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Pitt forward Lamar Patterson got off to a hot start this season. That pushed him up from a player unlikely to be drafted to a second round pick on a lot of NBA mock draft boards. Patterson really cooled off a bit, but that doesn't appear to be hurting him all that much according to several mock drafts out there.
NBADraft.net projects the forward to be going to the world champion Miami Heat late in the second round with the No. 57 overall pick (out of 60 total draft selections). Draft Express says he's going two picks later at No. 59 to the Toronto Raptors.
CBS Sports also has three guys offering up mock drafts - Gary Parrish, Matt Moore, and Zach Harper. Parrish and Harper didn't bite and don't have Patterson being selected at all. But Moore not only has the Pitt star being taken, but relatively high at No. 45 overall to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
I'm still not sure if I see Patterson being taken. It looked like a lock earlier in the year, but he really showed some inconsistency down the stretch. As has been covered before, he's also a little undersized at his position of small forward. His ability to do so many things and hit a three-pointer will make up for some of that, but I'd still lean more towards him being a free agent at this point.
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