Editor’s note: With the NCAA basketball season in full swing, Lior Kozai, senior editor at Last Word On Pro Basketball and freshman at the University of Miami, teamed up with Josh Aber, college basketball fanatic and freshman at the University of Western Ontario, to discuss the top 2017 NBA draft prospects.
2017 NBA Draft Prospects: All Aboard the Fultz Train
Josh: Markelle Fultz is the man.
Lior: Is Fultz better than [UCLA’s] Lonzo Ball?
J: I think so. I love Fultz. He’s on a bad team so his stats are inflated, but he has more potential than Ball.
L: I’ve only seen Fultz live once, in UW’s game against Oregon.
J: Ah, I missed that game.
L: Oregon played zone so Fultz couldn’t really do anything.
J: But it hurts Fultz that he has no teammates. Marquese Chriss should’ve stayed another year.
L: Yeah, Washington stinks. Chriss just looks so skinny compared to the NBA guys.
J: I hate when guys leave early just for the sake of it.
L: Got to secure that money.
J: Think about how much better they could get in college with another year (cough, James Harden, cough).
L: Yeah, look at Damian Lillard, a four-year player.
J: Exactly. When you dominate like Anthony Davis, fine – leave. But guys like Skal Labissiere? What was he thinking?
L: I agree – if you’re not NBA-ready, you should stay. Labissiere was only the 27th pick, too. Such a bad decision. Anyway, who else is going to be at the top of the 2017 draft?
J: Dennis Smith [NC State], Harry Giles [Duke], Jayson Tatum [Duke]. Josh Jackson [Kansas] is all potential. Kentucky’s starting guards, Malik Monk and De’Aaron Fox, are also great.
L: Doesn’t Giles have, like, no ACLs? Monk went crazy in that UNC game. [Editor’s note: Monk scored 47 points in a 103-100 Kentucky victory over North Carolina on December 16th.]
J: Yeah, he’s insane.
L: I like Fox, but it feels like he’ll just follow the Marcus Smart trajectory – good college player, mediocre NBA player.
J: I think he could be a nice player off the bench. Maybe not a starter, but at least a valuable contributor to a good NBA team.
L: I agree. It’s just that he has limited upside for a guy who’s supposed to be a top ten pick.
J: I think if his jumper improves, he has some solid upside. He could potentially be a good ‘three and D’ guy, except also an excellent playmaker. How about your boy, [Duke’s] Grayson Allen?
L: Ha, I can’t stand him. And he looks like Ted Cruz.
J: His teammate Luke Kennard is filthy, though. And [Arizona’s] Lauri Markanen – the next Kristaps Porzingis.
L: Physically, he looks like Porzingis. His highlights make him seem pretty bad, though.
J: He’s a lock to be a lottery pick.
L: Looks more like Dragan Bender than Porzingis. Bender, with all of his eight minutes per game for Maccabi last year.
J: I think Porzingis is a better comparison. At least, I hope.
L: I bet the Heat will tank for one of these guys. All they have to do is trade Goran Dragic and play without a point guard – instant tank job. That team is so terrible already.
J: It might be worth it. Fultz is just insane. He’s the best PG prospect since Kyrie Irving.
L: Really?
J: Well, in my opinion. But he can’t be too far off. He’s around 6’4”, with a 6’8” wingspan and a huge vertical leap.
L: He’s unbelievably fast. Who does he play like? John Wall, maybe?
J: Honestly…a mix of Wall and Russell Westbrook and Kyrie.
L: Holy crap.
J: Fultz is the best freshman I’ve ever seen.
L: Seriously?
J: He dropped 37 against a zone defense, leading Washington to a double-OT win. [Editor’s note: Fultz scored a career-high 37 points in an 85-83 win over Colorado on January 18th.] He’s the only dude on his team. I can’t even think of an NBA comparison for him. He’s just a mix of a bunch of great PGs.
L: He definitely reminds me of Wall – the body type, speed, athleticism, and defense. But his mid-range game and floaters are from Isaiah Thomas’s bag of tricks – another UW guy.
J: I’m glad you like him. But I think he’s bigger and longer than Wall. He looks at least 6’5”. He’s got a longer wingspan, no doubt. I still think he’s some kind of mix of the three I mentioned – Wall, Westbrook, and Kyrie.
L: That combination is nuts. I see some Kyrie, but definitely a lot of Wall. By the way, I came up with some tanking slogans for NBA teams this season: “Take Ls for Markelle”, “No-show for Lonzo”, “Loose them all for Ball”, and “Writhe for Smith”. I’ll have to work on that last one.
J: The first three are great. I like Smith, although I think he’s a couple levels below Lonzo and Markelle at this point.
L: Who else do you like?
J: I’m impressed by Jonathan Isaac of Florida State.
L: Ah, he’s the enemy here at UMiami.
J: NBADraft.net projects Miles Bridges to go to the Raptors! He’s one of the most talented Michigan State players of the last several years.
L: He’s another all-around wing player, isn’t he? The Spartans have had plenty of those.
J: He’s more athletic than the likes of Draymond Green and Denzel Valentine, though. And he has a nice shooting stroke for a pretty big guy.
L: That would be an interesting fit with a team as good as Toronto. Can Bridges play some power forward?
J: I think so, as a stretch four.
L: That would be huge – the Raps desperately need big men.
J: Going back to Kentucky – Edrice “Bam” Adebayo looked good against Tennessee in the other day.
L: I was just going to mention him. He’s massive.
J: They don’t call him Bam for nothing.
L: How about our Canadian guy, Dillon Brooks? I like him; I think he could be a legit NBA player.
J: Yeah, he’s solid. I just keep going back to Markelle, though. Markelle is Jesus. He’s the savior of basketball.
L: Ha, that’s great. But seriously, he’d be unbelievable if he became a great three-point shooter, to go with everything else. Why did he pick UW, of all schools?
J: He was a late bloomer – he didn’t even make the varsity team in his first two years of high school. I guess he really is Michael Jordan.
L: Wow. That’s pretty incredible. Definitely surprising.
J: Man, he still could’ve gone anywhere. He had offers from 22 very good basketball programs, including your school.
L: Final topic of interest: who gets picked first overall, Fultz or Ball?
J: Fultz is so calm. I can see him averaging 20-8-8 not too long from now. But Lonzo is also really, really good. I honestly don’t know who will go first.
L: Regardless, I can’t wait to see them in the NBA.
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