How Tamar Bates stands with draft approaching

Sam Vecenie has Bates going to the Phoenix Suns (via the Denver Nuggets) with pick No. 52 in his final mock.

Bates would come after a host of familiar names by Vecenie’s selections.

He has Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears at No. 5, Texas’ Tre Johnson at No. 7, South Carolina’s Collin Murray-Boyles at No. 9, Illinois’ Kasparas Jakucionis at No. 13, Georgia’s Asa Newell at No. 18, Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr. at No. 20 and Illinois’ Will Riley at No. 22 all in the first round. That’s before Tennessee’s Chaz Lanier, Auburn’s Johni Broome, Florida’s Alijah Martin, Arkansas’ Adou Thiero and Wisconsin’s John Tonje go ahead of Bates in the second round.

Kevin O’Connor put out a final two-round mock with Bates going with the 27th pick of the second round to the Orlando Magic.

O’Connor describes Bates as “A 3-and-D style guard with a knockdown shooting stroke, though his lack of strength and playmaking put a cap on his ceiling as a low-usage specialist.”

He has a player comparison with Damion Lee, who just finished his seventh season in eight years. He has played in 315 games with an average of 19.6 minutes per game in which he produces 7.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per matchup while shooting 43.3 percent from the field, 37.4 percent from 3 and 88.1 percent from the free-throw line.

Jonathan Wasserman put out his final two-round mock this morning and has Bates going at pick No. 55 to the Los Angeles Lakers.

“Tamar Bates has put himself in the second-round discussion with a strong draft process, first standing out at Elite Camp and then looking like he belonged during NBA combine scrimmages. He’s an efficient shotmaker and one of the most efficient finishers among guards in this year’s field.”

Wasserman compares Bates to Skylar Mays, a bench guy who just finished his fifth year and plays 10.6 minutes per game, while contributing 4.3 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 44.5 percent from the field, 34.5 percent from 3 and 85.9 percent from the free-throw line.

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