2016 NBA Mock Draft: Boston lands Bender

2016 NBA Mock Draft: Boston lands international standout Dragan Bender

By Chris Stone | Apr 21, 2016

Dragan Bender, a professional Croatian basketball player currently playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli Basketball Super League attends a training session at the Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv on March 16, 2016.Bender's name is not yet well known beyond hardcore basketball fans, but that may soon change. Bender is expected to be highly sought after by US professional basketball teams in the coming months. / AFP / JACK GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images) /

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Dragan Bender, a professional Croatian basketball player currently playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli Basketball Super League attends a training session at the Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv on March 16, 2016.Bender’s name is not yet well known beyond hardcore basketball fans, but that may soon change. Bender is expected to be highly sought after by US professional basketball teams in the coming months./ AFP / JACK GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images) /

The NBA world has already moved on from the shocking resignation of Philadelphia’s Sam Hinkie as this past weekend marked the beginning of the playoffs, ushering in the end of the regular season and solidifying the lottery odds for those teams who have already started their offseason vacations. The final week of games brought about a number of changes to the draft order. The Rockets propelled themselves into the eighth seed in the Western Conference with three straight victories to close out the regular season. Now, not only will Houston experience the pleasure of being demolished by Golden State in the first round, but the Rockets will also be forced to send their 2016 first round pick to Denver as a result of the Ty Lawson trade.

Perhaps the most notable movement, though, came at the top of the draft, where Boston now has the third best odds to win the lottery as a result of the Nets’ miserable end to the season. Brooklyn traded its 2016 pick to the Celtics as part of the package for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. The Nets lost their final 10 games, which means the Celtics will have a 15.6 percent chance of landing the number one pick on lottery night. For now, though, Boston will select third, giving general manager Danny Ainge an opportunity to land one of the draft’s best international prospects. Let’s take a look and see how the rest of the first round shakes out.

This mock draft is brought to you by Upside & Motor, part of the Hardwood Paroxysm Basketball Network. You can find more in-depth analysis of the prospects mentioned within, including scouting reports and performance breakdowns, over at Upside & Motor.

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