Malcolm Lee
If there’s one thing that’s certain about mock drafts, it’s that there’s nothing certain about mock drafts.
That adage holds true when trying to gauge the stock of Tyler Honeycutt and Malcolm Lee, the two Bruins who elected to leave school early for the NBA Draft, which takes places tonight at 4:30 p.m. (ESPN) in New York.
In the little over two months since the all-Pac-10 performers announced their intentions to leave UCLA, each has been evaluated in person by about half the league’s general managers. Honeycutt has worked out for 14 teams, compared to 17 for Lee (according to NBADraft.net).
A quick look at the mock drafts of various websites and NBA scribes across the internet indicate that both have multiple teams’ interest, with neither player expected to go lower than the high second round. (Remember, though, nothing is certain.)
ESPN (Insider required to view)
Honeycutt: Second round, No. 35, Sacramento Kings
Lee: Second round, No. 39, Charlotte Bobcats
NBADraft.net
Honeycutt: First round, No. 29, San Antonio Spurs
Lee: Second round, No. 37, Los Angeles Clippers
DraftExpress.com
Honeycutt: First round, No. 25, Boston Celtics
Lee: Second round, No. 38, Houston Rockets
Sports Illustrated (first round only)
Lee: First round, No. 27, New Jersey Nets
HoopsWorld
Lee: First round, No. 20, Minnesota Timberwolves
Honeycutt: Second round, No. 32, Cleveland Cavaliers
UCLA has had six first round picks since 2006; both Honeycutt and Lee will hope to add that total and be one of the first 30 names called. First-round selections are guaranteed contracts according to a salary scale, but second-round picks are not.
Be sure to check out Sam Strong’s piece on Malcolm Lee working out for the Utah Jazz last week in Salt Lake City (video on BruinSights). Stay tuned on BruinSights and follow along at twitter.com/dbsports for coverage during and after the draft tonight.