2019 NBA Mock Draft: Getting familiar with the top of the 2019 class
. C. Oregon. Bol Bol. 9. player. 147
Whoa. It’s not often a player this athletically and physically gifted enters the college ranks. Bol, who is the son of former NBA player Manute, is in line with wildcards like Ben Simmons and Kevin Durant in terms of combining skill and size compared with others at their position. Simmons is the size of a center with point guard ball skills, Durant one of the greatest scorers ever yet even taller and longer than Simmons. Bol, on the other hand is 7-foot-3 with an infinite wingspan and shooting touch.
Bol is perhaps closer yet still to Kristaps Porzingis, the Latvian unicorn who did many of the same things as Bol overseas. Bol’s resume is more impressive because of his consistency against better competition: 26 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 4 blocks against Syracue; then 23 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks against Houston. Bol is one of the only dominant talents in the Pac-12 and it will be fascinating to see how he fares from now until March.
Brooklyn already has Jarrett Allen at center but is still in the asset-acquisition phase of its long, long rebuild. They can afford to draft another gifted big man and wait for the rotation to figure itself out. Any of the Nets’ young players could become a trade chip. Drafting Bol would not preclude them from any other move, and so his talent is all that matters. And talent he has.