2018 NBA Mock Draft: What’s in store for the second round?
. G. FC Barcelona. Rodions Kurucs. 38. player. 93
Kurucs was thought to be a late first or early second-round option last season before withdrawing from the draft late in the process. He now sits, ready to be taken by an NBA team, as able a floor-spacing wing as any overseas. The Sixers have recently had success developing players like Kurucs, so they stand out as the team who might be most attracted to him.
He plays a lot like many of the scoring wings who come from Europe, making smart decisions with the ball in his hands in space, splashing 3s on volume and generally resembling someone who could be part of a NBA rotation. Nothing special, nothing disappointing. Kurucs shot 33 percent from distance on nearly three attempts per game, and it’s clear watching him that 3-point shot needs to be effective for him to have any chance at being effective in the NBA. The Sixers clearly need it as well.
Philadelphia, as I’ve mentioned in each of their sections, has four second-round picks as well as two firsts. They will be active on draft night dealing these picks for veteran talent or future assets. For the purposes of mock draft fun, I’m assuming they take a player in each slot. That means that their first two picks will be spent on draft-and-stash guys overseas — Kurucs and Elie Okobo.
The value of a program that gets the most out of international players is awesome — it generally attracts more foreign stars and creates a culture that celebrates basketball ahead of most anything else. Philadelphia is building that, and this draft could cultivate it further.