2017 NBA Draft: Three Players That Won’t Be There at 9

The Dallas Mavericks are game planning for the NBA Draft, which is less than a month away. It is always nice to have some people drop in the draft, but here are some names that shouldn’t be expected, outside of the obvious.

The 2017 NBA Draft is now less than a month away and the Dallas Mavericks have undoubtedly been planning and studying all the players near the top. There are more than a few players that the Mavs should be interested in, but many of them will not still be around at the ninth overall pick.

Obviously the big names of Markelle Fultz, Lonzo Ball, Jayson Tatum and Josh Jackson are going to be off the board by the time the Mavericks are picking. Those four are the top players in the draft and should be drafted as such. Past them, however, I believe that the list opens up a bit and different sites believe different things about who could drop to where.

That is a wonderful thing to be able to speculate on, so I thought I would throw my own hat into the ring. Unlike most sites though, I am not going to tell you who the Mavericks may have a chance of drafting, but rather who the team can count on not being there when it comes time to announce the newest Maverick.

Do keep in mind that this is my own personal belief and not some kind of sorcery that has already seen how the NBA Draft is going to turn out. I promise I’m not a wizard, despite my best efforts.

Malik Monk

I put Monk up here first because I believe he will be the next one off the board after the big 4. Monk is a special shooter and undoubtedly the best in the class. They certainly breed shooters well out in Wildcat land and Monk is no exception to that. Expect to see him taken in the top 5 by a team in need of scoring now, (news flash: if you are in the bottom five in the NBA standings, you need help scoring now).

Monk is more than just a special shooter though, he is also a killer all-around athlete. His size is nothing to write home about, but there are more than enough small shooting guards in the league to know that this can work out. His defensive ability will heavily depend on his athleticism, but he has that in spades so I believe he will be alright.

Monk is not going to drop to number nine in the draft. It just won’t happen.

De’Aaron Fox

Fox is my favorite point guard in the draft not named Markelle Fultz and the rest of the NBA is going to figure that one out really quick. One of the most explosive players the draft has seen in years, Fox will provide a spark to whichever team is lucky enough to get him. No one should be surprised if Fox is a top 5 pick because it is so hard to gauge how high his ceiling might actually be.

Fox is a dangerous point guard with all the tools that can kill you and the tenacity to make sure to do it every night. On more than one occasion, the Kentucky Wildcats were carried by this young man, no small feat for anyone. His skill set is built for point guard and he is ready to use it.

Fox won’t be there at nine. You can trust me on this one.

Jonathan Isaac

Of the three players listed here, Isaac is obviously the least expected name on the list, but as far as sheer basketball skills goes, he is one of the best in the class. Isaac did under-perform in his lone season at Florida State, but hey, so did Kyrie Irving at Duke and it still landed him the number one overall pick. This just goes to show that teams draft on ability over in-game performance all the time.

Isaac is a lanky 6’10” forward with a versatile scoring ability and some solid defensive skills. Although he will need to add some weight to his frame, he should be a great player on both ends of the court and someone is going to buy high on the former Seminole.

Some mock drafts have Isaac falling to the Mavs but I am not a believer that he will get that low before being scooped up. Anything is possible, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on this one.

Next: Dallas Mavericks: 5 Possible Free Agent Shooting Guards

After the initial top players in the draft, these are the three that I believe would be a long shot of dropping all the way to number nine for Dallas. You may not agree with me, but it is pretty hard to disagree here. The Mavs will have to look elsewhere for an answer.