NBA Draft 2017: Early Mock Projections for 1st Round

It may be time for Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram to shine under the New York City lights Thursday night, but it's never too early to look ahead to the 2017 NBA draft.

And with loads of talented point guards and plenty of compelling big men littering early projections, there are several prospects worth getting excited over with another college basketball season on the horizon.

But before we get started, here are a couple of disclaimers.

First and foremost, the following projections are not made with team fits in mind. Rather, the mock draft is a reflection of how prospects for the 2017 class have graded out to this point in time.

Second, the projected order was generated using 2017 NBA championship odds, which were retrieved from Odds Shark. Draft pick credits and debits were also imported from RealGM's trade log and applied to the championship odds, so several picks have been conveyed based on protections, where applicable.

Pick	Team	Selection
1	Boston Celtics (swap with Brooklyn Nets)	Harry Giles, PF, Duke
2	Phoenix Suns	Josh Jackson, SF, Kansas
3	Philadelphia 76ers	Jayson Tatum, SF, Duke
4	Orlando Magic	Markelle Fultz, PG, Washington
5	Utah Jazz	Lonzo Ball, PG, UCLA
6	Sacramento Kings	Thomas Bryant, C, Indiana
7	Milwaukee Bucks	Ivan Rabb, PF, California
8	Philadelphia 76ers (via L.A. Lakers)	De'Aaron Fox, PG, Kentucky
9	Denver Nuggets	Frank Ntilikina, PG, Strasbourg
10	Washington Wizards	Marques Bolden, F/C, Duke
11	Portland Trail Blazers	Jarrett Allen, C, Texas
12	New York Knicks	Dennis Smith, PG, N.C. State
13	Minnesota Timberwolves	Malik Monk, G, Kentucky
14	Denver Nuggets (via Memphis Grizzlies)	Miles Bridges, SF, Michigan State
15	Indiana Pacers	Jonathan Isaac, F, Florida State
16	Detroit Pistons	Kostja Mushidi, SG, Germany
17	Charlotte Hornets	Terrance Ferguson, SG, Arizona
18	New Orleans Pelicans	Jaron Blossomgame, SF, Clemson
19	Dallas Mavericks	Edmond Sumner, G, Xavier
20	Houston Rockets	Dwayne Bacon, SF, Florida State
21	Atlanta Hawks	Frank Jackson, PG, Duke
22	Miami Heat	Grayson Allen, G, Duke
23	Chicago Bulls	Allonzo Trier, G, Arizona
24	Toronto Raptors	Tyler Roberson, F, Syracuse
25	Brooklyn Nets (swap with Boston Celtics)	Monte Morris, PG, Iowa State
26	Toronto Raptors (via Los Angeles Clippers)	Bam Adebayo, PF, Kentucky
27	Oklahoma City Thunder	V.J. Beachem, G/F, Notre Dame
28	San Antonio Spurs	Malik Pope, PF, San Diego St.
29	Cleveland Cavaliers	Justin Jackson, F, North Carolina
30	Utah Jazz (via Golden State Warriors)	Caleb Swanigan, F, Purdue

Harry Giles, PF, Duke

Harry Giles has suffered a pair of torn ACLs and only recently turned 18 years old, but those setbacks shouldn't prevent him from throttling up draft boards after he makes his debut for the Duke Blue Devils during the 2016-17 season.

The early front-runner to be selected with the top pick in the 2017 NBA draft, Giles established himself as the second-best high school player in the country among 2016 recruits behind only Josh Jackson, who's headed to Kansas in the fall.

A 5-star sensation, Giles averaged 23.9 points, 12.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists at Wesleyan Christian Academy during the 2014-15 season before he transferred to Oak Hill Academy for his senior year, per ESPN.com's Paul Biancardi.

And as DraftExpress puts it, Giles "has considerable room for improvement, which is scary considering how good he is already."

Lonzo Ball, PG, UCLA

No player in the 2016 class is more intriguing than soon-to-be UCLA Bruins point guard Lonzo Ball. The third-ranked player among incoming recruits, Ball is a physical freak of nature who averaged a triple-double at Chino Hills High School last season, per SB Nation's Ricky O'Donnell.

Specifically, Ball churned out 25.4 points, 12.9 assists and 11.5 rebounds a night en route to capturing a California state championship.

While the raw point production was impressive, Ball's passing is what turned heads the most as his star started to rise at ridiculous rates.

"His vision is absolutely elite," Scout.com's Josh Gershon told O'Donnell. "There haven't been too many players in high school basketball history that have come along with his skill set, his versatility, his size for the position. He's a tough eval just in that he's a really unique player."

At just 170 pounds, Ball could stand to put on some weight, but he fits the mold of a modern NBA point guard at 6'6".

And with an unselfish approach that should please general managers at the next level, Ball should have a golden opportunity to solidify himself as the top point guard in a class that's stocked with them.

De'Aaron Fox, PG, Kentucky

Speaking of point guards, Kentucky Wildcats signee De'Aaron Fox has a chance to become head coach John Calipari's next star pupil in the Big Blue Nation backcourt.

A flashy southpaw with a quick twitch and smooth handles, Fox has already drawn rave reviews in advance of his arrival in Lexington.

"He has been compared to John Wall," ESPN.com's Myron Medcalf wrote. "And that's not crazy when you see Fox slash to the rim, make plays in traffic, distribute the rock like a point guard 10 years his senior, and finish plays on the break. The 6'4", 5-star prospect fits perfectly into small-ball NBA schemes that require discipline, agility and versatility."

Fox will be competing for the spotlight with a loaded incoming freshman class that boasts four other 5-star players in Malik Monk, Bam Adebayo, Wenyen Gabriel and Sacha Killeya-Jones.

But since Fox figures to be tasked with setting all of those studs up, he should have plenty of opportunities to shine with NBA front office personnel tracking his every step.

Recruit rankings courtesy of 247Sports.