2018 NBA Mock Draft: Enter the madness
28. player. 147. . G. Creighton. Khryi Thomas
Thomas falls a little in this mock draft not for anything he’s failed to do but because of how he looks compared to his draft classmates. However, the Nets are low on defense-first guards, or really any young backcourt players who project to contribute defensively.
Thomas and the Blue Jays will play Kansas State on Friday, a tough test coming as a result of Creighton’s struggles in the Big East this year. Playing in a conference with two No. 1 seeds as well as surprisingly competitive lower-tier squads like Marquette, Butler and St. John’s, Creighton fell to a No. 8 seed in this year’s tournament.
The rode is paved, then, for a big-time player like Thomas to step up. For example, we saw in Rhode Island’s victory over Oklahoma Thursday the value of an aggressive 3-and-D guy in March. Fats Russell pressured Trae Young up and down the court and hit some big 3s to reclaim the lead in the second half.
Brooklyn is still in asset-acquisition mode, and at this point in the draft, Thomas makes some sense as a higher-floor pick.