2022 NBA mock draft: Paolo Banchero remains in the top 3 / News - Basketnews.com

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The 2022 NBA draft is in 8 days, but some teams have started trading their picks already. The Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder made a trade, which sent a 2022 first-round pick to Denver, but it is just the beginning of the usually busy days in the trade market before the draft.

Free throws this season

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According to ESPN's mock draft, the top three of the 2022 draft are still in order. Projected to go, number one overall is Auburn's Jabari Smith, the second is Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren, and the third is Duke's American-Italian Paolo Banchero.

However, the rest of the mock draft had many changes, including Arizona's Bennedict Mathurin climbing to the top 6. Before him, the projected number 5 pick overall is Iowa's Keegan Murray, while number 4 overall is Purdue's guard Jaden Ivey.

Duke's big-man Paolo Banchero is likely to be picked number 3 by the Houston Rockets. Banchero recently had an individual work-out in Houston. The skilled 2.08-meters tall big-man had an impressive freshman season at Duke and reached the Final Four in the NCAA's March Madness.

The 19-year-old Banchero was a leader on a stacked Duke team averaging 17.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game.

Serbian 2.11-meters tall forward Nikola Jovic is projected to go 24th overall. Jovic, this past season has played for the KK Mega Basket in Serbia.

Another European to likely get drafted is French big-man Ismael Kamagate. The 2.11-meters French center, who played for Paris Basketball this season, is projected to go 43rd overall.

Fortitudo Bologna guard Gabriele Procida is projected to go 52nd overall. Another KK Mega Basket big-man, Karlo Matkovic, is projected to go 56th. The mock draft ends with two more Europeans, 57th Italian guard Matteo Spagnolo and lastly, projected to go 58th is Slovenian guard Ziga Samar.

The 2022 NBA draft will be held on June 24 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn at 2 am CET.

Paolo Banchero's NCAA tournament highlights:

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