2017 NBA Mock Draft, Week 25: Lakers at No. 1, Knicks at No. 2
By Chris Stone
New order, new destinations. This is our latest mock 2017 NBA Draft.
Last week, we started randomizing the lottery for our 2017 mock drafts and this week we’ve done it again using the awesome website Tankathon. This time around, the Los Angeles Lakers hold on to their pick and end up in the No. 1 spot while the New York Knicks make a leap to No. 2 and the Detroit Pistons shockingly slide up to No. 3. The shake up caused plenty of changes in the lottery and give us a good opportunity to look at how some of these prospects might fit in different situations.
Also new to the mock draft this week is Kentucky’s Hamidou Diallo. The 18-year old officially declared for the draft this week without an agent. He enrolled at Kentucky for the spring semester this season, but never suited up in a game for the Wildcats. Diallo, like Thon Maker, is eligible for the draft because he will be 19-years old at the time of the draft and graduated from high school a year before the 2017 draft. He was enrolled in prep school prior to heading to Lexington.
So, what’s the latest mock draft look like? Let’s find out.
Markelle Fultz
PG, Washington
Draft status: In with an agent
If the Los Angeles Lakers land the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, they’ll have a difficult choice to make. On the one hand will be UCLA’s Lonzo Ball, the hometown prospect who has publicly expressed his desire to play for the franchise. On the other, Washington’s Markelle Fultz, an 18-year old point guard who is widely regarded as the better prospect with the potential to change the direction of an organization in disarray. While the attraction to Ball will be real, the Lakers should ultimately settle on Fultz because when it comes to rebuilding billion dollar enterprises, hometown loyalty shouldn’t mean too much.
Fultz is the best point guard prospect that we’ve seen in recent years. He averaged 23.2 points, 5.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds for a Washington team that was a disaster without him on the floor. The Huskies’ net rating was -22 points per 100 possessions with Fultz on the bench and even with him on it, per Hoop Lens. Fultz is a capable scorer at all three levels, is already a good ball-handler and has the size at 6-foot-5 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan to be a decent defender.
The fit with current guard D’Angelo Russell is also a bit better. Ball and Russell would struggle mightily as a defensive duo and although Fultz isn’t elite on that end, his athleticism gives him more upside. Fultz and Russell could form an intriguing two point guard system as both of them are comfortable playing away from the ball.