NBA Mock Draft 2017: 1st-Round Projections for Top Prospects' Landing Spots

The next few days will be exciting for NBA fans.

On Sunday, the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs kick off the Western Conference Finals.

On Monday, the Washington Wizards and Boston Celtics will play Game 7 of their second-round series, and on Tuesday, the NBA draft lottery will take place.

The defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers will then host either the Wizards or the C's on Wednesday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

It should be a lot of fun. Until then, here's a look at a new NBA mock draft with a focus on the top three picks.

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	Jonathan Jeanne	PF/C	SLUC Nancy (France)
27	Brooklyn Nets	OG Anunoby	SF	Indiana
28	Los Angeles Lakers	Jarrett Allen	C	Texas
29	San Antonio Spurs	Josh Hart	G	Villanova
30	Utah Jazz	Derrick White	G	Colorado

Markelle Fultz: Boston Celtics

If the Boston Celtics land the No. 1 pick, former Washington point guard Markelle Fultz is a no-brainer selection. He might have the highest upside of any player in this draft and just came off a freshman season in which he averaged 23.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game. He was an efficient scorer, too, making 47.6 percent of his shots.

Of course, he plays the same position as current point guard Isaiah Thomas, but Fultz believes that he and IT, who also played for Washington, could co-exist per Andrew Sharp of Sports Illustrated (h/t masslive.com):

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He's been close with Isaiah Thomas since their workouts at Washington this summer. "I've talked to him a lot," Fultz says. And yes, the family is well aware that Boston currently has the best odds at the No. 1 pick. "We always talk about the opportunity. That would be the craziest backcourt. The way he scores, the way I can pass, and the way I can score… we can switch between the one and two."

"

A Thomas-Fultz pairing would be interesting. It's certainly not unprecedented for two point guards to share the floor with each other and find success. Walt Frazier and Earl "The Pearl" Monroe did so for the New York Knicks in the 1970s, leading to an NBA Finals win in 1973.

The contracts of Thomas and current Celtics shooting guard Avery Bradley expire in 2018, leaving the C's with numerous options if they choose Fultz or any other point guard. If they take Fultz, will they go with Fultz and Bradley into the future, or Fultz and Thomas? Keeping all three seems unlikely.

Josh Jackson: Phoenix Suns

Although the NBA draft is loaded with point guard talent, the Suns' best bet is to pick former Kansas forward Josh Jackson, a two-way player who would instantly boost Phoenix's defense, which ranked third-last in the NBA in defensive efficiency, per ESPN.com.

Here are some notes on Jackson from Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz of DraftExpress:

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Even if his offense isn't there on a given night, he always gives you the defense, hustle, rebounding and passing component, which is attractive alongside the right type of players. Jackson has a very high floor, and plenty of upside to grow into given his athleticism, basketball IQ, versatility and competitiveness, which should all but guarantee him a spot in the top five of this year's draft.

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Most importantly, Jackson, who doesn't need the ball to have a dominant performance, would mesh perfectly with current Suns shooting guard Devin Booker, who looks like he's going to average close to 30 points per game someday with the way he played last year after Eric Bledsoe was sidelined for the season with an injury.

Booker averaged 25.3 points per game in March (including a 70-point outburst against Boston) and 27.4 points in April. He's clearly the star Phoenix will build around in future years, and Jackson is a perfect asset to complement Booker's scoring skill set.

Lonzo Ball: Los Angeles Lakers

Current Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell may have ice in his veins, but he's not the answer at point guard for L.A. long term.

Russell, who is a prolific scorer at times (he dropped 40 points on 14-of-22 shooting against Cleveland this year) could definitely be the answer for the Lakers at shooting guard, though, especially if Lonzo Ball is running the point next year, which could create a deadly one-two punch for the purple and gold.

Ball is an excellent facilitator, averaging 7.6 assists for a UCLA team that posted 90 points per game last year. He was also an efficient scorer, making 55.1 percent of his field goals and 41.2 percent of his three-pointers.

UCLA loved to run, which could make Ball a great fit for the Lakers. Head coach Luke Walton's team pushed the pace last year as well, as it ranked sixth in the NBA, per ESPN.com.

For what it's worth, Ball told SportsNation (h/t Kyle Boone CBS Sports) that he would prefer to be a Laker than the No. 1 pick (Ball is from Chino Hills, California, which is less than an hour from Los Angeles).

Ultimately, it seems like Ball will inevitably land in L.A.