2017 NBA Mock Draft: Predictions and High-Risk Prospects Who Will Be Taken Early

The NBA is dominated by three teams: the Golden State Warriors, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the San Antonio Spurs.

There seems to be no end in sight for any team in that trio giving up its stranglehold on NBA supremacy for the foreseeable future.

It's imperative that teams languishing in the NBA's bottom to middle tiers take some gambles on high-risk, high-reward players in order to set themselves up for the potential to break into the league's elite someday.

Here's a look at three of those prospects who have some red flags but could end up flourishing down the line.

In case you're wondering, it's entirely coincidental that the three NBA draft prospects below were all one-and-done players who were on ACC teams.

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

Jonathan Isaac

Former Florida State forward Jonathan Isaac is projected to go in the top 10 of the NBA draft by DraftExpress (No. 8), Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report (No. 6) and NBADraft.net (No. 6).

It's pretty clear why that's the case. The smooth 6'10" forward is just 19 years old and enjoyed a fine season at Florida State, averaging 12.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. He also shot 34.8 percent from three-point range for a Seminoles team that earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament.

There are two concerns about Isaac. First, he had a poor second half of the season, scoring five or fewer points in four of his last 12 games. Second, he is a bit slight for 6'10", weighing just 210 pounds. Here are some notes from NBADraft.net:

"Lacks much strength in both the lower and upper body...has a slight frame. Shows long term potential to defend multiple positions but struggles keeping position defending the post, causing him to pick up fouls. Struggles with physical play."

Still, Isaac will only be 20 when the 2017-18 NBA season starts. He has room (and time) to grow into his frame. Furthermore, he has a fan in ESPN analyst (and former Division I men's basketball head coach) Fran Fraschilla, who said the following to Sirius XM Radio (h/t 247 Sports):

Isaac has a ton of potential and could emerge as the best forward in this year's class.

Dennis Smith Jr.

In his one year at North Carolina State, point guard Dennis Smith Jr. averaged 18.1 points and 6.2 assists per game, highlighted by a 32-point effort in an 84-82 upset victory at Duke.

However, like Isaac, Smith was inconsistent, most notably scoring just seven points and committing four turnovers in NC State's lifeless performance in the ACC tournament against Clemson, a 75-61 loss in the first round.

It didn't help that NC State had a tumultuous season, as head coach Mark Gottfried was fired in mid-February but still finished out the season.

Gottfried happens to be one of Smith's biggest supporters. Here's what he said about the 19-year-old, per Keith Pompey of Philly.com, in regards to whether he would fit on the Philadelphia 76ers, who will likely pick in the top five of this year's NBA draft:

"

I think he has a chance to become an elite-level guard in time in the NBA. I personally think with Ben [Simmons] healthy that the two of them together would be quite an amazing combination. I think their skills actually complement each other.

"

A few point guard-needy teams exist in the top half of the NBA draft, including the New York Knicks, Sacramento Kings and Detroit Pistons. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Smith land in the top 10.

Harry Giles

It's difficult to return from one knee injury, but the former No. 1 prospect in the class of 2016, per ESPN, is trying to return to form following two knee injuries.

Harry Giles tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee in 2013 and the ACL in his right knee in 2015. He didn't have a productive year in Durham, averaging just 3.9 points and 3.8 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per game.

In his defense, he didn't even suit up until December 19 as he sat out the beginning of the year recovering from his second knee injury.

On the plus side, some of Giles' performances at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago were incredible for a player coming off multiple serious knee injuries. Here are the stats, per Eric Fawcett of Press Basketball:

Giles measured at 6'10 ½" with shoes alongside a 7'3 ⅓" wingspan.

However, Wasserman noted that the 19-year-old's vertical didn't help his cause:

Giles could be picked by a team in the back end of the lottery that is looking to redshirt him for a year and hope he eventually returns to the form which caused so many people to think the sky was the limit for him when he was in high school.