Lottery NBA mock draft 1.0: Pelicans scoop Flagg, Nets win the summer

March Madness and NBA mock drafts are what this month is all about.

Executives and scouts across the league are locking in, watching games and taking notes to settle on who they might call to the stage this summer, and what awaits the NBA beyond definitive No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg looks to be as interesting as any draft class in recent memory. 

Buckets In Brooklyn simulated a brand new mock draft that sends Flagg to the swap, 2025's top guard to the capital and a franchise-altering forward to the bright lights of New York, here in all it’s glory for debates and daydreams alike.

1. Cooper Flagg SF/PF Duke — New Orleans Pelicans

Luck of the draw. New Orleans wins the lottery for the third time in the last 15 years (2012: Anthony Davis; 2019: Zion Williamson) in simulation and welcomes Flagg to the Crescent City. If this outcome can’t save the Pelicans, nothing ever will.

2. Dylan Harper PG/SG Rutgers — Washington Wizards

Harper is an incredibly effective and creative three-level scorer with the complete package of adaptability, vision, shotmaking and defense that you look for in a lead guard at the NBA level. The 6-foot-6, 215-pound talent creates immense pressure at the rim and will make you pay from outside with a combo of confidence and skill which few are able to match.

3. Ace Bailey SF Rutgers — Brooklyn Nets

Nets faithful would rejoice if this 2025 class yields Bailey to the borough.

Questions about his flaws have slowly, one by one, started to exit through the window as Bailey speeds into spring debates of whether he should rival Flagg at No. 1 overall. The ceiling here is limitless, and even the 18-year-old’s floor as a 6-foot-10 shotmaking wing is enough to ensure his selection inside the top three, no matter how the lottery unfolds.

General manager Sean Marks has taken the time to evaluate Bailey in person on more than a handful of occasions this season.

4. Kasparas Jakucionis PG/SG Illinois — Sacramento Kings

Sacramento makes a massive jump in this simulation to steal Jakucionis at No. 4, attempting to fill a void left behind after the De’Aaron Fox trade. The Illinois guard has also been projected to land with the Nets across numerous mock drafts in recent weeks.

5. VJ Edgecombe SG Baylor — Charlotte Hornets

Edgecombe has solidified himself among the top five prospects in this draft with an athleticism and IQ at both ends that’s impossible to miss. The Baylor product pairs that uncanny, above-the-rim skill set with an elite intensity that allows you to envision a future NBA star. 

Simulated 2025 NBA Draft lottery picks (No. 6-14)

6. Tre Johnson SG Texas — Utah Jazz 

7. Kon Knueppel SG/SF Duke — Toronto Raptors

8. Khaman Maluach C Duke — Oklahoma City Thunder

9. Jeremiah Fears PG Oklahoma — Chicago Bulls

10. Asa Newell PF Georgia — San Antonio Spurs

11. Liam McNeeley SF Uconn — San Antonio Spurs

12. Noa Essengue SF/PF Ratiopharm Ulm — Portland Trail Blazers

13. Derik Queen C Maryland — Houston Rockets

14. Nolan Traore PG Saint-Quentin — Dallas Mavericks