2017 NBA Mock Draft: Post-Lottery edition

Kentucky. Malik Monk. 7. player. 86. Every mock draft under the sun has Jonathan Isaac ending up in Minnesota, but it wouldn’t surprise me if someone in the top-six fell in love with his size and skill. If Minnesota is looking at things with Isaac off the board, look no further than Malik Monk. <p>Lauri Markannen could fit in between Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, but it’s unclear how much he can do aside from shooting. Monk is another shooter, but has more upside in terms of defending and passing.</p> <p>It’s unlikely Monk ever becomes an adept enough passer to turn into a point guard or primary ball handler, but the idea that he’s just a shooter is a lazy narrative. In addition to passes like the one below, Monk makes terrific plays in transition, where his athleticism can shine. He’s prone to bad passes on the break, but he should get better with those reads the older he gets.</p> <p>His bread and butter, though, is his jumper. Monk gets terrific elevation on his jump shot and will be tough to abandon when teams want to double Towns or Wiggins. Minnesota will also get to run plenty of screen action for him, which he was deadly out of at Kentucky.</p> <p>Defensively, he’ll never be able to guard shooting guards well, but wouldn’t need to in a backcourt with Ricky Rubio. Monk has the potential to be an average defender guarding other point guards, as long as he has some help.</p> <p>In short, he won’t add the defensive potential that Isaac could have unlocked, but Monk is still a great complementary piece for a T-Wolves team that needs to make a jump next season.</p>. SG