2017 NBA Mock Draft, Week 23: The NBA Playoffs are upon us

The San Antonio Spurs won 61 games this season, have a top flight MVP candidate on their roster and one of the best coaches in basketball history. What else could their roster need? Predicting where the Spurs will end up on draft night is a difficult task, but in two of the past four years, they’ve selected a player who they can draft and stash overseas. So, let’s have them travel a similar route this season with Gran Canaria’s Anzejs Pasecniks. The 21-year old is a 7-foot-2 center who is averaging 6.8 points and 3.1 rebounds in 15.5 minutes per game this season. Those numbers look more impressive when adjusted for minutes played. He’s averaging 15.9 points and 7.2 boards per 36 minutes.

He’s an interior scorer who derives most of his offense at the rim where his length gives him a massive advantage over the competition. Pasecniks has made 66.3 percent of his 2s this season as a result. He has the mobility and fluid athleticism to operate in pick-and-roll as well.

That fluidity is also relevant on the defensive end where Pasecniks can stay in front of smaller players for brief stretches. His rim protection, unfortunately, is not elite for a player who is 7-foot-2. He’s averaging just 1.6 blocks per 36 minutes this season.
Learn more about Anzejs Pasecniks at The Step Back.