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

If the Utah Jazz do select Nancy’s Jonathan Jeanne on draft night, there will inevitably be plenty of comparisons to Rudy Gobert given the draft slot, size, nationality and the fact that the two players have the same agent. Those comparisons will be unfair to Jeanne and don’t necessarily accurately reflect the type of player that he could turn out to be in the NBA.

Jeanne is 7-foot-2 with a 7-foot-7 wingspan, but he needs to add significant strength in order to be ready to compete against NBA players. However, his length provides a baseline for him to be a potentially elite rim protector in the NBA as he posted a 6.0 percent block rate across all competitions this season. That rim protection could be valuable for the Jazz as they need someone who can come in and handle the defensive duties when Gobert hits the bench. Jeanne also has some intriguing offensive upside because of his mobility and shooting stroke.

Make no mistake, Jeanne is a major, major project and much of what he could ultimately be involves significant conjecture at this point. Those are often the players that draw attention late in the first round, though, so if you’re Utah, why not take a chance?

Learn more about Jonathan Jeanne at The Step Back.