Prospects the Philadelphia 76ers Should Watch for in the 2017 Draft Class

PG Malik Monk, Kentucky, FR

Continuing the trend of impressive athletes, Malik Monk in perhaps the most entertaining of them all. The Kentucky commit has already made a name for himself in this year’s class as an offensive juggernaut from the high school ranks with the physical features of someone who could excel at the next level. DraftExpress currently mocks him in the early 20s in next years draft, but I could see that number dropping well into the single digits over the course of this upcoming season.

Monk is an extremely quick and agile guard who speeds his way through the lane in awe-inspiring fashion at times. He’s a nifty creator who sees the floor fairly well for someone who is typically considered a comboguard at 6’4”, and has a diverse scoring arsenal that allows him to simply put up points in a hurry. He can get some tunnel vision at times and take some bad shots, but he handles the ball extremely well and often has no problem finding space to get a shot off, whether on the outside or around the hoop. In terms of his shooting, Monk has proven himself to be effective off the catch, making 12 of 26 from deep in the Global Nike Challenge, but he was somewhat hesitant to attempt extensive amounts of pull up shots when far away from the basket.

Transition is where Monk is pessimally dangerous. He’s difficult to contain when he’s pushing the pace in the open court and has all the tools necessary to overpower his defender and get to the rim with astounding effectiveness.

Defensively, Monk’s commitment is his greatest concern. He has the quickenss and physical tools to defend either guard spot, but can seem indifferent at times and doesn’t always put a great sense of urgency into how he plays on that side of the ball. Greater competition at Kentucky could help that a lot, but it’s one of his most pressing concerns entering the next level.

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