2013 NBA Mock Draft: This Year's Top Picks

If a team is to make the most of the NBA Draft, it requires a combination of excellent scouting and good luck. And this year, it may take more of the latter, as the talent in this draft pool happens to be one of the least predictable to enter the league in quite some time. With the draft just days away, the top pick is still uncertain.

With so many question marks, one factor to consider is the NCAA Tournament and the role it could play on draft night. A recent ESPN The Magazine article figured that "on average, a player who scores four points per game above expectations on a team that wins one more game than projected in the tournament will boost his draft position by 4.7 slots." Kemba Walker comes to mind as a guy who propelled himself into the lottery when he led UConn to the 2011 national title.

On the flip side, general managers and scouts alike can overreact to poor March performances. In this draft, Indiana big man Cody Zeller was thought to be a surefire top-three pick before a lackluster second half of the season and underachieving tournament performance -- only to test as the most athletic big man at the Chicago scouting combine.

With that in mind, here's a look at the 2013 NBA Mock Draft.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Nerlens Noel, C, Kentucky

2013 NBA Mock Draft

Email me at jordan.schultz@huffingtonpost.com or ask me questions about anything sports-related at @Schultz_Report. Also, be sure and catch my NBC Sports Radio show, Kup and Schultz, which airs Sunday mornings from 9-12 ET, right here.

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