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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The 2024 NBA Draft, slated for June 27, is still well over a month away.

However, the first domino of the NBA's pre-draft process fell on Sunday afternoon with the NBA Draft Lottery. All 30 teams around the association now know what picks they own entering this year's draft.

The lone ex-Hoosier on NBA Draft boards this summer is Indiana's former center Kel'el Ware.

Starting 30 games this past season in Bloomington, Ware averaged 15.9 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks a game. He shot the ball at a 58.6% clip from the field and a 42.5% clip from three -- on 1.3 attempts a game -- during his lone campaign with the Hoosiers.

Ware was named second team All-Big Ten by the conference's media and third team All-Big Ten by the conference's coaches for his efforts last year.

Throughout the last couple of months, Ware's name has been all over draft boards, being mocked to go as early as the lottery and as late as the early in the second round depending on the mock you're looking at.

Below is a collection of experts' 2024 NBA Mock Drafts following the lottery, detailing where they have Ware being selected and what they have to say about the former Indiana center.

Selected 27th overall to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Givony and Woo on Ware: Minnesota has found considerable success in the playoffs with its superior size advantage and might want to continue to lean into that strategy by stockpiling frontcourt talent. Ware has tremendous physical ability with his size, length and mobility as well as his ability to stretch the floor and protect the rim in small doses. There could be some parallels drawn between his pathway and the one Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid is on.

Selected 17th overall to the New Orleans Pelicans.

O'Connor on Ware: Consider how critical Dereck Lively has been to the Mavericks, even as a rookie. Could Ware have a similar influence in New Orleans? He is a vertical threat and has flashed an ability to shoot 3s. If the Pelicans opt to keep the pick, they’d have their choice of a number of different types of bigs to support their core players and another first to select an additional contributor.

PLUSES

A dunk contest–worthy athlete with phenomenal size and length. He’s an eager shot blocker with excellent timing, and he has good mobility and makes quick second leaps.

Good hands catching tough passes around the rim with the coordination to pivot toward the basket and finish from difficult angles.

Shoots an easy ball from 3. He hops into his shot and cleanly transitions into his high, unblockable release. His percentages need to catch up, but his touch is a positive indicator. He shoots a high percentage on hook shots, floaters, and layups.

His combination of skills gives him great pick-and-roll potential. His high school team ran plays off the opening tip in which a player would screen for him as he’d sprint toward the basket to catch a lob.

MINUSES

Effort and focus have wavered going back to high school. He’ll disappear for an entire half. His desire to box out and play with physicality is a notable concern, and he’s been bullied by players of a comparable size to him.

When catching the ball around the rim, he sometimes brings it down to load up before elevating instead of just launching.

Sloppy decision-maker who doesn’t handle pressure well when posting up. He telegraphs passes and often dribbles into trouble.

His size suggests he could have value as a screener, except he’s not good at setting picks. He makes little contact. And since he’s lean, NBA defenses will often switch against him, but he lacks the moves on the post to take advantage.

Selected 33rd overall to the Milwaukee Bucks (via the Portland Trail Blazers).

***Vecenie had no notes on Ware***

Selected 18th overall to the Orlando Magic.

Peek on Ware: Ware was significantly better during his sophomore season at Indiana. He was stronger with the ball and a great defensive anchor for the Hoosiers. The Magic invested heavily in guards last year and could be looking to add some size and length in the front court.

Selected 17th overall to the New Orleans Pelicans.

O'Donnell on Ware: Ware is oozing with talent as an athletic 7-footer with a projectable jump shot, nice scoring touch inside the paint, and the ability to finish plays above the rim on both ends of the floor. After a woeful freshman year with Oregon, Ware transferred to Indiana and looked like the McDonald’s All-American scouts saw him as out of high school. His shooting potential — 42.5 percent from three-point range on 40 attempts — is enticing for teams looking for a five-out look even if his volume wasn’t all that high. Ware is so talented that he often leaves you wanting more: he doesn’t play with much force around the rim, and his motor has long been questioned. At this point in the draft, it’s worth taking a chance on Ware’s tools if he can put it all together.

Selected 26th overall to the Washington Wizards (via the Los Angeles Clippers).

Irving on Ware: The Wizards need frontcourt depth after trading Daniel Gafford to the Mavericks at the deadline. Ware is a rim-protecting center with a high ceiling who came on strong late in the season for Indiana. He is a long, athletic and mobile lob-catcher who has a developing offensive game as a scorer.

Selected 22nd overall to the Phoenix Suns.

On Ware:

Strengths: 7’0 athletic big man … Good size and length, shrinks the floor and covers a lot of ground on the defensive end … Good mobility and runs the floor well … Good athlete, gets off the floor very well and utilizes it on both ends. Impressive second jump. Good lob target as he has a large radius of reach around the rim and has good body control … Does a good job of establishing post position and sealing his man. Shows a solid jump hook and soft touch in the low-post … Efficient scorer. Averaged 8.2 points per game on 56.3% FG% at the NBPA Top 100 in 2021 and 15.7 points per game on a 3rd best 67.2% FG% at the U18 Americas Championship in 2022 … Good face-up shooting ability and mechanics. Smooth shooting stroke from midrange, free throw, and 3PT. Shot 80% (8-10 FT) at the U18 Americas Championship in 2022. Despite being able to shoot, he doesn’t drift to the perimeter too often or try to be a guard … Good defender and timing as a shot blocker. Finished 4th with 1.8 blocks per game at the U18 Americas Championship in 2022 … Good rebounder on both ends. Keeps offensive rebounds high and very good reading tip-slam opportunities. Finished 4th at the NBPA Top 100 in 2021 with 5.6 rebounds per game and averaged 6.8 (2.2 offensive) per game at the U18 Americas Championship in 2022

Weaknesses: Solid strength level but frame still has room to fill out … Solid jump hook and touch but can expand post-game, as he didn’t see much competition in terms of matching his size/athleticism throughout high school … A bit inconsistent handling double-teams; there are times he scores on multiple defenders, sometimes makes a nice pass, even a quick touch pass or cross-court pass to the open man, while other times, he loses it by putting it down in traffic or travels. Minimal ability to put the ball on the floor and doesn’t pass well on the move. Mishandles passes at times … Picks up unnecessary fouls leaving his feet while trying to block every shot rather than staying in position and contesting. Doesn’t have real quick feet when having to defend on the perimeter and gets beat on closeouts. Does a good job of blocking jump shots but overall his effectivity as a defender diminishes as he moves away from the basket

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