NBA Mock Draft 2017, Week 17: Portland uses three first round picks

The Chicago Bulls were active at the trade deadline, shipping off Doug McDermott and Taj Gibson to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a collection of assets highlighted by Cameron Payne, a player that the team may believe will be its point guard of the future. Most importantly, though, the Bulls stood pat on Jimmy Butler and can still build around him for the future.

California’s Ivan Rabb gives Chicago a big man to replace Gibson. Rabb is not as physical as Gibson, but brings some of the same rebounding attributes with a more refined offensive game. This season, he is averaging 17.9 points and 13.1 rebounds per 40 minutes as a sophomore. Rabb has a really nice post game on offense and is excellent at getting to the foul line against college defenders. He has a developing mid-range game, too, that should be able to help spread the floor a bit on offense.

On defense, Rabb’s best skill is his rebounding. His 25.5 percent defensive rebounding rate ranks in the top 50 in Division I. The biggest question is how well that will translate at the next level, though, because Rabb isn’t the biggest prospect and doesn’t have good length. It breeds important questions about what position Rabb will play at the next level, but it’s feasible to see him playing at center in smaller lineups or power forward in bigger ones.

Learn more about Ivan Rabb at The Step Back.