The 2017 NBA Draft prospects who will defeat the Golden State Warriors
The confetti from the Warriors’ championship parade likely has not been swept off the streets of Oakland quite yet. The party in Northern California is going to continue for some time. And, if the panic around the league is to be believed, the party may occur for several years. Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are not going anywhere anytime soon. The league seems to sense there is a dynasty forming, one not even LeBron James can stop.
That will make some of the decisions made at the 2017 NBA Draft all the more difficult. The typically active period for trades and maneuvering to get that last piece for a title run could go quietly as teams bide their time for the Warriors’ era to pass. A team like the Celtics is in a perfect position to make a big splash with the No. 1 overall pick and cap room to spend on acquiring a disgruntled star like Paul George or Jimmy Butler. But it appears the Eastern Conference finalist might also be willing to sit things out and let their young players contend, content with their cap space, truckload of draft picks and young talent to wait this era out.
The NBA is basically in a holding pattern.
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This all in the backdrop of one of the most talented and deepest drafts the NBA has seen in some time. The player who one day ends the Warriors might very well be someone taken in this draft. There are plenty of people who believe it can be that good. So what kind of player is the one to take down the Warriors? He has to have a little bit of the Warriors in him — able to hit 3-pointers with a ton of versatility. He has to be able to match the Warriors’ physicality and speed. It is not easy to find in one player.
There may not be that truly transcendent talent in this NBA Draft. There is no LeBron or Durant that is a cannot-miss, must-draft prospect. But Curry was not that player when he was drafted. The right star — and there seems to be plenty of those in this draft — could be the one to dethrone the Warriors sometime in the near future.
Who will it be? Only the future will tell. But we can certainly guess who might make the cut.
Markelle Fultz, Washington
The presumed top overall pick is the easy choice. He is the surest bet to become a star in this draft and a strong scorer in his own right. Fultz is not quite Curry with his point guard abilities, but he is just solid all around. He can create his own shot off the dribble and create for others.
The Celtics are likely to take Fultz even though they have Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley at guard. It is possible they could look to make Fultz an undersized shooting guard in some lineups. That would create a double-headed devastating pick-and-roll attack with Fultz and Thomas able to get downhill and to the basket to score.
Lonzo Ball, UCLA
If there is one player who might have Curry-type range, it is Lonzo Ball. He is something like a Curry-lite. He has a great rhythm to his game that enables him to get into the lane and control the pace of the game. He might be the best pure point guard in this draft with his ability to create shots for himself and others.
Ball sounds a lot like Curry with his ability to keep the dribble alive and always threaten opponents with his shot. Ball shot 41.7 percent from beyond the arc last year at UCLA as a freshman. Curry shot 41.1 percent from beyond the arc in his three-year career at Davidson. There is something similar there if Ball can break the mold and get his shot off at the NBA level.
Josh Jackson, Kansas
The Warriors thrive on using two-way players to suffocate teams defensively and then increase the pressure offensively. The Warriors were a devastating offensive team before Mark Jackson took over as coach. What transformed them into a true playoff contender was Jackson instilling defense into the team’s core. Then Steve Kerr unleashed a devastating offensive system on the league.
Finding two-way players is critical to a team’s success. Josh Jackson might be one of the better two-way players available. He is a strong defender with great length and athleticism. And, like many of the players on the Warriors, he is a smart basketball player. He has a high basketball IQ, able to work off the ball as effectively as on the ball.
Jackson does not need a lot of improvement to make an impact one-on-one in the league fairly quickly. But the issue with Jackson is his poor 3-point shooting. He got better as the year went on, but as a 56.6 percent free throw shooter, there are concerns whether he could stretch his shooting to the NBA 3-point line.
Jonathan Isaac, Florida State
The player who has the potential to be the most unique player in this NBA Draft — someone who could rise to the athletic freak that Kevin Durant is — might be Florida State forward Jonathan Isaac. Yes, some of the more adventurous draft comparisons will attach Durant’s name to Isaac. That is probably going a bit too far — and by a bit too far, that is way too far.
Isaac has a strong season for the Seminoles, averaging 12.0 points and 7.8 rebounds per game with a 20.3 percent usage rate. With veteran scorers around him, Isaac was a background player for the most part. But the 6-foot-10 forward showed plenty of guard-like skills. He hit on 34.8 percent of his 3-pointers and showed potential he can improve there. He should have the length to be a strong defender.
Isaac is not Durant. He does not have that kind of offensive skill or assertiveness quite yet. But he is the one player who is a freak athletically on the perimeter. He may end up more like a younger Rashard Lewis, but that is still an important player to have to take down the Warriors.
Malik Monk, Kentucky
Malik Monk might very well be the best shooter in this draft and the kind of player who could do a lot of the things Klay Thompson does, at least beyond the 3-point arc. Monk shot 39.7 percent from beyond the arc in Kentucky. He famously dropped 47 points on 8-for-12 shooting from beyond the arc against the eventual national champion North Carolina.
That was not the game that impressed most. He went on a scoring binge, but it was hardly isolated. Take his game against Florida in late February. Monk scored 33 points in that game, most of it in the second half as the Wildcats came from behind to defeat the Gators. Like Thompson, Monk gets hot in a hurry. That always keeps a team in the game.
Semi Ojeleye, SMU
Every team has been looking for its Draymond Green, the super athletic, versatile forward that does a little bit of everything with a little bit of an edge. It is almost as if the league is overcorrecting to find this player. Teams are willing to take a risk on a player banking on his versatility.
Semi Ojeleye might be the exception. Or, at least, he is this year’s annual next Draymond Green winner. Ojeleye averaged 18.9 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game while shooting 42.4 percent from beyond the arc. He has all the physical tools and athleticism to become a strong defender, although he was confined to the zone defense SMU typically employs.
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Ojeleye, at 6-foot-8, 230 pounds, seems to have the physical makeup and the athleticism and offensive skill to fill that versatile power forward role. He just has to prove he can do it at a high level after transferring from Duke to go to SMU last year. Then again, everyone doubted Green.