2017 NBA Mock Draft 3.0: Pre-Draft
By Owen Nelson
player. 27. . PG/SG. SIG Strasbourg. Frank Ntilikina. 8
This seems like the obvious pick. Even with Dennis Smith Jr. still on the board, I think Phil Jackson will take his chances with the mysterious, overseas prospect. It worked out when they selected Kristaps Porzingis in 2015, why not try it again?
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Frank Ntilikina possesses an absurd wingspan of seven foot. The Frechman is an incredible defender, possibly the best perimeter defender in this draft. He can also shoot very well from behind the arc, he shot 39.7 percent for SIG Strasbourg this season. In short, Ntilikina can pretty much do it all.
In addition, Ntilikina is a great distributor of the ball, he would be a perfect fit in the questionable triangle offence, that Phil Jackson refuses to move on from. If he was an American, college prospect, I believe Ntilikina would be a consensus top three pick, he is so talented but being foreign you automatically have a negative stigma attached due to previous busts that came from abroad.
With Derrick Rose’s inevitable departure from New York this summer, Ntilikina will walk straight into the starting point guard role. He will form a formidable duo with Porzingis for years to come. Hopefully the New York media won’t be too much for him to handle.