NBA Draft 2017: Assessing Top Stars' Scouting Reports from Experts' Mock Drafts

On a basketball road map, March Madness recedes after crowning a champion and the path to the NBA draft lights up, blazing a course to lottery balls and an altered NBA landscape.

In the wake of North Carolina winning the title, mock drafts become the centerpiece of the path to the draft. As a resource to help explain team need, prospect value and much more, the mock draft has gone from a simple, enjoyable part of the process to a necessity.

Rest assured, the experts are already out in force with the first major wave of mock drafts. To say it's an exciting time is an understatement, especially with a stacked class headlined by Lonzo Ball, Malik Monk, Markelle Fultz and others.

Below, let's take a look at some of the scouting reports on top stars in the class as mock-draft season gets underway.

Markelle Fultz, PG, Washington

Expert: Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman

There isn't much variation when it comes to mock drafts—and Markelle Fultz is the top player in the 2017 class.

It's not too hard to see why. Fultz comes in at an NBA-ready 6'4" and 190 pounds as a freshman posting a smooth 23.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game. Simply put, few players improve at the rate he has or can seamlessly make additions to his game so quickly as he has over the past few years.

Wasserman is one of many buying Fultz as the top player:

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He's the most complete guard in the field, with tools, athleticism, volume production and efficiency to back up all the potential. He won't absorb much blame for Washington's 9-22 season. And despite questions regarding how he'd fit in the Boston Celtics' deep backcourt, they won't cause general manager Danny Ainge to pass on the best available player.

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Any chatter about Fultz over the years turned into surefire production. His next stop at the NBA level shouldn't be an exception, even if he lands with the Boston Celtics, a team doing just fine in the backcourt.

Playing alongside Isaiah Thomas should do more good than harm in the long run for Fultz, who looks like a sponge of potential willing to do whatever it takes to match the hype.

So far, so good.

Lonzo Ball, PG, UCLA

Expert: Sports Illustrated's Andrew Sharp

The second pick in the draft is where things get murky when taking a broad look at experts around the globe.

Some like Josh Jackson. Others like Ball. Some make the case for Monk.

Ball might be the biggest household name in the draft—for good reason. He's 6'5" and 195 pounds, a lanky frame paired well with a pass-first mentality that has NBA scouts drooling. From California, it seems safe to presume Ball wants to suit up for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Sharp has him doing just that at No. 3:

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He's got a high floor as a pass-first point guard, but questions about his jumper and his athleticism will go long way toward deciding just how great he is in the NBA. In other words, are we getting Ricky Rubio 2.0, or Taller Steve Nash in the perfect era to maximize his skillset? For now, there's too much upside to pass up.

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The Lakers won't complain about the risk-reward balance here. D'Angelo Russell can score and won't have a problem being asked to do more of it. There's room in the backcourt for both, and Ball added to Russell, Brandon Ingram and Julius Randle would only further the team's rebuilding plan it has managed to stick with so far.

Athleticism questions aside, Ball growing with multiple young starters on a huge stage creates one of the more interesting outcomes of draft season.

Malik Monk, G, Kentucky

Expert: ESPN.com's Chad Ford

Monk is the other major household name mock drafts don't seem to agree on yet.

That makes sense, as the teams slotted at certain picks might value the skill sets of these elite guard prospects quite differently.

Monk, for example, is more of an off-ball scorer who can do so in a variety of ways. He breezed through his freshman year at Kentucky, averaging 19.8 points alongside 2.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists.

Ford's board falls in such a way that Monk lands with the Orlando Magic at No. 4:

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There would be several good options on the board for the Magic here. They could add another point guard to compete with Elfrid Payton or replace the dynamic scoring they lost last summer when they traded away Victor Oladipo. It's not an easy call, but Monk's 3-point shooting looks especially attractive.

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No doubt the Magic could use some help after giving away Victor Oladipo and desperately needing options in the backcourt, with the aforementioned Payton experiment not exactly working out.

Monk wouldn't solve all of Orlando's problems on his own, but the franchise hasn't boasted a strong off-ball scorer in a long time. Letting Monk go wild and learn as he goes would work for both parties in the long run, so this is a great fit.

All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.