Jazz Trade Up, Land UCONN's Stephon Castle in Wild Mock Draft

The Utah Jazz have the ammunition to maneuver in the NBA draft this year.

Apr 6, 2024; Glendale, AZ, USA; Connecticut Huskies guard Stephon Castle (5) shoots the ball against / Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

With the NBA draft order set after the lottery reveal, it's officially mock draft season. The Utah Jazz now hold the No. 10 overall pick, as well as No. 29 and No. 32.

Will the Jazz stay put at No. 10? Here's what I can foresee happening in the top 10. Consider this version 1.0 of many mock drafts to come from yours truly before the draft on June 26-27.

1. Atlanta Hawks: Zaccharie Risacher

Risacher exploded for 29 points in just 28 minutes in game two of the French playoff quarterfinals. He grabbed six rebounds and shot 5-of-7 from three.

Risacher picked a great time to play his best basketball of the season. Atlanta’s front office was in attendance to game one prior to this game, along with head coach Quin Snyder, to get an up close look at Risacher. The Hawks could go a couple of different ways, but ultimately, the decision is between Risacher and Sarr.

2. Washington Wizards: Alex Sarr

I believe the Wizards would be very excited to see the Hawks pass on Sarr for Risacher. The 7-foot-1 center projects to be a great player on both sides of the floor and would help jump-start the Wizards' rebuild while helping build their defense.

It would pair Sarr with Bilal Coulibaly, the 7th overall pick in 2023.

3. Houston Rockets: Reed Sheppard

The Rockets finished 12th in the regular season lottery standings but thanks to a prior trade, they owned the Nets' first-round pick this year. That pick jumped into the top four and landed at No. 3.

This is essentially a luxury pick for Houston and it goes with Sheppard, who can fit in with any lineup and would pair well with Amen Thompson, the 4th overall pick in 2023.

4. San Antonio Spurs: Nikola Topic

The Spurs have two picks in the top eight and are widely expected to take a point guard with one of their picks. Due to the way the board shaped up in this mock draft, the Spurs chose Topic as their point guard of the future. 

5. Detroit Pistons: Matas Buzelis

Detroit was the biggest loser of the draft lottery falling all the way from one to five. The Pistons have former No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham in place as well as Jaden Ivey, who was selected 5th overall in 2022.

I think Detroit goes with a high-upside connector wing like Buzelis and continues to add to the talent it has on the roster.

Trade: Utah trades picks 10, 29, and 32 to Charlotte for picks 6 and 42

6. Utah Jazz via (Charlotte): Stephon Castle

Apr 8, 2024; Glendale, AZ, USA; Connecticut Huskies guard Stephon Castle (5) dribbles the ball / Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

I have the Jazz moving up to select Castle at pick No. 6 overall. Utah trades its two first-round picks — 10 and 29 along with No. 32 overall — to Charlotte for No. 6 and 42. Castle was one of the winners of the draft Combine measuring 6-foot-5.5 without shoes on, along with a 6-foot-9 wingspan.

He also shot the ball well from three at the Combine. The Jazz could desperately use Castle’s defensive prowess, and his potential pairing with 2023 first-round standout Keyonte George is about as ideal as it gets.

7. Portland Trail Blazers: Ron Holland

The Trail Blazers own two lottery picks this year and have a gluttony of guards on their roster including the 3rd overall pick in last year’s draft Scoot Henderson. I think they would add to their collection of young talent and would you a high-upside wing like Holland here.

Holland was ranked very high coming into the year and had an up-and-down season with the G-League Ignite, but the talent is glaring and Portland doesn’t pass on him here.

8. San Antonio Spurs: Tidjane Salaun

Per ESPN, Salaun's expected landing spot is the Spurs at No. 8. After taking their point guard of the future in Topic at No. 4, the Spurs go with the high-upside wing in Salaun, whom their franchise player Victor Wembanyama is familiar with as they spent time training together in the summer of 2022.

9. Memphis Grizzlies: Donovan Clingan

The way this board fell for the Grizzlies might be best case scenario for them. Memphis likely has Clingan higher than No. 9 on their big board and he is ranked higher at places like ESPN.

This would be the easiest pick to project — if Clingan indeed makes it to pick nine. He could go a lot higher, but with how this mock shook out, he fell right into the Grizzlies' lap.

10. Charlotte Hornets (via Utah): Cody Williams

Sarah Todd from the Deseret News reported that Williams is receiving serious looks from Charlotte and Portland at No. 6 and 7, respectively. If the Hornets zero in on Williams and believe they could still get him in a trade-down, gaining an extra first with pick 29 and moving up from 42 to 32 in the same projected deal with Utah would make a ton of sense.

If the Jazz stayed at pick 10 in this particular mock draft, I think they would take a hard look at Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham, Tennesssee guard/forward Dalton Knecht, and Williams from Colorado, who is slated as the pick in this mock draft.

Follow Inside The Jazz on Facebook and X and subscribe on YouTube for breaking Jazz news videos and live streams!