2017 NBA Mock Draft: The best choice each team can make

Both Duke’s Luke Kennard and Louisville’s Donovan Mitchell would be perfectly acceptable selections for the Detroit Pistons at No. 12, but given the franchise’s offensive woes last season, Kennard may be the better option. The Pistons finished 24th in offensive rating, 27th in 3-point attempt rate and 27th in effective field goal percentage in 2016-17 and while Kennard may not help immediately, there’s little reason to think Detroit won’t need young prospects to help improve those rankings.

The Duke guard was one of the most efficient scorers in college basketball last season, averaging 22.0 points per 40 minutes on a 63.0 true shooting percentage. Much of Kennard’s game is shaped by his off the dribble shooting, a skill that can drastically alter the way the defenses guard players. The 6-foot-5 sophomore is capable of pulling up from behind the 3-point arc and in the mid-range already while much of his upside lies in his potential to develop into a secondary creator on offense.

Defensively, Kennard has a ways to go before he’ll develop into an average defender at the NBA level. He’s already behind because of his lack of physical tools, but he should be able to evolve into something serviceable if he chooses to play with the necessary effort and learn to attack the opposition with an eye on angles.

Learn more about Luke Kennard at The Step Back.