8p9s Mock Draft 3.0: Trying to keep up with rumors
Kentucky. Malik Monk. 9. player. 79. . SG
The Dallas Mavericks managed to find solid backcourt production from very unlikely places last season. Despite that, they could benefit a great deal from a blue-chip scoring guard like Malik Monk.
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Monk can straight up score, no two ways about it. He can also shoulder a heavier ball-handling duty on the Mavs than he did at Kentucky, where De’Aaron Fox had the ball in his hands most of time. That setup was necessary because Fox wasn’t a spot-up threat, but with guys like Seth Curry, Yogi Ferrell and Wes Matthews, things are a bit different in Dallas.
Size will be the biggest concern with Monk. 6-foot-3 isn’t very big for a shooting guard, and his 6-foot-4 wingspan will put him at a pretty serious disadvantage guarding bigger wings. He might always be a defensive liability, but he’s so lights out on the other end that he’s still worth a top-10 pick.
67. . SG. Louisville. Donovan Mitchell. 10. player
The Kings have approximately 35 young big men on their roster, so despite Buddy Hield and De’Aaron Fox looking like the backcourt of the future, they’d be wise to go with another guard here. Adding in Donovan Mitchell would round out a rotation with few glaring weaknesses.
Mitchell is wickedly athletic with the potential to become an elite defender. If everything breaks right, he and Fox could be a lockdown defensive tandem on the perimeter. Mitchell projects to be an effective shooter from long range as well and shows encouraging flashes as a playmaker.
Like Malik Monk, Mitchell is just a little too short to be a pure shooting guard, although his length helps to compensate for it. His finishing at the rim also leaves something to be desired, but that’s at least fixable.