2017 NBA Mock Draft: Predictions, Pro Comparisons for Elite Frontcourt Prospects

Point guards have received much attention in the months leading up to the 2017 NBA draft.

It's for a good reason: Three could go first, second and third overall, and five floor generals could land inside the top eight.

Keep an eye on the frontcourt prospects in this year's player pool, however. While it's unlikely a power forward or center lands in the top five, it's feasible that half of the 30 players chosen in the first round will be projected to play one of those positions on the next level.

The talent pool is deep this year for big men. Let's take a look at three of them and provide some NBA pro comparisons alongside a new mock draft.

2017 NBA Mock Draft

1. Boston Celtics: Markelle Fultz, PG, Washington

2. Los Angeles Lakers: Lonzo Ball, PG, UCLA

3. Philadelphia 76ers: De'Aaron Fox, PG, Kentucky

4. Phoenix Suns: Josh Jackson, SF, Kansas

5. Sacramento Kings: Jayson Tatum, SF, Duke

6. Orlando Magic: Malik Monk, SG, Kentucky

7. Minnesota Timberwolves: Jonathan Isaac, SF/PF, Florida State

8. New York Knicks: Frank Ntilikina, PG, SIG Strasbourg (France)

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, N.C. State

13. Denver Nuggets: Rodions Kurucs, SF, FC Barcelona B (Spain)

14. Miami Heat: Donovan Mitchell, SG, Louisville

15. Portland Trail Blazers: Harry Giles, PF, Duke

16. Chicago Bulls: Jarrett Allen, C, Texas

17. Milwaukee Bucks: OG Anunoby, SF, Indiana

18. Indiana Pacers: John Collins, PF, Wake Forest

19. Atlanta Hawks: Justin Patton, C, Creighton

20. Portland Trail Blazers: Luke Kennard, SG, Duke

21. Oklahoma City Thunder: Jordan Bell, PF, Oregon

22. Brooklyn Nets: Tyler Lydon, PF, Syracuse

23. Toronto Raptors: Ike Anigbogu, C, UCLA

24. Utah Jazz: TJ Leaf, PF, UCLA

25. Orlando Magic: Isaiah Hartenstein, PF, Zalgiris Kaunas (Lithuania)

26. Portland Trail Blazers: Terrance Ferguson, SG, Adelaide (Australia)

27. Brooklyn Nets: Jawun Evans, PG, Oklahoma State

28. Los Angeles Lakers: Bam Adebayo, PF, Kentucky

29. San Antonio Spurs: Jonathan Jeanne, C, SLUC Nancy (France)

30. Utah Jazz: Derrick White, PG, Colorado

Zach Collins, C, Gonzaga

If you combine the Al Horford from his days on the Atlanta Hawks (when he nearly averaged a double-double per game) with the Horford from the Boston Celtics (who shoots three-pointers), you get the best-case scenario for Gonzaga big man Zach Collins, who could make a successful NBA living as a stretch center.

Here's Ryan Mahanna of CelticsHub with more on Collins, specifically a comparison to Horford: "My ceiling comp for him is Al Horford. ... Zach Collins may never make an All-Star team, but he's going to be a high-quality starter who is a 7-footer who can do a little bit of everything, on both of ends of the floor, and is a conduit for modern positionless basketball."

Collins posted excellent statistics in limited time on the court last year, averaging 10.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in just 17.2 minutes per game. He also shot an efficient 65.2 percent from the field.

He is quick on his feet and agile for a seven-foot, 230-pound big man. Collins is able to move well down low to block shots (as South Carolina knew too well when Collins posted six blocks in the Final Four) and move out to defend a man on the perimeter. Collins can also stick a three-pointer—it's a small sample size, admittedly, but he did make 10 of his 21 attempts last year.

Collins, like Horford, should fit well in today's NBA, wherein teams routinely play small ball and slash and kick for open three-pointers. Expect him to fit into a team's rotation off the bench immediately.

Lauri Markkanen, PF, Arizona

Per Basketball Reference, teams shot the three-pointer 27.0 times per game last season (or more than one every two minutes). That was up from 24.1 last year and 18.4 five seasons ago. It's an obvious point, but NBA teams need to shoot (and make) threes to find success.

According to ESPN.com, nine of the 10 best three-point-shooting teams this year made the playoffs. It's no surprise that the two NBA finalists, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors, were second and third, respectively. The 61-win San Antonio Spurs were first.

Therefore, expect the seven-foot Lauri Markkanen, who destroyed Pac-12 opponents this year with three-pointer after three-pointer, to go in the top 10.

Markkanen compares well to Ryan Anderson of the Houston Rockets. The Cal product makes his living on the perimeter, averaging seven three-pointers per game last season while scoring 13.6 points per contest.

That's where Markannen feels at home as well, as he averaged 4.4 field goals from beyond the arc during his one season in Arizona. He had a good year in Tucson, scoring 15.6 points per game and hitting 42.3 percent of his threes.

Luke Winn of Sports Illustrated wrote more on Markannen, comparing him to Anderson while noting that any talk comparing the Arizona star to future first-ballot Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki is inaccurate:

"Markkanen is a seven-foot, offensive-minded European whom the [Dallas Mavericks] may very well select with the No. 9 pick in 2017. But Dirk is one of the great scorers in NBA history, and he was a competent defender in the prime of his career. A more realistic aspiration for Markkanen would be a 'more versatile Ryan Anderson' or a 'better version of the [Charlotte] Hornets' Frank Kaminsky'—not Dirk 2.0."

While Markannen is probably not the next Dirk, he's likely headed for the top 10 in this year's draft.

Jordan Bell, PF, Oregon

Former Oregon forward Jordan Bell, who landed on the national landscape after swatting eight shots against Kansas in the Elite Eight, isn't considered a consensus first-round pick: DraftExpress has him going in the early second round, NBADraft.net puts him 28th and Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report sees Bell landing with the Utah Jazz for the last pick in the first round.

That all being said, the guess here is Bell gains steam in the final weeks before the NBA draft on June 22 and gets picked no later than 21st to the Oklahoma City Thunder and potentially even higher.

Bell receives straight A's for his performances since March. He posted 12.3 points, 13.2 boards and 3.0 blocks per night in helping leading Oregon to its first Final Four since 1939, and per Julian Applebome of DraftExpress, Bell was fantastic at the NBA Draft Combine:

"Oregon's Jordan Bell shined in the 5 on 5 portion on day 1 of the Combine, flying around on defense while also showing a budding offensive skill set.  He continued to stand out in the athletic testing, particularly in the lane agility and shuttle run drills, both of which are typically dominated by guards.  His shuttle run time of 2.83 was fourth overall, just six tenths of a second behind the top score held by Frank Jackson."

Bell is similar to Kenneth Faried of the Denver Nuggets. Both players are undersized power forwards, but their energy is unmatched by nearly everyone they play against on a given night.

Most notably, their height, weight and wingspans are eerily similar. Per DraftExpress, Bell is 6'8 ½" and 225 pounds with a 6'11 ¾" wingspan, while Faried measures at 6'7 ½" and 224 pounds with a 7'0" wingspan. The difference is that Bell has a bigger vertical at 38 inches (Faried is at 35").

Per Jason Quick of CSN Northwest, Bell uses Faried as a basketball model: "While he says he patterns his game after Golden State's Draymond Green and Denver's Kenneth Faried, Bell says he is a defense-first player who will know how to embrace his role at the NBA level."

Bell's shortcoming, aside from his size, is he doesn't offer an ability to stretch the floor on offense. However, he is such an asset on defense and the boards that it's hard seeing him slipping far in the first round.