2017 NBA Mock Draft: The final predictions

Someone is bound to fall a bit further than we expect them to and that someone could be Kentucky’s Malik Monk if team’s don’t buy into his ball-handling ability and potential to create his own offense on the ball.

Monk is without a doubt an elite level scorer. He averaged 24.8 points per 40 minutes as a freshman, posted a 58.6 true shooting percentage and nailed 39.7 percent of his 3-point attempts. At Kentucky, though, nearly all of his damage was done away from the ball where he was terrific running off of screens into open space. He should continue to do that at the NBA level, but it’s tough to hit on players when that’s their only skill.

Thus, Monk is going to need to find a way to bring some additional value to the table. While some players like JJ Redick have developed into solid defensive options to add that value, Monk may be able to offer a bit more creation upside that he didn’t get to show with the Wildcats. The 6-foot-3 guard has a decent handle and solid court vision, in particular. However, it’s tough to get over the fact that he barely got to the rim in the halfcourt this season, attempting just 13.5 percent of his halfcourt field goal attempts there, per Synergy Sports.

Learn more about Malik Monk at The Step Back.