2017 NBA Mock Draft: Latest Predictions for 1st-Round Prospects

This year's NBA draft should be fascinating, as the projected top picks could all end up being franchise cornerstones. This isn't like 2003, when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony were selected, but June's draft could end up producing some of the best professional talent in NBA history.

Here is a look at a 2017 NBA mock draft, alongside notes on three top prospects.

Note that the NBA draft order will change between now and draft day, which is June 22. The NBA still needs to hold its draft lottery on May 16, and the final draft order for non-lottery teams is subject to where teams finish in the regular-season standings.

2017 NBA Mock Draft

Pick	Team	Player	Position	School or Pro Team
1	Boston Celtics	Markelle Fultz	PG	Washington
2	Phoenix Suns	Josh Jackson	SF	Kansas
3	Los Angeles Lakers	Lonzo Ball	PG	UCLA
4	Philadelphia 76ers	Malik Monk	SG	Kentucky
5	Orlando Magic	Jayson Tatum	SF	Duke
6	New York Knicks	De'Aaron Fox	PG	Kentucky
7	Minnesota Timberwolves	Jonathan Isaac	SF	Florida State
8	Sacramento Kings	Frank Ntilikina	PG	Strasbourg IG (France)
9	Dallas Mavericks	Lauri Markkanen	PF	Arizona
10	Sacramento Kings	Miles Bridges	SF/PF	Michigan State
11	Charlotte Hornets	John Collins	PF	Wake Forest
12	Detroit Pistons	Dennis Smith Jr.	PG	North Carolina State
13	Denver Nuggets	Justin Jackson	SF	North Carolina
14	Miami Heat	TJ Leaf	PF	UCLA
15	Chicago Bulls	Justin Patton	C	Creighton
16	Portland Trail Blazers	Isaiah Hartenstein	PF	Zalgiris (Lithuania)
17	Indiana Pacers	Harry Giles	PF	Duke
18	Milwaukee Bucks	Zach Collins	C	Gonzaga
19	Atlanta Hawks	Terrance Ferguson	SG	Adelaide (Australia)
20	Portland Trail Blazers	Rodions Kurucs	SF	FC Barcelona B (Spain)
21	Oklahoma City Thunder	Luke Kennard	SG	Duke
22	Brooklyn Nets	Jawun Evans	PG	Oklahoma State
23	Utah Jazz	Donovan Mitchell	SG	Louisville
24	Toronto Raptors	Semi Ojeleye	PF	SMU
25	Orlando Magic	Ivan Rabb	PF	Cal
26	Portland Trail Blazers	Josh Hart	SG	Villanova
27	Brooklyn Nets	Jordan Bell	PF	Oregon
28	Los Angeles Lakers	Jarrett Allen	C	Texas
29	San Antonio Spurs	Caleb Swanigan	PF	Purdue
30	Utah Jazz	Dillon Brooks	SF	Oregon

Lonzo Ball Lands in Los Angeles

Although the Boston Celtics have a point guard in Isaiah Thomas, it's hard seeing the team pass up on the player who is No. 1 on most NBA draft boards, Markelle Fultz, who averaged 23.2 points, 5.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds for Washington as a freshman.

At No. 2, forward Josh Jackson simply makes too much sense for the Phoenix Suns. Here's Lucas McLean of Valley of the Suns with more on that topic:

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Jackson is the player the Suns desperately need. The biggest weakness on Phoenix's roster is an elite defensive presence. With the departure of P.J. Tucker the Suns lost a huge edge. No longer do they have a player who can guard the opposing teams best offensive threat relentlessly. Jackson jumps passing lanes, closes out ruthlessly, and can guard point guards to power forwards.

"

Therefore, Lonzo Ball will stay home and go to the Los Angeles Lakers at No. 3. He can start immediately and play alongside D'Angelo Russell in the backcourt.

Head coach Luke Walton's Lakers like to push the tempo—per ESPN.com, they rank sixth in pace—which is something that Ball should have no problem handling considering he led a UCLA team that finished 20th in tempo out of 351 Division I teams, per KenPom.com.

Malik Monk Will Have More Fans Trusting the Process

The Philadelphia 76ers desperately need a starting-caliber shooting guard who can light it up from deep. They rank 28th in field-goal percentage (44.1 percent), 25th in three-point percentage (34.0 percent) and dead last in offensive efficiency (100.3), per ESPN.com.

Therefore, it's pretty obvious the 76ers need an offensive infusion.

Malik Monk can be of assistance, as he averaged 19.8 points per game while shooting 45 percent from the field and 39.7 percent from three-point range. He also scored 47 points against eventual national champion UNC in a 103-100 win in December.

Imagine this starting lineup for the Philadelphia 76ers next year: Ben Simmons running the point, Monk at shooting guard, Robert Covington at small forward, Dario Saric at power forward and Joel Embiid down low.

Maybe former general manager Sam Hinkie was right after all.

Fox Gives Jolt to Knicks

The New York Knicks have a massive hole at point guard, with Derrick Rose almost certainly leaving town as a free agent.

De'Aaron Fox is the clear answer, no questions asked. As seen this year, he plays with an intensity and heart that will immediately endear him to the Knicks fans dying to see tough, aggressive basketball played at Madison Square Garden once again.

Fox was fantastic this season, averaging 16.7 points and 4.6 assists per game for the Kentucky Wildcats. He notably posted 39 against Ball and the UCLA Bruins in the Sweet 16.

Perhaps most importantly, Fox would provide rock-steady defense for a Knicks team that allows 107.9 points per game.

Here's Howard Megdal of CBSSports.com with more on Fox:

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His steal percentage is just under three percent, but that only tells part of the story. He's a 6-foot-3 guard capable of the chase-down block. He's a virtual wall defending off screens (0.415 PPP, per Synergy), while also strong in isolation (0.671), which is a fancy way of saying teams who tried to solve him one-on-one, through bigs coming over and knocking him down or by trying to bully him with a taller player, all found out: they can't.

"

Fox checks off all the boxes. He'd be a great fit in New York.