2018 NBA Mock Draft: Who’s moving at the top?
![PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 17: Donte DiVincenzo #10 of the Villanova Wildcats celebrates with his teammate Jalen Brunson #1 against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the second half in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 17, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 17: Donte DiVincenzo #10 of the Villanova Wildcats celebrates with his teammate Jalen Brunson #1 against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the second half in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 17, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/a77c8b688d96eb1951e1067dc0e99353073294fd0e5039cec28c104504e97cc5.jpg)
. G. Alabama. Collin Sexton. 12. player. 77
Sexton is back to getting top-ten buzz, something that hasn’t consistently happened since he went four-on-five leading up to conference play. He looks like a two-way player, but he plays a position that is deep both in this draft and in the league at large. That said, the Clippers could use a solid young playmaker to ignite their rebuild.
I don’t think Sexton should be taken higher than this, but he is good value at this spot for a team like Los Angeles that needs to add young talent to its veteran backcourt rotation. While they have Milos Teodosic and Patrick Beverley under contract for next season, it’s impossible to bet on them going forward. Ditto for Austin Rivers, who isn’t really a lead ball-handler anyway.
Instead, the Clippers should reset the position and look to move off of Beverley this summer. Slot Sexton into the backup position behind Teodosic, allow him to bulldoze reserve units, and build a roster that suits him moving forward. Point guard being a deep position doesn’t mean that having a young one isn’t valuable.
Sexton shot .447/.336/.778 this season on an undermanned Alabama roster, handled 33 percent of the Crimson Tide’s possessions, and got to the line constantly. He can finish through contact like no other guard in this draft, and that physicality should help him on defense as well.
Los Angeles would do well to add Sexton in the first summer of their reset.