The NBA Draft is one of the most exciting times of the year for teams that are consistently in the basement of the league. Many marquee teams will look to be selecting in the top ten such as the New York Knicks, the Boston Celtics (via Brooklyn Nets), and the Los Angeles Lakers. This year’s top ten is pretty strong, with multiple players who would be considered as the first overall pick in other drafts. Let’s take a look at the draft projections for each team:

1.Boston Celtics (via Brooklyn Nets) – Markelle Fultz (Washington)

Markelle Fultz has all of the physical tools to be a top player in the league someday. The 6-4 guard for the University of Washington averaged 23.2 points per game, 5.9 assists, 5.7 rebounds, 1.2 blocks per game, and 1.6 steals per game. Along with these hefty totals, Fultz is shooting .476 from the field and a blistering .413 from deep. His potential and already pro readiness makes him too good of a prospect for an already guard heavy Celtics team to pass over.

2. Los Angeles Lakers – Lonzo Ball(UCLA)

Lonzo Ball won’t have to go too far from Chino Hills where he played in high school and UCLA where he played in college, as the Lakers will select the crafty hometown guard. Ball completely transformed a mediocre UCLA team into a title contender, as he lead the Bruins to the Sweet Sixteen. Ball has averaged 14.6 points per game, 7.6 assists, six rebounds, 0.8 blocks, and 1.8 steals. Ball has been compared to Jason Kidd, who had an excellent career. Ball is also a great shooter to the tune of a .551 shooting percentage and a .412 mark from deep.

3. Phoenix Suns – Josh Jackson(Kansas)

Jackson was the top player on a very strong Kansas team this year, and he is oozing with potential that the Suns will cash in on. This year, Jackson averaged 16.3 points per game, three assists, 7.4 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, and 1.7 steals per game. Jackson can also shoot as he has a .513 field goal percentage and a .378 three point percentage. Jackson is considered a tweener as he is 6-8, but he brings a lot of toughness and athleticism to a team. He should fit right in next to Devin Booker, Eric Bledsoe, and Derrick Jones Jr., who will make up a fast paced, athletic starting lineup.

4. Orlando Magic – Jonathan Isaac(FSU)

Like Ball, Isaac won’t have to travel too far from his stomping grounds. The Orlando Magic looked to have one of the better front courts in the league with Serge Ibaka, Nikola Vucevic, and Bismack Biyombo. This obviously hasn’t worked out, as Ibaka is playing in Toronoto and Biyombo hasn’t played the way he did for Toronto in the playoffs last year. They could use the 6-10 one and done who has arguably to most potential of any draft prospect this year. Isaac averaged 12 points per game, 1.2 assists, 7.8 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, and 1.2 steals. He has an above .500 shooting percentage and his .348 three point percentage shows he can stretch the floor. This will improve Orlando’s front court play significantly.

5. Philadelphia 76ers – Malik Monk(Kentucky)

Philadelphia has promising prospects at every position except for at guard. They knock this pick out of the park with Malik Monk, who is arguably the best scorer in the draft. He averaged 19.8 points per game, 2.3 assists per game, 2.5 rebounds per game, 0.5 blocks per game, and 0.9 steals per game. He can score in bunches, as shown by his 47 point performance against North Carolina, who is in the Final Four, in just 38 minutes of play.

6. New York Knicks – De’Aaron Fox(Kentucky)

The New York Knicks have not had a great young point guard since Mark Jackson, but this will change after they draft another stud guard from Kentucky. Fox averaged 16.7 points per game, 4.6 assists, four rebounds, 0.2 blocks, and 1.5 steals per game. His regular season was pretty good, but his play in the tournament this March was spectacular. He scored 39 points in a game against UCLA, who was one of the best teams in the tournament. His stock is on the rise for sure.

7. Sacramento Kings – Jayson Tatum(Duke)

After trading Demarcus Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans right before the trade deadline, the Kings are lacking star power. After drafting Tatum, they could be looking at the face of their franchise for the next decade. Tatum averaged 16.8 points per game, 7.3 rebounds per game, 2.1 assists, 1.1 blocks, and 1.3 steals. At 6-8, he has decent size for a forward. He had to share the ball with the likes of Grayson Allen and Luke Kennard, so his stats should be even better on a poor Sacramento team with lesser talent than in his days at Durham.

8. Minnesota Timberwolves – Lauri Markkanen(Arizona)

With a talented, young team on the rise still trying to find its footing, they only get better with the selection of the seven footer from Finland. He slots perfectly next to Karl Anthony Towns as a seven footer that can stretch the floor, and Towns can hide the deficiencies Markkanen has as a defender. The former Arizona star averaged 15.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, just under one assist per game, 0.5 blocks, and 0.4 steals. Depending on the team he is on, he could be the next European legend like Dirk Nowitzki or end up like another seven foot draft bust in Andrea Bargnani. With the Wolves young, athletic squad coached by an arguably top five coach in Tom Thibodeau, Markkanen could push Minnesota into the playoffs.

9. Sacramento Kings (via New Orleans Pelicans) – Dennis Smith Jr.(NC State)

Even though they had to give up Cousins, the Kings were able to select in the top ten twice in an absolutely loaded draft, drafting who could be the steal of the draft. With all of the great guards in the draft, it seems like Dennis Smith is the odd name out. Although playing for a non competitive team in NC State, Smith averaged 18.1 points per game, 6.2 assists per game, 4.6 rebounds per game, 0.4 blocks per game, and 1.9 steals per game. He has average size at 6-3, but he is still a great player. Pairing Smith with Tatum with Buddy Hield, who Sacramento acquired in the Cousins deal, has to have Sacramento fans excited about their future.

10. Dallas Mavericks – TJ Leaf(UCLA)

Mavericks fans would love to see an older Dirk mentor his younger clone in Lauri Markkanen, but with the Timberwolves selected him already, Dallas will select one of the better bigs that are in the draft in TJ Leaf. Riding shotgun to Lonzo Ball, Leaf averaged 16.3 points per game, 8.2 rebounds per game, 2.4 assists per game, 1.1 blocks per game, and 0.6 steals. He shoots extremely efficient at .617 and can also shoot from deep with a .466 three point percentage. Leaf projects to be a great stretch four player who has a lot of size at 6-10 that also has a good defensive presence. The Mavericks are not used to picking early in the draft, but they won’t be complaining after selecting a stud like Leaf who can take over the franchise once Dirk Nowitzki retires.

Jacob Waxman, a junior commented, “As a Sixers fan, I’d be very happy with the selection of either of the Kentucky guards, Fox or Monk, as they will slot in pretty nicely next to Embiid, Saric, and Simmons.”

The draft is in June this year, and all of the NBA teams who have had a poor season are counting down the days until it is here.