NBA lottery picks revealed: How did KU’s Furphy, McCullar fare in mock drafts?

The Kansas Jayhawks will have a pair of players selected in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft, according to ESPN.com projections posted after Sunday’s lottery.

Johnny Furphy, a highly regarded guard/small forward who entered his name in the draft following a successful freshman season at KU, will be taken by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 23rd overall pick, ESPN.com’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo predicted on Sunday.

Meanwhile, KU super-senior combo guard Kevin McCullar will be selected by the Utah Jazz at No. 29 overall, the ESPN duo indicated.

The Atlanta Hawks won this year’s draft lottery and will receive the No. 1 overall pick. The draft is set for June 26-27 in New York.

In a new format, one round of picks will be revealed each night.

After Atlanta, it’ll be Washington, Houston, San Antonio, Detroit, Charlotte, Portland, San Antonio again, Memphis, Utah, Chicago, Oklahoma City, Sacramento and again Portland to round out the 14-team lottery. There will be 30 picks in the first round and 28 in Round 2.

Of the 19-year-old Furphy, 6-9 from Melbourne, Australia, Givony wrote: “The Bucks will need to continue to space the floor adequately for their superstars, which means continuing to add shooting at every position. A 6-9 wing like Furphy who can make shots while also contributing in the open floor and as a cutter could be interesting both in the short and long term for Milwaukee, which will also likely explore trades if more ready-made players are offered here.”

It should be noted Furphy and McCullar will attend this week’s NBA Combine and likely take part in one-on-one workouts with various teams. McCullar has completed his college eligibility.

Furphy has the option of returning to college for a sophomore season if he exits the draft by 10:59 p.m. Central Time on May 29. KU coach Bill Self has said he expects Furphy to remain in the draft because he’s a likely first-rounder.

Of the 6-7, 23-year-old McCullar, Givony wrote: “McCullar is still dealing with the remnants of a knee injury that derailed the second half of his season, which might make it difficult for him to have as extensive a pre-draft process as teams might hope. Teams that dig into the tape will see McCullar is an excellent defender and passer and was shooting the ball as well as he ever had in his career before getting hurt.”

ESPN.com believes the overall No. 1 pick (by Atlanta) will be 19-year-old Alex Sarr, a power forward playing in the NBL in Perth, Australia.

CBSsports.com’s Kyle Boone also projects Furphy to the Bucks at No. 23 overall. Boone does not list McCullar as a first-round selection.

Krysten Peek of Yahoo!Sports has Furphy headed to the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 27th pick.

Peek wrote: “Furphy’s size and 3-point shooting make him an interesting prospect toward the back half of the first round. He was a late bloomer at Kansas, signaling upside and growth at the next level, and improved on the glass as a weak-side rebounder on both offense and defense.”

According to Peek, McCullar will be the fourth pick of the second round (to Portland).

USA Today’s Bryan Kalbrosky has Furphy the 30th and final pick of Round 1 by the Boston Celtics.

“Kansas freshman Johnny Furphy could still use more time to develop before he is ready to make an impact in the NBA, but the Celtics are deep enough to allow him to do that,” wrote Kalbrosky.

“The potential is absolutely there, though. Starting from when he moved into the starting lineup on Jan. 13 until the end of the season, via Bart Torvik, Furphy was one of only three high-major freshmen to make 10 or more 3-pointers and 10 or more dunks. The other two were Stephon Castle and Cody Williams. You can’t leave Furphy open as he shot 43.7 percent on uncontested 3-pointers, via Stats Perform.”

USA Today does not see McCullar as a first-round selection.

SB Nation’s Ricky O’Donnell has Furphy the 24th pick by the New York Knicks.

“Furphy emerged late in the season for Kansas as an efficient off-ball scorer with real NBA tools. The 6-9 Australian wing was a willing shooter from deep on spot-ups (35.2% on 6.3 three-point attempts per 40 minutes), scored well in transition, and looked coordinated enough to attack closeouts,” wrote O’Donnell.

“He’s not a very physical player and often looked lost defensively, so a patient approach with an emphasis on his strength development would be best. With a deep team and two first round picks, the Knicks are in position to take the long view on his development.”

SB Nation does not list McCullar as a first-rounder.