2017 NBA Mock Draft, Week 11: Love and hate edition
By Chris Stone
Learn more about Lonzo Ball at The Step Back."
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Lonzo Ball
PG, UCLA
What to love: UCLA’s Lonzo Ball has the highest basketball IQ of any prospect in the 2017 draft class. The 19-year old has excelled as the Bruins’ lead guard despite having a relatively low usage rate (17.6 percent) largely because of his elite ability to run an offense. Whether it’s throwing outlet passes in transition or finding shooters in the halfcourt, nobody in this class has better court vision than Ball. When adjusted for pace of play, Ball leads all prospects in the DraftExpress top 100 with 8.4 assists per 40 minutes. Add in the fact that his shot selection is nearly devoid of mid-range jumpers — Ball has taken just nine 2s away from the rim this season — and it’s easy to see why Ball is so highly regarded as a smart player.
What to hate: The biggest question for Ball is how well his quickness will translate at the NBA level. At times, he has trouble turning the corner against defenders, which is important because he needs to get into the paint to force rotations and open up passing lanes. Ball has attempted 26.2 percent of his shots in the halfcourt at the rim, per Hoop-Math, but has been assisted on 55.6 percent of his makes. That suggests that he’s a bit better working as a cutter off the ball than he is attacking the rim on his own.