2017 NBA Mock Draft, Week 24: Time to randomize the lottery!
By Chris Stone
John Collins
PF, Wake Forest
The Indiana Pacers are in a difficult position. They barely made the playoffs this year and have an unknown future surrounding their superstar forward Paul George. If Indiana doesn’t trade George and he leaves, the franchise will be in for a massive rebuilding project. Even if they do trade him for some collection of assets, they’ll likely still have plenty of work left to do. Grabbing the best player available makes the most sense for the Pacers and that looks like Wake Forest big man John Collins.
The 6-foot-10 power forward delivered 28.8 points and 14.8 rebounds per 40 minutes as a sophomore while posting a 67.2 percent true shooting percentage. Much of his offense came in the post, but Collins shows promise as a roll man and is already an excellent offensive rebounder. Without a jump shot or much playmaking ability, he’s a bit more of an old school four, but there is potential for him to round out his offensive game over time.
Defensively, Collins needs to sort out his awareness and work on being a more versatile option because he lacks the length to be a rim protector at the NBA level.