2017 NBA Mock Draft 2.0
With college and NBA basketball now past the halfway points in their respective seasons, it’s time to once again look into projected NBA draft order and where certain talents could fall.
With such a deeply talented NBA Draft class this season, there’s no shortage of talent to analyze or productivity to project. This is a draft that goes a legitimate 9 or 10 deep in terms of star potential, with a number of other strong assets scattered throughout the later stages of the first round.
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are (as of Feb. 13th) chugging along at 13th in the Eastern Conference, which slots them 5th in this projected lottery. The Los Angeles Lakers — whose pick goes to Philadelphia should it fall outside the top 3 — fall just narrowly short at 3rd.
While Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball have been the bona fide focal points on most draft boards — and, for the most part, rightfully so — this draft has a lot of intriguing talent all the way down the ladder. The Sixers are hot in the trade market, meaning a trade could bring another pick their way, while a number of other teams seem primed for movement as well.
It’s been a while — heck, 13 or so years — since we’ve seen a draft with this much upside looming in the upper echelon of the lottery conversation. Any and all hype is justified in some form or fashion.
How the mock works:
As always, this is a projection, not a personal draft board. This isn’t necessarily a breakdown of what I would do as general manager, but the direction that — based on research, team direction, and fit — I think the teams would take should the draft transpire today.
That means someone who ranks 10th on my big board could, in theory, go much higher — or much lower — than that in this mock. There’s no guarantee based on personal skill evaluation, and a potentially questionable fit isn’t solely the manifestation of my personal interpretation of each player’s talents.
There are numerous different factors playing into this, and all of them must be considered. So, with that said, here’s my second mock draft: