2017 NBA Mock Draft, Week 12: The Lakers keep their pick

Yes, the Detroit Pistons already have center Andre Drummond, but finding a quality rotation piece who can help keep the offense moving when he’s on the bench is important. There are still plenty of minutes to go around.

Kentucky’s Bam Adebayo is a strong, high energy big man who is increasingly improving on the offensive end. Early on, the 19-year old primarily scored his points playing in the pick-and-roll with De’Aaron Fox and by grabbing offensive rebounds. However, lately, Adebayo has become more comfortable pushing the pace in transition to beat his defenders to spots on the block where he can catch entry passes and finish with ease. Adebayo is a physically imposing presence at the college level and has used his size to draw an impressive 7.2 fouls per 40 minutes. His individual free throw rate (87.9) ranks second nationally.

Defensively, there are some concerns with Adebayo. He hasn’t been a good rebounder this season despite being bigger than nearly every opponent he’s faced. At 6-foot-10 with a 7-foot-2 wingspan, that size differential will get erased at the next level making it even harder to project him as a strong rebounder. It also raises questions that Adebayo’s 2.5 blocks per 40 minutes will translate. In general, he is on the smaller side of NBA centers, so he’ll need to hope his athleticism is good enough to make an impact.

Learn more about Bam Adebayo at The Step Back.