2017 NBA Mock Draft: First Edition

Here is the first edition of my 2017 NBA Mock Draft.

1. Boston Celtics (via Brooklyn Nets)- Markelle Fultz, Point Guard, Washington: Plain and simple, Fultz is the best player available. He could be the one to help Boston get closer to dethroning LeBron and the Cavs. He has great length, range and crazy athleticism to play either guard spot, Fultz would fit next to Isaiah Thomas just fine in the backcourt.

2. Los Angeles Lakers- Lonzo Ball, Point Guard, UCLA: Did anyone notice Lakers president Magic Johnson didn't look too upset about not getting the No. 1 pick? That's because, I think, he now knows the pressure is off. He doesn't have to pick between Ball and Fultz. Now he can just take Ball once Fultz is off the board. And the Lakers are suddenly interesting again, if nothing else.

3. Philadelphia 76ers (via Sacramento Kings)- Josh Jackson, Small Forward, Kansas: Jackson projects as a high-level contributor on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court. He'll make the Sixers more athletic, right from the jump.

4. Phoenix Suns- Jayson Tatum, Small Forward, Duke: Tatum should in time become a high-scoring wing at the NBA level. The 6-8 athlete averaged 16.8 points and 7.3 rebounds -- after missing the first eight games of the season with a foot injury -- and ultimately helped Duke win the 2017 ACC Tournament. Put him next to Devin Booker, and the Suns could have the pieces to be good again.

5. Sacramento Kings (via Philadelphia 76ers)- De'Aaron Fox, Point Guard, Kentucky: The Kings are desperately in need of a young point guard with a high ceiling, and Fox is exactly that. At 6-4, he has nice size for the position and is super-fast with the ball. He was sensational in Kentucky's Sweet 16 win over UCLA while finishing with 39 points. Fox and Buddy Hield would be a nice back court.

6. Orlando Magic- Malik Monk, Point Guard, Kentucky: The Magic don't gave great shooting and Monk could provide it. The athletic combo guard made 39.7 percent of his 3-point attempts this season while averaging a team-high 19.8 points for a Kentucky team that won the SEC and made the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. Why he doesn't use his athleticism more to get into the lane consistently remains a mystery. But if Monk ever does that, he could develop into an All-Star.

7. Minnesota Timberwolves- Jonathan Issacs, Small Forward, Florida State: The Timberwolves could take Isaac, play him with Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, and now we're talking about something with big potential. Minnesota would then have a core of Isaac, Towns, Wiggins, Zach LaVine and Ricky Rubio. Those are some nice pieces that could soon have the Timberwolves advancing in the Western Conference Playoffs.

8. New York Knicks- Dennis Smith Jr, Point Guard, North Carolina State: The Knicks have a major need at point guard and Smith could easily fill that void. At 6-3, he has nice size for the position and is explosive with the ball. The NC State product averaged 18.1 points, 6.2 assists and 4.6 rebounds in his one season of college basketball. He could be enough to make Kristaps Porzingis comfortable with a future in New York.

9. Dallas Mavericks- Frank Ntilikina, Point Guard, France: French Frank is the biggest wild card in the top 10. He played limited minutes for his team in France and scored a meager 5 points per game. It'll likely take a few years before he's ready to produce consistently in the NBA. On the other hand, he's 6’5” with long arms and quick feet, and at the very least he projects as a terrific perimeter defender. It's worth it for the Mavs to gamble on a project player here.

10. Sacramento Kings (via New Orleans Pelicans)- Justin Jackson, Small Forward, North Carolina: If Sacramento is going to take a point guard who can't shoot with the fifth pick, it makes sense to take a wing who can with the 10th. So Jackson makes sense. The 6-6 former North Carolina star shot a career-high 37.0 percent from 3-point range this season, which greatly enhanced his NBA stock. He's a national champion who should be able to contribute immediately at a position of need for the Kings.

11. Charlotte Hornets- Zach Collins, Center, Gonzaga: Collins only got 17 minutes-per-game behind Przemek Karnowski at Gonzaga, but he was terrific when he played. His per-40 averages are outrageous: 23 points, 13.6 rebounds, and 4.1 blocks. He can shoot threes (47.6%), and he's fairly mobile. Against South Carolina in the tournament, he put 14, 13, and 6 blocks in 23 minutes. For a Hornets team with no clear solutions up front, Collins would be a fairly exciting win at 11.

12. Detroit Pistons- Lauri Markkanen, Power Forward, Arizona: Markkanen is a modern-day stretch-4 who shot 42.3 percent from 3-point range this season. This would be a steal here for the Pistons, who can use some more shooting. There is talk of Markkanen going in the top ten and possibly the top five.

13. Denver Nuggets- OJ Anubody, Small Forward, Indiana: Anunoby is a freak athlete who will likely spend the better part of the next decade harassing people on defense. He could've been a first round pick last year, too. He hurt his knee at Indiana this year so his stock is a little bit mysterious, and his offense is still a question mark. But the Nuggets don't necessarily need offense. If Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic are the future, defense is the issue, and Anunoby can help quickly.

14. Miami Heat- John Collins, Power Forward, Wake Forest: Collins has NBA size and the ability to be a double-double guy, but he’s definitely going to be a bit of the project – at least early on. Though, all the skills are there. Hassan Whiteside could use a big man to help him in the post. Luke Babbitt is not the power forward of the future and Collins would fit nicely.

15. Portland Trail Blazers- TJ Leaf, Power Forward, UCLA: Leaf averaged 16.3 points and 8.2 rebounds while shooting 46.6 percent from 3-point range this season. He was overshadowed by his teammates at UCLA but still a statistical monster. He's a perfect stretch-4 for the modern-day NBA. Damian Lillard could use him in Portland the way Kyrie Irving uses Kevin Love in Cleveland.

16. Chicago Bulls- Jarrett Allen, Center, Texas: Allen spent most of the year overshadowed by bigger freshmen stars on better teams, but Allen quietly got much better as the year unfolded at Texas. He's still raw, and he may be a year or two from playing meaningful minutes, but he will get drafted top 20 because of Myles Turner comparisons alone.

17. Milwaukee Bucks- Justin Patton, Center, Creighton: There's been plenty of attention paid to this as a point guard-heavy draft. But it's also one of the deepest drafts for talented young big men that we've seen in a long time. Although he needs to put on some muscle so he can hang with NBA bigs, Patton is a superb athlete for a 7-footer, and showed impressive offensive versatility at Creighton as well. He may take some time to fill his potential, but the potential is certainly there.

18. Indiana Pacers- Harry Giles, Power Forward, Duke: Giles was the top recruit of his class, but injuries and limited play held him back in his lone season at Duke. Giles only averaged 11.5 minutes per game thanks to three knee surgies, along with only 3.9 PPG and 3.8 RPG during his lone season at Duke. The future of Paul George is always a question and if he eventually departs, the Pacers will be in full rebuild mode and Giles is a nice piece for that.

19. Atlanta Hawks- Ike Anigbogu, Power Forward, UCLA: Anigbogu is the type of player that coaches and general managers can look at and paint their own canvas on. For a team like the Hawks, an enormous paint presence like Anigbogu is much needed due to the face they could lose Paul Milsap this summer due to free agency. The offensive end is very much a work in progress.

20. Portland Trail Blazers (via Memphis Grizzlies)- Luke Kennard, Forward, Duke: Like John Collins and Justin Jackson, Kennard is another ACC product who can help earlier than most of his rookie peers. The Blazers have three picks in this draft, so they can afford to bet on some projects while also going after some immediate reinforcements for Lillard and McCollum. Kennard is the latter, and it'd be fun to see him in the mix with the Blazers.

21. Oklahoma City Thunder- Alec Peters, Power Forward, Valparaiso: The Thunder had the worst 3-point percentage in the NBA last season. Enter Peters, one of college basketball's top shooters. No, he may not have NBA athleticism, but for a team that needs to make shots, Peters and his remarkable 60.4 percent true shooting percentage fits. Oklahoma City is a team that needs to win now; taking a college senior like Peters is more wise than taking some sort of project.

22. Brooklyn Nets (via Washington Wizards)- Terrance Ferguson, Shooting Guard, Australia: The Nets have needs across the board and no lottery picks to fill them. But Ferguson has the size and elite shooting stroke of a player about whom we could someday say, "I can't believe he wasn't a lottery pick!" The Nets are also one of NBA's worst 3-point shooting teams. Ferguson's post-high school season in an Australian professional league helped him learn how to play against grown men, which will only help with his NBA learning curve.

23. Toronto Raptors- Tyler Lydon, Small Forward, Syracuse: Lydon shot 40.0 percent from 3-point range in two seasons at Syracuse and averaged 13.2 points and 8.6 rebounds as a sophomore. He'll be a stretch-4 in the NBA and should be capable of cracking a rotation as a rookie thanks to that reliable jumper.

24. Utah Jazz- Hamidou Diallo, Small Forward, Kentucky: Diallo is a 6-5 shooting guard who is an explosive athlete with good skills. He would probably be a lottery talent in next year's draft. So if you can get him now in the 20s, why not?

25. Orlando Magic (via Los Angeles Clippers)- Jawun Evans, Point Guard, Oklahoma State: Evans is undersized at 5'11, but he's quick and creative, and he was a nightmare in the pick-and-roll at Oklahoma State. Those skills translate in the NBA. At worst, he'd be a fun spark off the bench. At best, his shooting improves—37% from three last year—and catches up with his ability to create off the dribble, and he becomes a real steal late in the first. 

26. Portland Trail Blazers (via Cleveland Cavaliers)- Rodions Kurucs, Small Forward, Latvia: The Blazers have three first-round picks. So they could use this one on a draft-and-stash option. Kurucs, a 19 year old from Latvia, is a solid candidate for exactly that.

27. Brooklyn Nets (via Boston Celtics)- Donovan Mitchell, Shooting Guard, Louisville: Mitchell would be a steal here for the Nets. A stellar combine saw Mitchell's stock rocket up mock drafts. An explosive athlete who scored at the level Mitchell did at Louisville -- his sophomore season, Mitchell averaged 15.6 points, more than double his average from his freshman season -- is always welcome in the NBA, even if he is undersized for his position.

28. Los Angeles Lakers (via Houston Rockets)- Jonathan Jeanne, Power Forward, France: Jeanne's countryman, Rudy Gobert, was an absurdly tall, long and thin lottery ticket when the Utah Jazz nabbed him on draft night in a trade with the Denver Nuggets, who'd picked him at No. 27. It took some time, but Gobert has developed into one of the NBA's premier shot-blockers. Who is to say Jeanne can't, in time, develop into something along those lines? The Lakers have some of the worst rim protection in the league.

29. San Antonio Spurs- Josh Hart, Shooting Guard, Villanova: Not every junior who returns for his senior year actually improves his reputation with NBA scouts. But Hart did. He averaged 18.7 points and 6.4 rebounds while shooting 40.4 percent from 3-point range for a Villanova team that was the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

30. Utah Jazz (via Golden State Warriors)- Semi Ojeleye, Small Forward, SMU: Ojeleye started his college career at Duke, where he was just a bit player. But the 6-7 forward was tremendous at SMU this season. He averaged 19.0 points and 6.9 rebounds while leading the Mustangs to American Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles.

2017 NBA Finals Prediction

Here is my prediction for the 2017 NBA finals.

(E2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs (W1) Golden State Warriors: Here we go again. The "three-match" that was pretty much inevitable is on. This should be a tremendous finals. Cleveland is coming off an impressive five game series win over the Boston Celtics. Golden State is coming off a four game sweep over the San Antonio Spurs and that series probably would have gone longer had Kawhi Leonard not re injured his ankle in game 1 of that series. One storyline in this series is that Steve Kerr isn't coaching due to back spasms and Warriors interim coach Mike Brown used to coach the Cavs during LeBron's first stint and again during the 2013-14 season. Star power is all around yet again with the Big 3 of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love on the Cavs and the Big 4 of Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green on the Dubs. It's intriguing to see who guards who in this series defensively because the Cavs aren't great defensively as a team and LeBron can't guard everyone and the Cavs Big 3 are capable of putting up monster numbers against anyone, although the Warriors are a decent defensive team. That said, with Durant on the Warriors now, I like them to prevent the Cavs from repeating and for them to win their second championship in three seasons.

Prediction: Warriors in seven games.

Finals MVP: Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors.

2017 Stanley Cup Final Prediction

Here is my prediction for the 2017 Stanley Cup Final.

(W-WC1) Nashville Predators vs (M2) Pittsburgh Penguins: This should be a very fun Stanley Cup final between two very good teams that both are dealing with some injuries though. Nashville is coming off a six game series win over the Anaheim Ducks, although they did lose Ryan Johansen for the rest of the playoffs with a thigh injury. Pittsburgh is coming off a seven game series win over the Ottawa Senators in which it took a Chris Kunitz goal in double overtime to advance. Pekka Rinne has been outstanding for the Preds in these playoffs and is probably the favorite for the Conn Smythe Trophy right now. Matt Murray is back in net for the Pens after Marc-Andre Fleury was benched after game 3 of the Senators series and Murray has done a great job so far. The Preds have an outstanding defense led by PK Subban, Roman Josi, and Ryan Ellis. The Pens defense is solid too even without the injured Kris Letang with Justin Schultz and Olli Maata leading the way. Both teams have very good offenses with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Phil Kessel leading the way for the Pens and Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson leading the way for the Preds. A sneaky storyline of this final is that the Preds' James Neal and the Pens' Patric Hornqvist were traded for each other three years ago so both of them will have chips on their shoulders in this series going up against their respective former teams. That said, I would have picked the Preds had Johansen not gotten hurt, but I believe that injury will hurt them as the Pens will repeat as Stanley Cup champions being the first team to do so since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998.

Prediction: Penguins in six games.

Conn Smythe Trophy Pick: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

2017 NBA Playoffs Predictions: Conference Finals

Here are my predictions for the Conference Finals of the 2017 NBA Playoffs.

Eastern Conference
(E2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs (E1) Boston Celtics: Here we have a rematch from a first round series two seasons ago when Kelly Olynyk broke Kevin Love's arm. Both teams are a bit different from they were than. The Celtics are coming off a seven game series win over the Washington Wizards. The Cavs are coming off a sweep of the Toronto Raptors, in which Kyle Lowry was hurt for the Raps. The Celtics have some guys like Jae Crowder and Avery Bradley that are great defensive players that can give LeBron James fits and Isaiah Thomas can score in crunch time for them. Home court advantage could help the Celtics, but I just don't see them preventing LeBron from his seventh straight finals appearance and the Cavs from their third straight finals appearance.
Prediction: Cavaliers in six games.

Western Conference
(W2) San Antonio Spurs vs (W1) Golden State Warriors: This series has the makings of a classic. These two teams hooked up in the Semifinals in 2013, but the Warriors weren't this good yet. The Warriors are coming off an impressive sweep over the Utah Jazz. The Spurs are coming off a six game series win over the Houston Rockets, in which they blew out the Rockets without Kawhi Leonard due to an ankle injury in the series clinching game. How Leonard's ankle holds up to me determines whether the Spurs can actually pull this off or not. If it does hold up, I believe they have a real shot to win this series. Whether Leonard's ankle is fine or not, I'm still picking the reigning Western Conference champions to advance to their third straight NBA finals due to the fact that they have home court advantage and they are the better team with Kevin Durant in the fold to go with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green.
Prediction: Warriors in seven games.

2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs Predictions: Conference Finals

Here are my predictions for the Conference Finals of the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Eastern Conference
(A2) Ottawa Senators vs (M2) Pittsburgh Penguins: This should be an interesting series and these teams hooked up in the second round four years ago. Ottawa is coming off a six game series win over the New York Rangers. Pittsburgh is coming off a seven game series win over the Washington Capitals. Eric Karlsson looks like the early favorite for the Conn Smythe Trophy, so it should be interesting to see if the Penguins defense led by Justin Schultz and Olli Maata can stop him. The more interesting question is if Karlsson and his defense partner Cody Ceci can stop the Pens lethal offense with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin leading the way. The goaltending in this series is just about even with Marc-Andre Fleury, who has been outstanding filling in for the injured Matt Murray and Craig Anderson, who has been solid for the most part in these playoffs with the exception of a few games in the Rangers series. Murray may return in this series, so that is something to keep an eye on although Fleury has been great. That said, the Pens will be too much for the Sens, who you can make a case that they should have lost to the Rangers in the last round or even the Boston Bruins in the first round.
Prediction: Penguins in five games.

Western Conference
(WC1) Nashville Predators vs (P1) Anaheim Ducks: This should be a very entertaining series and is a rematch of a first round series from a year ago. Nashville is coming off a great six game series win over the St. Louis Blues. Anaheim is coming off a great seven game series win over the upstart Edmonton Oilers. The goaltending for both teams has been excellent so far with Pekka Rinne for the Preds and John Gibson for the Ducks. Both teams also have great defenses as well with Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm, and Brandon Mountor for the Ducks and PK Subban, Roman Josi, and Ryan Ellis. The Ducks have a slim edge offensively with Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kssler, and Corey Perry leading the way, but the Preds offense is underrated with guys like Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg, and Viktor Arvidsson. The Preds are playing their best hockey right now, so I'll take them to go to their first Stanley Cup Final in franchise history in what should be a great series.
Prediction: Predators in six games.