2018 NBA Mock Draft: March is finally here
15. player. 100. . C. Chalmette High School. Mitchell Robinson
Imagine the defensive potential of Robinson playing next to Pacers star big man Myles Turner, another smooth defensive prospect who got little attention in the season leading up to his draft.
Both players are massive human beings. Robinson is potentially the longest player outside the lottery, alongside Gafford. He is a springy leaper, someone who can contest shots in rapid-fire succession within a single possession. It’s easy to imagine him becoming a weak-side shot-blocker at the next level, early in his career. Robinson is going to look hugely improved when we next see him at the combine or in Summer League, and we should be prepared to see a more chiseled and strong version of the long-limbed teenager.
Robinson should be a freshman, but forewent college this year amid the NCAA fraud controversy. He has had an entire year to train and focus on basketball, but that also means a valuable lost year playing against high-level competition. Robinson needs to start paying basketball again.
Indiana should be thrilled to land a sought-after player this late in the draft, and Robinson could end up being the best big man defender in the league if all breaks right. That’s a risk worth taking.