of veteran help, but either way, their biggest need is at the guard position. Kyler Chambers is the best man left on the board at that spot, and he is a very solid player who should have a long career as a multilevel scorer.

17.   Denver Altitude (via San Francisco Quakes) – Amari Thompson, PF, Ohio State

Entering year two of what figures to be a long rebuild, Denver may as well pick for youth, so Thompson becomes appealing. The 20-year-old is quite raw and did not stand out to any particular degree at Ohio State, but is nonetheless a skilled player with high upside. He could develop behind Denver’s older bigs, and he figures to be a solid defense-first forward when Denver is ready to contend.

18.   Miami Tides (via Chicago Blues) – T.J. Smith, C, San Diego StateThe Tides have a lot of assets and a lot of young guys, so they may not keep this pick. If they do, though, T.J. Smith would be hard not to take if he is still on the board. The sweet-footed big man saw his stock rise towards the end of the season, and he could make good things happen in the paint either as Stafford’s backup or as an oversized four.