4/26/2017 basketball Edit

Jacob Lane's 2017 NBA Mock Draft

Jacob Lane • CardinalSports

Staff Writer

The NBA Draft is still a few months away, but workouts will begin within the next few weeks, with more than 40 collegiate underclassmen already in the draft for good. Where is Louisville's Donovan Mitchell in this week's Mock Draft?

Table Name

Team	Player	Position	School	Year
1. Boston Celtics	Markelle Fultz	PG/SG	Washington	Freshman
2. Phoenix Suns	Josh Jackson	SF	Kansas	Freshman
3. LA Lakers	Lonzo Ball	PG	UCLA	Freshman
4. Philadelphia 76ers	Jayson Tatum	SF	Duke	Freshman
5. Orlando Magic	De'Aaron Fox	PG	Kentucky	Freshman

The first five picks are likely going to be guard heavy and full of potential perennial all stars.

Table Name

Team	Player	Position	School	Column 5
6. Minnesota T'Wolves	Jonathan Isaac	SF/PF	Florida St.	Freshman
7. NY Knicks	Frank Ntilikina	PG	France	International
8. Sacramento Kings	Dennis Smith Jr.	PG	NC State	Freshman
9. Dallas Mavericks	Malik Monk	SG	Kentucky	Freshman
10. Sacramento Kings	Lauri Markkanen	PF	Arizona	Freshman

Two guys stand out in this group of 5; Malik Monk & Jonathan Isaac. Both have the potential to be future all stars for their respective teams. Expect ALOT of boos from Knicks fan as Phil Jackson takes another unknown foreign player.

Table Name

Team	Player	Position	School	Column 5
11. Charlotte Hornets	Zach Collins	PF/C	Gonzaga	Freshman
12. Detroit Pistons	Donovan Mitchell	SG	Louisville	Sophomore
13. Denver Nuggets	Justin Jackson	SF	North Carolina	Junior
14. Miami Heat	T.J. Leaf	PF	UCLA	Freshman
15. Portland Trail Blazers	Justin Patton	C	Creighton	Freshman

While #12 to Detroit may seem a bit too high for Mitchell, I think it makes the most sense out of all the teams picking in the lottery. Detroit could potentially lose Kentavious Caldwell-Pope who is a restricted free agent . Mitchell would be a great fit to Stan Van Gundy's system because of his ability to defend at an extremely high level , create for himself as well as playing both guard positions.

Table Name

Team	Player	Position	School	Column 5
16. Chicago Bulls	Luke Kennard	SG	Duke	Sophomore
17. Milwaukee Bucks	OG Anunoby	SF/PF	Indiana	Sophomore
18. Indiana Pacers	Terrance Ferguson	SG	USA (Adelaide 36ers- AUS)	International
19. Atlanta Hawks	Jarrett Allen	C	Texas	Freshman
20. Portland Trail Blazers	Harry Giles	PF	Duke	Freshman

This is where the draft starts to slow down in terms of star power. Good solid role players at 16-20.

Table Name

Team	Player	Position	School	Year
21. Oklahoma City Thunder	Josh Hart	SG	Villanova	Senior
22. Brooklyn Nets	PJ Dozier	PG/SG	South Carolina	Sophomore
23. Toronto Raptors	John Collins	PF/C	Wake Forest	Sophomore
24. Utah Jazz	Sindarius Thornwell	SG	South Carolina	Senior
25. Orlando Magic	Ivan Rabb	PF	California	Sophomore

PJ Dozier is going to be a very good NBA player and is a steal at 22 for Brooklyn while Josh Hart will be an under the radar impact player who could potentially start from day one.

Table Name

Team	Player	Position	School	Year
26. Portland Trail Blazers	Rodoins Kurucs	SF	Latvia	International
27. Brooklyn Nets	Ike Anigbogu	C	UCLA	Freshman
28. Los Angeles Lakers	Bam Adebayo	C	Kentucky	Freshman
29. San Antonio Spurs	Hamidou Diallo	SG	Kentucky	Freshman
30. Utah Jazz	Nigel Williams-Goss	PG	Gonzaga	Junior

Bam Adebayo could very well fall on draft day as teams see him as a more traditional center who is really one dimensional. Los Angeles would be a great spot for him to develop.. Diallo would be a shocking pick (granted if he stays in the draft) for San Antonio because no one knows what he can do on a high level. He could spend a year or two in the D-League and develop into a nice player for the future.