2017 NBA Mock Draft: Who will the Indiana Pacers select at No. 18?

The Hornets need a big man fit for the modern NBA, and Zach Collins could potentially be just that. Collins didn’t play a ton during his year at Gonzaga, which makes this pick a bit more risky than normal. However, he’s shown enough potential to stretch the floor and protect the rim to overcome that risk

Last season proved that Cody Zeller is very important to how the Hornets function, and it’s unclear how well he and Collins could play together. However, it would be delusional to think that Zeller couldn’t be supplanted if Collins proves to be the player many think he could be.

Collins’ downsides are more abstract than just shooting or footwork. He needs to grow up a lot and stop committing foolish fouls that nail him to the bench. Only then does he have a shot of realizing his potential.

Defense is French point guard Frank Ntilikina’s main attraction. He has no official wingspan, but it’s been rumored to be upwards of seven feet, a ludicrous figure for a point guard. He’s got good floor vision, even if he can’t always execute on it, and he can shoot the ball well off the catch and pulling up.

Ntilikina needs a lot of work on his ball handling skills and his passing accuracy, two pretty crucial facets of being a point guard. He could potentially play off the ball and let Reggie Jackson and Ish Smith continue to do most of the distributing in Detroit next year, but ideally, Ntilikina would play alongside Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and the other team just wouldn’t score any points.