Since my first round is done, here is some rationale to my picks. For this exercise I tried to think about what these teams would do instead what I would do.
Tre Johnson to CHO at #4: This is a tough situation for CHO who really want VJ Edgecombe. Lamelo and Miller are two players worthy of being considered as they draft, and VJ would be a perfect compliment to those two players. Without VJ, the choice is very unclear. I considered four players: Tre, Ace, Kon, and Maluach. Maluach seems like a reach to me, so I ruled him out early. Ace is a tough fit their with Miller, I think they duplicate a bit too much. That leaves Tre and Kon would both be great offensive fits. Personally, I would choose Kon as he is the better connective player and I don't think they necessarily need a high usage player. But the locked on hornets guys seem to prefer Tre, so I gave him the edge for realism.
Maluach and Bryant to OKC at #12 and #13: I think this would be an incredible outcome for OKC. Losing Topic is tough, but it would be hard for him to break into the rotation anytime soon. If I'm OKC, I'm giving backup ball handling duties to Cason Wallace and AJ Mitchell first. Just not a lot of space for Topic to develop. Second apron is coming for OKC and they need to think about some potential replacements for their more expensive role players. I think Hartenstein is unlikely to be on OKC past his current deal, and they will eventually need to choose between Dort and Caruso. Maluach and Bryant present potential cheaper alternatives for these role players on rookie deals. It aligns with their defense first approach that his given them much success. Personally, I would have considered Jase here as well as he'd be a great fit next to their big/defensive guards. But I went with Bryant because they could probably use a big+defensive wing over a luxury bench scorer. AJ Mitchell deserves a shot to expand his role next.
I felt the need to trade up from #15 for Carter Bryant because I believed the teams in front of me could have been looking for similar players. I think Coward and Fleming going immediately after validates this.
