2017 NBA Mock Draft, Week 12: The Lakers keep their pick
By Chris Stone
New order, new destinations. This is our latest mock 2017 NBA Draft.
Each week there are new events that help shape the order of the lottery and what players might be taken in it. This week, the biggest movement in terms of shaking up the lottery has been the Los Angeles Lakers’ arrival in the top three. That’s huge news for both Lakers fans and those who cheer for the Philadelphia 76ers because the former franchise owes the latter franchise their first round pick if it falls outside of the top three. For now, our assumption will be that it will stay in Los Angeles.
The other game changer in this week’s mock draft is the knee injury suffered by Indiana’s OG Anunoby. The projected lottery pick will miss the remainder of the season after having surgery to repair an undisclosed injury. For now, I am trusting that Anunoby will make a full recovery and enter the draft, but as always, that could change.
The draft order this week was determined using 538’s projected order of finish based on an average simulated season. Let’s see where things line up.
Boston is in the fortuitous position of owning a pick swap with Brooklyn in a draft that features a potential superstar talent at the top. If the lottery falls as it is most likely to, the Celtics will reap the rewards.
Learn more about Markelle Fultz at The Step Back.
" >Markelle Fultz
PG, Washington
The freshman is an extremely well-rounded scorer on a team that requires him to be the focal point of its offense. Despite having a 31.0 percent usage rate, Fultz is scoring efficiently from all three levels this season, making 62.6 percent of his shots at the rim, 45.3 percent of his other 2s and 41.7 percent of his 3-pointers, per Hoop-Math. He has a great feel for the game on offense and the creative vision necessary to create for himself and his teammates.
Fultz does have some defensive question marks that mostly relate to his effort off the ball and fighting through screens, but he has still been an impactful player on that end of the floor. The Maryland native is one of five freshman guards (min. 500 minutes) with a steal rate above two percent and a block rate above three percent, both skills that should translate to the NBA.
Boston is in the fortuitous position of owning a pick swap with Brooklyn in a draft that features a potential superstar talent at the top. If the lottery falls as it is most likely to, the Celtics will reap the rewards.