2017 Big Board top 11: The Comps, Ceilings, & Floors
Disclaimer #1: Know that this was my guess at what the 2017 NBA standings would be, and that I believe to my core in Mario Hezonja’s MVP potential.
Disclaimer #2: I actually like using statistics and advanced measurements. I also think watching entire games is the only way you can truly evaluate a player. But I don’t watch much college ball, and stats in the college game vary so greatly based on team that they become abstract unless one takes an extremely in-depth look at the player. So, to make these evaluations, I took the March Madness games I watched, YouTube highlights, other people’s rankings, and yes, some numbers. But not too many. Don’t worry Chuck.
That being said:
#1 Markelle Fultz
Comp: James Harden
Ceiling: Top-5 player
Floor: Kemba Walker
So much has been said about [fail-for] Markelle that I don’t feel the need to go to in-depth here. He has no true flaws. When watching most prospect’s highlights, you can say wow, he’s good, look at how he matches up against these other guys, he has a better handle, or he’s quicker, or can shoot the lights out of the ball in a way none of these other guys can. With Fultz, you wonder what he’s doing in college at all. He looks like an NBA player who has been placed, for some reason, on a college team. There are those who want to look deeper, and question if he can win at the next level (his team went 9–22). To those people, I say this.
#2 Josh Jackson
Comp: Julius Erving Lite, PG13
Ceiling: Dr. J w/ a J, top-3 player
Floor: Jaylen Brown’s rookie season
I’ve already probably pissed a bunch of people off by putting him above Lonzo. But then again, I may have made a ton of people who hate Lonzo(‘s dad) very happy. I seriously considered putting Jackson #1. Based on solely on watching his highlights and games in March Madness, Jackson is to me reminiscent of one of the all-time greats, Julius Erving. His finishing around the rim is superb, he is an NBA-caliber athlete, his handle is decent, he’s got great size, etc. etc. etc. His shot throughout the year has improved dramatically, and I think he can get even better at the NBA level.
#3 Lavar’s son
Comp: Idek. Steph would be the easiest comp to make, I guess. But I don’t feel right doing it. Look one of the other ten thousand places that have written about him.
Ceiling: 28 ppg, 12 ast, 8 reb
Floor: Athletic Jose Calderon
Probably the most polarizing player in this draft. There are legitimate concerns about his jump shot. But it’s worked so far. His handle is okay, but nothing to shout about. Speaking of shouting, I haven’t addressed the Big Baller in the room. People either think Lavar has a huge influence on Lonzo, or none at all. I’m inclined to think it’s somewhere closer to the first. Lavar alone has made it almost a guarantee that the Lakers, and only the Lakers, draft Lonzo. Lonzo, while in general quiet, also seems hell-bent on going to L.A., and has expressed these views publicly, bringing into question how much Lavar shapes Lonzo. What happens when they inevitably lose games? I am positive that a year from now Lavar will have called all the other Lakers trash, and will have challenged them 1 on 1. That being said, Lonzo has really, really high potential. He clearly made the team around him better. He shoots the lights out of the ball. He has no mid-range game, but how important is that in today’s nba?
P.S. Let’s hope this doesn’t run in the family.
# 4 Jonathan Isaac
Comp: An actual unicorn.
Ceiling: 20 ppg, 3.5 ast, 9 reb
Floor: Brandon Ingram’s rookie year, but his whole career.
To me, the most confusing player in the draft. Sometimes shouts poor-man’s Giannis with a jumper, sometime’s shouts bust. Would probably get the Kristaps treatment a few years ago. Any team should be excited to get him, excluding Orlando Magic fans, whose excitement went 29–53 then got traded for Ersan Ilyasova.
#5 Dennis Smith Jr.
Comp: Somewhere between Derrick Rose in his prime and Derrick Rose now.
Ceiling: Prime D-Rose
Floor: Kris Dunn
Explosive. Boom-or-bust. I feel like whatever side I choose will end up being the wrong one. I feel like the idea he can’t make teammates better is overblown, (his best teammate was Ike Sherman, which I would personally have believed if I wasn’t the one who made up the name Ike Sherman about 30 seconds ago) but he will have to learn to work with others at an NBA level. He is definitely already more athletic than a lot of guys in the NBA. The trick is getting better at the other stuff.
#6 Malik Monk
Comp: CJ McCollum
Ceiling: CJ McCollum with a J.R. Smith mentality
Floor: Tony Snell with a J.R. Smith mentality
Most think he will have to switch to point guard to be successful, standing at just 6'3. In my opinion, he has proved already he scores bigger than his size, and that he doesn’t have the vision to be even a passable point guard(see what I did there?). I truly see him ending up like CJ McCollum. He’s a bit one dimensional, but he’ll be fine.
#7 Justin Patton
Comp: Kristaps Porzingis? These comparisons are pretty difficult, especially for do-everything big guys, that don’t have similar, established NBA players.
Ceiling: 18 ppg, 0.5 ast, 10 reb, 2 blk
Floor: Cody Zeller
While he could be unique, I’m not positive that in this era, with more guys becoming unicorns, that he has enough talent in enough facets of the game to end up as anything other than a Deandre Jordan-esque big guy with occasional 3s. That’s not bad. It’s also not franchise-changing. He’s got great size right now. Won’t surprise me if he makes Lowe’s Luke-Walton all stars list down the road.
# 8 Lauri Markkanen
Comp: Kristaps Porzingis again
Ceiling: Dirk Nowitzki with athleticism (wait this is just Kristaps)
Floor: Mason Plumlee triple double watch
Hey! Three white guys!
#9 De’Aaron Fox
Comp: A more explosive Ricky Rubio (Upset that the comparison doesn’t feature two players of the same race? Elfrid Payton. Take your pick.)
Ceiling: John Wall
Floor: Ish Smith
Look at this and tell me more about how he makes a case for the best point guard in the draft. Find me an all star point guard right now who shoots even remotely close to that poorly from outside. He has vision, but it isn’t fool-the cameraman-and-nutmeg-the-other-team vision (gonna miss you, Manu). Matchups against Lonzo have shown Fox to be the victor, but Fox had much better players around him, with much better coaching, and the NBA is a whole different animal. Expect Fox to be a serviceable backup down the road.
#10 Ike Anigbogu
Comp: Deandre Jordan
Ceiling: Ben Wallace
Floor: Bismack Biyombo
Jump-out-of the building athleticism with the accuracy of a Breitbart article. Thus is the life of Ike Anigbogu. Great defensive awareness, frame, and toughness. Won’t have trouble at the next level. The question is how far he can go. Great in the pick and roll, but needs to be paired with a shooting pg. Struggles with some of the basics (See: foul trouble, patience).
# 11 Jayson Tatum
Comp: Carmelo Anthony, with a dash of Rudy Gay (but not that good).
Ceiling: Tobias Harris or Rudy Gay
Floor: 7 ppg, 3 reb, 1.5 ast
I have watched too much Tobias Harris almost-there potential to think that Tatum can truly be a star, or even a borderline all star in this league. A Michael-Scott-declaring-bankruptcy man’s Melo, he’s to iso-heavy and midrange reliant for the direction the league has been heading in.
Extra 12th: Jonathan Jeanne
Comp: Dewayne Dedmon
Ceiling: Rudy Gobert
Floor: Energy off the bench.
His game screams Rudy Gobert. Be happy if your team snags him in the 2nd round, or maybe even earlier. Salmonella-raw, but with crazy role-player big man potential.
Edit: On June 8th, 2017, news surfaced that Jonathan Jeanne had been diagnosed with a career-ending heart condition. My thoughts go out to him. I am choosing to keep up his section, I think it is the right thing to do. I wish him the best of luck in life, and if he is ever able to return to basketball, I will be cheering him every step of the way.
