2017 NBA Mock Draft: Post-Lottery edition

67. <p>A combination of Dennis Smith Jr. and Lauri Markkanen won’t win any games with their defense, but at this point in the draft the Kings should go with the best player available. Many scouts and teams might consider Donovan Mitchell, Zach Collins or even OG Anunoby, but Markkanen’s floor is too high to pass up here. It wouldn’t be a shocker if Sacramento passed on Markkanen, though.</p> <p>It’s hard to knock a seven-footer who might be the best shooting big man to ever enter the NBA Draft. However, watch one game of his and you can see how little legitimacy there is in claiming him as the next great stretch-4.</p> <p>He’s no Kevin Love, as he is a poor rebounder and rarely makes plays for his teammates. Markkanen isn’t a total disaster on defense, but will get destroyed out on the perimeter and can’t really protect the rim. So why draft him this high, right?</p> <p>Well, a good defense can hide a lot of these issues, and if he can hit 40+ percent of his threes, that’s invaluable in the modern NBA from a big man. Smith Jr. never played with real space at NC State and he never played with a stretch big like Markkanen. Similar to a Fox-Porzingis pairing, these two might be even better.</p> <p>Markkanen might be limited in playoff basketball experience, but the Kings are far from that as a regularity. He’s likely better off as a center and could be hidden next to a good defensive 4. If the Kings think they can improve and hide many of his deficiencies, this is great value at No. 10.</p>. PF/C. Arizona. Lauri Markkanen. 10. player