{"id":736125,"date":"2026-05-16T19:03:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T19:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/736125\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T19:03:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T19:03:15","slug":"uk-fans-of-the-day-want-a-post-combine-nba-mock-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/736125\/","title":{"rendered":"UK Fans of the Day want a Post-Combine NBA Mock Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NBA Draft Combine doesn\u2019t technically end until Sunday, but the bulk of the action in Chicago is over, prompting a fresh wave of takeaways and mock drafts from media members in attendance. In turn, there are some items of note for Kentucky fans as we wait for Malachi Moreno<\/a> and Milan Momcilovic<\/a>\u2018s draft decisions.<\/p>\n

Malachi Moreno<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a week since the talk of Moreno potentially climbing into the first round of the draft began. Kevin O\u2019Connell put Moreno No. 24 in his mock draft last Friday, just to move him back down to the second round after the lottery on Sunday. Earlier that week, Jonathan Wasserman projected Moreno to go No. 31 to the New York Knicks after Moreno worked out for the club, which also has the No. 24 and No. 55 pick. <\/p>\n

In his new mock draft<\/a> today, Wasserman has Moreno at No. 29, to the Cleveland Cavaliers (via the San Antonio Spurs). At the combine this week, Moreno met with four more teams<\/a>: Los Angeles Lakers (No. 25), Miami (Nos. 13, 41), Boston (Nos. 27, 40), and Portland. More workouts are lined up, along with a Pro Day in Los Angeles next week.<\/p>\n

Over at CBS Sports<\/a>, Adam Finklestein threw some cold water on Moreno\u2019s chances of going in the first round, noting that all the chatter could just be some clever negotiating by his representation. Moreno elected not to scrimmage in Chicago.<\/p>\n

Speaking of stock that could impact a stay-or-go decision, there were reports this week that Kentucky\u2019s Malachi Moreno had attracted attention from teams in the mid to late first round. While that certainly may be true, many of those teams also hold second-round picks, and many of the scouts I spoke to expressed skepticism that Moreno would crack the first round this year.<\/p>\n

Instead, those reports could be viewed as negotiating leverage with Kentucky in order to command the highest possible valuation for Moreno\u2019s return to college and Lexington. The fact that Moreno chose not to play five-on-five, while higher-ranked bigs like Rueben Chinyelu, Tarris Reed, and Flory Bidunga all opted in, was also being viewed as an indication that Moreno\u2019s representation was being very deliberate about controlling how the big man was being perceived.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, most still expect him to return to school.<\/p>\n

Adam Finklestein, CBS Sports<\/a><\/p>\n

Mark Pope was also in Chicago to see Moreno and Kentucky\u2019s other combine participants, Jayden Quaintance and Otega Oweh. Jack Pilgrim has some intel from Moreno and Pope\u2019s meeting<\/a> on KSR+, which I encourage you to check out.<\/p>\n

Want more Kentucky basketball intel? Join KSR Plus for access to bonus content and KSBoard and House of Blue, the most vibrant message board communities in BBN, to chat with fellow Cats fans and get exclusive scoop.<\/a><\/p>\n

Milan Momcilovic<\/p>\n

Earlier today, we got some promising quotes from Milan Momcilovic<\/a> courtesy of Ben Roberts. While the Iowa State forward\u2019s focus is on the NBA Draft, and he would like to stay in if guaranteed a deal, he likes the potential fit at Kentucky under Mark Pope. We certainly like that too, as Momcilovic was the best three-point shooter in all of college basketball last season and would dramatically boost the floor and ceiling of next year\u2019s roster.<\/p>\n

Although Momcilovic performed well in shooting drills at the combine, his athletic testing numbers weren\u2019t great (they weren\u2019t expected to be). Wasserman has him going No. 40 to the Boston Celtics (via the Milwaukee Bucks) in today\u2019s mock draft update<\/a>. CBS Sports\u2019 Isaac Trotter predicted on Wednesday<\/a> that Momcilovic will ultimately return to college, a decision he and Moreno have until May 27 at 11:59 p.m. ET to make. Fingers crossed that it\u2019s at Kentucky. <\/p>\n

Jayden Quaintance<\/p>\n

Quaintance continues to be the highest-ranked Cat in the mock drafts. Wasserman<\/a> has him going to the Chicago Bulls at No. 15. Trotter named Quaintance one of the risers at the combine<\/a>, noting that he could climb into the lottery.<\/p>\n

Quaintance certainly looks the part. The Kentucky big man has eye-popping measurables, especially with a wingspan that checked in north of 7-foot-5, and when healthy, he is one of the most terrifying defensive prospects in this class. He just\u00a0moves\u00a0differently \u2026 when healthy.<\/p>\n

Quaintance\u2019s outlook hinges on the medicals and whether there will be any red flags about his ability to stay healthy long-term.<\/p>\n

After only playing four games for Kentucky during the 2025-26 season, Quaintance did all the athletic testing and shooting drills in Chicago. He told reporters that he is \u201c95% healthy\u201d in his road to recovery from a torn ACL, and his pro day drew rave reviews. Quaintance measured well, interviewed well and if the medicals come back clean, he could certainly hear his name called in the late-lottery.<\/p>\n

Isaac Trotter, CBS Sports<\/a><\/p>\n

Otega Oweh<\/p>\n

Otega Oweh is the only Wildcat who scrimmaged in Chicago, and it turned out to be the right decision. Oweh scored 20 points<\/a> in Wednesday\u2019s scrimmage and 21 points<\/a> on Thursday, showing off his trademark ability to get to the rim and finish, along with some impressive defensive intensity. Wasserman has Oweh going No. 49 to the Denver Nuggets (via the Hawks) in his mock draft<\/a>. The Athletic\u2019s John Hollinger included this note on Oweh in his combine wrap-up<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cKentucky\u2019s\u00a0Oweh\u00a0showed off his ability to score in transition and get downhill in the half court, racking up 41 points in two games. However, he made only one of his eight 3-point tries, with several low-liners coming up way short.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oweh has a workout scheduled with the Dallas Mavericks, who have the Nos. 9, 30, and 48 picks.<\/p>\n

Join KSR+ now for $1 and enjoy a complimentary year of The Athletic \u2013 included with your membership.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NBA Draft Combine doesn\u2019t technically end until Sunday, but the bulk of the action in Chicago is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":736126,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[7,7388,5412,6,12],"class_list":["post-736125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba-draft","tag-basketball","tag-malachi-moreno-25-great-crossing","tag-milan-momcilovic-23-pewaukee","tag-nba","tag-nba-draft"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116585811417624850","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/736125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=736125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/736125\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/736126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=736125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=736125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=736125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}