NBA Mock Draft 2017, Week 17: Portland uses three first round picks
By Chris Stone
New order, new destinations. This is our latest mock 2017 NBA Draft.
The NBA’s trade deadline has come and gone, and with it, several first round picks changed hands. Now, with teams gearing up to make playoff runs or planning to tank their way into a higher draft pick, we can start to get a better idea of what the shape of June’s draft may look like.
As usual, I’ve used FiveThirtyEight’s season predictions to determine the draft order with no adjustments to the lottery. Rather than make predictions about what players will or won’t stay in school, I’ve also factored in every player who could leave for the draft.
Here’s what the first round looks like.
Markelle Fultz
PG, Washington
Washington’s Markelle Fultz remains the top prospect in the 2017 draft class despite missing a few games with knee soreness. Fultz is a creative scorer and passer who is averaging 26.0 points and 6.6 assists per 40 minutes this season. He does a good job penetrating into the lane to break down defenses and has some of the better handles in the class. He’s explosive enough to finish above the rim, but also wiry enough to avoid rim protectors if needed.
Fultz is in a similar position to Ben Simmons last season as a great player on a bad team, but he doesn’t get as much national attention because he plays on the west coast and isn’t often on national TV. That shouldn’t take away from what he’s done on the court. He’s been the best prospect in college hoops and he’ll get a chance to show it next season in the NBA.