Three Kentucky Wildcats included in early 2024 NBA Mock Drafts

With the 2023 NBA Draft now over, basketball writers are already turning their sights to the next crop of superstars. As is tradition, mock drafts for next year are already dropping on the internet, months ahead of the start of the college basketball season. Given Kentucky’s top-ranked freshman class, it probably won’t come as a surprise that several Wildcats are included.

CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish

Gary Parrish showed a little restraint, only projecting the lottery of next year’s draft (order based on CBS Sportsline’s projected 2024 win totals). He has three Kentucky Wildcats going in the top 10:

• No. 4 (Portland Trail Blazers): Justin Edwards
• No. 7 (OKC Thunder): DJ Wagner
• No. 8 (Washington Wizards): Aaron Bradshaw

Parrish has plenty of praise for all three freshmen and notes Bradshaw’s current foot injury.

“Bradshaw has most of the tools to develop into a high-level modern big who rim-protects, guards in space, catches lobs and makes shots from the perimeter. Assuming a foot fracture suffered recently doesn’t slow his development and/or keep him sidelined too long, the 7-foot center should start in the middle for Kentucky.”

In case you missed it yesterday, Bradshaw said on Instagram Live that he will miss the GLOBL Jam as he recovers from surgery on his fractured foot but hopes to be cleared in 3-6 weeks, which could get him back on the floor in time for workouts in August.

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Ricky O’Donnell, SB Nation

Over at SB Nation, Ricky O’Donnell also has Edwards, Wagner, and Bradshaw in his first 2024 NBA Mock Draft, but in a different order.

• No. 5: DJ Wagner
• No. 7: Justin Edwards
• No. 28: Aaron Bradshaw

O’Donnell included Wagner and Edwards among his five safest lottery projections in the freshmen class.

DJ Wagner, G, Kentucky: Talented all-around scoring guard who was considered the top player in the class from the start of his prep career as the son of Dajuan Wagner and grandson of Milt Wagner. Fearless driver with good touch around the basket who can get to the free throw line. He’s made improvement as a three-point shooter, but that’s still a question mark moving forward. At 6’3, he probably doesn’t have the size or shooting to get in the mix for No. 1, but his scoring punch will still be valuable.

Justin Edwards, G/F, Kentucky: Smooth lefty with a pretty mid-range pull-up and shooting range out to three. Some of his defensive tape is a bit spotty. Teams will want to see him develop as a passer, and prove he can get to the foul line. Reportedly a strong rebounder who can score in the open floor. He has obvious NBA tools if he shoots on enough volume from three and improves his attentiveness defensively.

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Krysten Peek, Yahoo Sports

Wagner, Edwards, and Bradshaw also made Krysten Peek’s first 2024 NBA Mock Draft for Yahoo Sports. Like Parrish, she has all three going in the lottery.

• No. 8: Justin Edwards
• No. 9: Aaron Bradshaw
• No. 13: DJ Wagner

Peek also noted the injury concerns with Bradshaw, whom she compares to former Duke forward Derek Lively II. Lively went to the Dallas Mavericks last night at No. 12 via a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“Bradshaw suffered a fractured foot last month and could miss the beginning of the college basketball season. The 7-2 center plays a very similar game to Dereck Lively II, who was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in the lottery in the 2023 draft. NBA teams value rim-runners who can be an offensive threat from 3-point range, and Bradshaw showed early signs of that during his high school season and postseason all-star games. NBA scouts will be watching closely to see how this injury affects his mobility once he returns to the court.”

Won’t we all? Spend part of your Friday afternoon watching DJ Wagner highlights over on the KSR YouTube Channel:

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