2017 NBA Draft Prospect Big Board Version 2, Who the Barstool City Teams Should Draft

It’s that time of the year where basketball is in the limelight most nights. NBA guys are starting to figure out if they want their teams to tank (please do so, Knicks) and pay attention to some of the big names in college basketball. So, why not look ahead as everyone likes to do. We’ll look at the 2017 NBA Draft and start putting together a big board. The Draft continues to look like one of the best ones in recent memories thanks to the talented freshmen across the country. Obviously, this list changes quite a bit so I plan on updating this each month based on what I’m hearing and seeing.

This doesn’t take into account where teams will end up in the Draft as that tends to play a role in who gets drafted when, but rather if a person is looking at best player available. While it looked like everyone agreed on the top-3 just a month ago, that’s changed. Now, it seems like there’s a top-2 and just completely wide open after that based on need and preference. This also doesn’t include any international players, so just college basketball’s best NBA prospects.

1. Markelle Fultz (Freshman, Guard, Washington) – It doesn’t matter who he played for this year, Fultz should go No. 1 regardless. He’s putting up a stat line of 22/6/6 and can play in any sort of system. He does need to improve defensively, but that will come when he’s not playing for someone named Lorenzo Romar.
2. Josh Jackson (Freshman, Wing, Kansas) – There are rumblings that Jackson could be used as a Ben Simmons type player where he could see some time at point. It’s not the worst idea in the world thanks to his insane passing ability. He has a weird looking jumper, but at 6’8” with athleticism and the ability to defend it’s almost impossible to not take him No. 2 right now.
3. De’Aaron Fox (Freshman, Guard, Kentucky) – Here comes the string of point guards in this draft – which is by far the best position on the board. I have Fox as the first of the next three because his biggest flaw can be fixed. He’s struggle shooting from outside this year, but it’s not nearly as bad as it looks. He shot in the mid-30s from 3 coming out of high school and is midrange game has improved as of late. He has great size for a point guard and is an elite defender.
4. Lonzo Ball (Freshman, Guard, UCLA) – Ball is the best passer in the draft as he’s averaging 9.1 assists/40 and has a 32% assist rate. There’s no question Ball can shoot the ball (though it looks like Kevin Martin shooting it) as he has great range. My fear is his ability to shoot off the dribble at the next level. As Sam Vecenie points out, defenders are likely to shade him, even on pick-and-rolls to force him to shoot a midrange jumper off the bounce. He’s also a liability defensively right now, but with his passing, size and shooting off the catch, you can play him in a two-point guard system on the floor.
5. Dennis Smith Jr. (Freshman, Guard, NC State) – One of the two people in the Draft (Harry Giles the other) with the most boom or bust potential. This is because we still don’t know truly what Smith is yet. He’s a year removed from an ACL injury and has shown flashes to be a smaller Russell Westbrook (dropped a triple-double recently). But, he’s also shown potential to be a complete bust with his lack of trying. He’s still grading as ‘poor’ in Iso sets, but his jumper is coming around.
6. Jayson Tatum (Freshman, Wing, Duke) – He’s the prototypical player you want to play that stretch four position we’re seeing more of in the NBA. He’s a legit 6’8” and can score from the perimeter. He does lack explosiveness at the rim, but is crafty with his shot selection there. He thrives in Iso sets, which teams can take advantage if they have him on a slower four in the NBA.
7. Lauri Markkanen (Freshman, Stretch Big, Arizona) – He’s going to be a unique player in the NBA because of his size (7’0”) but he’s nowhere near labeled a post player. He’ll draw some comparisons to Kristaps, but Porzingis is more of that post presence. Markkanen can score from anywhere on the floor and should come into the NBA with the ability to provide that scoring threat off the bench. If you have a solid big, you should look here for him to play alongside of them at the four spot.
8. Jonathan Isaac (Freshman, Wing, Florida State) – Kevin Durant has inspired a generation of tall, lanky dudes that can play on the wing while providing size and a mismatch. Isaac can play the 3 or 4 despite being 6’11”. He has a nice touch from the outside and provides decent rim protection and is a strong rebounder so far in his career at Florida State. Taking a guy like Isaac lets you get versatile in your lineups as you can slot him in a couple different spots.
9. Malik Monk (Freshman, Guard, Kentucky) – Monk is someone who can go a lot higher based on team need as he’s making his case for the best shooter in this top-10. The knock coming out of high school/AAU was his shot selection, but he played on a subpar team, which made him take those shots. You can see this year playing alongside De’Aaron Fox he’s more efficient and not pushing as much. He has insane athleticism, which shows he can improve defensively and allows you to play him at the two spot, despite being a little undersized.
10. Harry Giles (Freshman, Post, Duke) – I have no fucking clue what to make out of Harry Giles and personally I don’t think anyone does. He’s obviously coming off a ton of injuries and has looked either uncomfortable or not healthy during his time on the court so far this year. That’s part of the reason why I said it made sense for him not to play at all this year from strictly a selfish draft pick selection. However, we’ve seen what he’s capable of in the past and if he can figure shit out, he’s back to being a top-3 pick.
11. OG Anunoby (Sophomore, Wing, Indiana) – I know he hasn’t taken the jump many people thought he would this year at Indiana – but he’s still a top prospect. Some of that can be due to injuries, as he just looks slower, especially in the recent game against Maryland. He’s still a freak athletically and can be a menace defensively. He has a 7’6” wingspan, which means you can put him at 4 different spots on the floor defensively, possibly even five if you want to go real small.
12. TJ Leaf (Freshman, Stretch, UCLA) – I absolutely love TJ Leaf’s game as one may say he’s comparable to Kevin Love (looking at you Dave Pasch and Bill Walton). He has the ability to score both inside and out as he’s shooting 49% from three. He’s a strong rebounder, averaging over 9 a game and a 22/11/4 stat line per 40. At 6’11” he provides good size for that stretch four position, which I think is the second most valuable behind a strong point guard.
13. Robert Williams (Freshman, Post, Texas A&M) – I’ll be honest I thought Tyler Davis was going to be the best prospect in the frontcourt for Texas A&M, but Robert Williams has been one of the fastest risers on the board. His per-40 numbers are 20/11/5 blocks. He’s a little undersized at 6’9”, but he can play in the post with his body type. He’s a strong shot blocker obviously and is athletic – which is a running theme in this draft.
14. Ivan Rabb (Sophomore, Post, Cal) – Rabb probably would have been drafted right around here last year if he decided to come out, so the decision to come back hasn’t hurt him yet. His stats are pretty similar to a year ago as he’s putting up 19 points and 14 rebounds per-40 and has shown a little bit more range. He still can’t step back to the 3-point line, something that I think will make him that much better of a player, but he’s strong defensively. He can step into a rotation right now.
15. Miles Bridges (Freshman, Wing, Michigan State) – When you’re talking athleticism, there might not be a better one in the draft than Bridges. We’ve seen his insane dunking both in games and in practices and with him not having to be the go-to guy he can murder people on the glass. He’s not great at creating his own shot, but does create opportunity simply by being able to jump out of the gym.
16. Bam Adebayo (Freshman, Post, Kentucky) – He’s not Dwight Howard and that’s okay. You’re allowed to be more Kenneth Faried and not be a ‘bust.’ He’s starting to show his strengths over the last couple of games for Kentucky as he’s guarded multiple positions on switches and has done a good job of sticking with guards. Offensively he’s still a little raw, but has shown the ability to have a quick spin right into a dunk in the post. His free throw touch is improving, but he’s still an undersized big.
17. Josh Hart (Senior, Wing, Villanova) – Can I interest you in a wing that’s a strong shooter, improved in the pick-and-roll, can finish in the paint and is a good defender? That’s Josh Hart. My biggest knock on him coming into the year was his ability to attack in the screen and roll and know when to pass out of it. He’s excelling there this year. Seriously, this guy is unbelievable and if he was a year or two younger, he’d be a lottery pick.
18. Justin Patton (Freshman, Post, Creighton) – With the advice of Vecenie, I’m getting ahead of the curve here and putting Patton in the top-20. He’s 7’0”, wildly athletic and knows how to run the floor. He’s not a real shot blocker, despite having the body to do so, but does thrive in the pick-and-roll offensively. I have zero doubt this is the guy scouts fall in love with during the combine.
19. Edmond Sumner (Sophomore, Guard, Xavier) – He’s going to be the one guy that everyone can’t believe wasn’t better in college. His game is made for the NBA with the way he attacks the rim and his size. He does need to improve shooting and decision making, as he can get turnover-prone, but can finish at the rim.
20. Luke Kennard (Sophomore, Wing, Duke) – The most impressive part of Kennard’s game no one seems to talk about is his ability to see the floor. He’s an excellent passer from the wing and puts guys in positions to score with his passes. He’s obviously a knock down shooter but does need work defensively.
21. Alec Peters (Senior, Stretch, Valpo) – Everyone wants to find the next Draymond Green. A guy with okay size that can guard multiple positions, shoot the ball and is a good passer. Well, Peters can do that and is 6’8”. He’s nowhere near the defender of Green or even a decent defender, but offensively he’s a complete mismatch.
22. Dwayne Bacon (Sophomore, Wing, Florida State) – He’s improved dramatically in shooting the ball from 3, up nearly 10% from a year before despite taking one more 3/game this year. He has good size at 6’7” to play the wing and is a decent defender. But, Bacon is a scorer and can provide that off the bench. He’s averaged 22 points/40 each of his two years at Florida State.
23. Jawun Evans (Sophomore, Guard, Oklahoma State) – Yes, he’s undersized but what he can do in the pick-and-roll is unbelievable. He’s become more consistent with his shooting this year, but he’s the type of guy you want to be your backup point guard. He reads defenses in the pick-and-roll better than anyone in this draft and is explosive enough in the paint to make up for being undersized.
24. Grayson Allen (Junior, Wing, Duke) – You’re telling me a team like the Spurs or Cavs will pass on taking Grayson, who talent wise should be top-18 or so? Take away the tripping and everyone wanting to see him executed on the court to make up for it, you have a guy who is somewhere between a good and elite shooter, athletic and has now developed into a quality passer. With no point guard on the roster, Allen has taken that role and does a good job of getting into the lane and kicking it out.
25. Omer Yurtseven (Freshman, Post, NC State) – Yurtseven missed the first nine games this year for eligibility reasons but is your prototypical 7’0” European big. The Turkish big man can play in the pick-and-roll game, but doesn’t force nearly enough fouls. Again, NC State players might be the hardest to judge with everything that’s going on in that program behind the scenes but someone will roll the dice with him.
26. Svi Mykhailiuk (Junior, Wing, Kansas) – The most impressive thing about Svi is the fact he’s a 19-year old junior, who is younger than his teammate Josh Jackson, who is a freshman. He’s a 6’8” shooter, who is finally getting to see the floor at Kansas. He’s shooting 44% from three and is made for being just that in the NBA. Plus, again, he’s just 19 and has played for Ukraine and Kansas, not too shabby.
27. Mikal Bridges (Sophomore, Wing, Villanova) – Bridges gives a contender what they typically are looking for. The prototypical role player. At 6’7” with a 7’1” wingspan, Bridges is a strong defender averaging 1.6 steals per game. What he’s done though is also improve his outside shot, up from 29% to 40% this year from three.
28. Monte Morris (Senior, Guard, Iowa State) – NBA guys love players that excel in the pick-and-roll. Morris does just that. He entered his career at Iowa State as a guy who was an elite passer and didn’t turn the ball over. He’s still that, but now is a scorer as well.
29. Johnathan Motley (Junior, Post, Baylor) – Motley has become vastly improved this season and a large part of that has to do with him just looking engaged in the game. He has a larger role with Baylor this year and has shown his ability to be a rim protector while also helping on guards with that 1-1-3 Baylor runs.
30. Jaron Blossomgame (Senior, Post, Clemson) – Blossomgame was supposed to improve his outside shot this year and instead he dropped from a 44% shooter from 3 to 16%. He’s still putting up 21/7 in his per-40 numbers, but he hasn’t looked improved, which was the plan of him coming back.

Barstool Cities Targets

For the main teams that Barstool has fans of (Celtics, Knicks, Wizards, Bulls, Sixers) here are a couple names to target.

Celtics: They are likely going to have the No. 1 pick – if so, you take Markelle Fultz. If they don’t win the lottery then you should look at a Jonathan Isaac or Josh Jackson

Knicks: It has to be a point guard. You need to get one of those 3 PGs after Fultz, or France’s Frank Ntilikina. If you’re around pick 12 and can’t get one of them take Terrence Ferguson or pair Miles Bridges/OG Anunoby with Kristaps.

Bulls: They are one of the weirdest teams to watch, because they need to build around Jimmy Butler, but they haven’t done so yet. You figure another year with Wade and no Rondo next year so if they get Sacramento’s pick (outside of top-10 goes to them) they should look at a Robert Williams, TJ Leaf, Ivan Rabb type player.

Sixers: The answer has to be guard scoring. If they want to play Ben Simmons at point guard you need shooters. They’ll likely have two top-10 picks so you want to get Malik Monk and one of the 4 point guards. If you trade Noel and/or Okafor, maybe take Jayson Tatum.

Wizards: They are expected to be around pick 17-20 and luckily this is a deep draft. You want to get some more scoring help on the wing, so Josh Hart might be dream scenario. If not him, look at Luke Kennard or Grayson Allen even.

Podcast: I sat down with Sam Vecenie who has been with CBS Sports, Sporting News, Vice and more. We talked about the 2017 NBA Draft, why the B1G isn’t living up to the hype and read some of our favorite Grayson Allen/Duke takes. Check it out: