2018 NBA Mock Draft: Mohamed Bamba could be the Suns’ last building block

I’ll admit I’m biased here, sending Porter to the Celtics in nearly every edition of this mock draft.

But the beautiful match between player and system is too hard to ignore. Boston targets players like Porter all the time, and have found success with some of them, including Kelly Olynyk, Al Horford and now (they’re hoping) Greg Monroe.

Porter has more potential than the No. 27 pick, and he has been more productive than expected in his freshman season at Missouri. Boston is at the forefront of a league-wide trend toward versatility and athleticism in the frontcourt, and Porter is the perfect player to pick if your team is headed in that direction.

He has the speed to create problems for bigger opposing players and the strength to match their advantages. That’s true of practically no one else in the draft, and very few guys in the whole league.

It’s unfair to give someone with lottery potential to Boston at the end of the first round, but here we are.