NBA Mock Draft 2017, Week 10: Markelle Fultz lands in Boston

The Portland Trailblazers haven’t had the type of season that many expected for them coming off of a trip to the Western Conference Semifinals a year ago. The Blazers still have an excellent backcourt pairing between Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, though, and can therefore use their lottery pick to target one of the draft’s best frontcourt prospects.

Arizona Wildcats’ freshman Lauri Markkanen is a multi-tool scorer who has some unique traits for a 7-footer. The 19-year old is leading Arizona in scoring this season largely because of his ability to knock down outside shots. Markkanen is shooting 44.3 percent on 5.9 3-point attempts per 40 minutes. He has solid mechanics and is capable of shooting coming off of screens, which is valuable given that most of his defenders won’t be used to guarding those actions. Markkanen can also attack close outs in a straight line to the basket. He has even shown some propensity to pass to cutting teammates or 3-point shooters on those drives.

The biggest question marks for Markkanen come on the defensive end. For a 7-footer, he brings very little rim protection to the table and he can often look lost playing off the ball. He has shown some ability to move his feet along the perimeter, though. That may be enough for him to not be a total negative on that end. Still, if you’re drafting Markkanen, it’s almost exclusively for his unique offensive skill set.

Learn more about Lauri Markkanen at The Step Back.