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

The Dallas Mavericks have a need at the point guard position and with Markelle Fultz, Lonzo Ball and Dennis Smith Jr. all off of the board at this pick, Dallas would have a choice between Strasbourg’s Frank Ntilikina and Kentucky’s De’Aaron Fox. Ntilikina is the pick here for a couple of reasons.

The NBA prizes shooting and Ntilikina is proving himself to be pretty competent from behind the 3-point arc. At the FIBA European u18 tournament, he connected on 17-of-29 attempts and he has converted 20 of his 48 3-pointers for Strasbourg this season. Although many previously questioned the competency of his outside shooting, Ntilikina seems to be answering those questions this season.

The 18-year old is also much bigger than Fox, meaning he has more defensive versatility despite how valued the Kentucky product is on that end of the floor for his competitiveness. Ntilikina is 6-foot-5 with a near 7-foot wingspan, meaning he will have no problems defending multiple positions in the NBA once he adds some weight to his frame. This is certainly not to say that Ntilikina is a better defender than Fox — he’s not — but he does provide a team with more options because of his size.

With a bigger frame and an outside shot, Ntilikina is a versatile guard prospect who projects as a point guard, but could play off the ball some as needed. That’s enough for him to sneak above Fox for me here.
Learn more about Frank Ntilikina at The Step Back.