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Where will the Blue Devils be Drafted in 2018?

By Matthew Travis

(Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
(Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /
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Believe it or not, we are almost at the halfway point of the 2017-18 season. We are in January and the season will come to an end (hopefully) in April. With that being said it is time to start looking at where the Blue Devils will be drafted in the 2018 NBA Draft.

Duke will be losing about four or five players to the 2018 NBA Draft. Those players being Marvin Bagley III, Wendell Carter Jr., Gary Trent Jr., Grayson Allen, and potentially Trevon Duval. You would think Trevon Duval would definitely be headed for the 2018 Draft, but his situation is a bit complicated.

Duval has not been performing the way we had hoped coming into the 2017-18 season, but he is still a legitimate player who can make an impact in the NBA. If it weren’t for the players Duke was bringing in for the 2018-19 season, there would be a good chance Trevon Duval stayed at Duke for another season. However, next season Tre Jones, the number ten recruit in the ESPN Top 100 players for 2018, will be playing in a Duke uniform.

This means that Duval would have to split time with Jones and he would not be able to showcase the player he is with those minutes. So with that being said, you can expect Duval to enter the draft in 2018, which means Duke will have an entirely new starting lineup for the 2018-19 season.

Must Read: Top Blue Devil Sports Moments of 2017

Marvin Bagley III:

DURHAM, NC – DECEMBER 30: Marvin Bagley III
DURHAM, NC – DECEMBER 30: Marvin Bagley III /

The first player we will be looking at is Marvin Bagley III. The reason for this is Bagley will undoubtedly be a top three pick in this years draft, and he has serious potential to be the top overall pick. If the season were to end today, the Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Lakers, and Memphis Grizzlies would have the best chance at getting the top three picks, which means there is a good chance he ends up with one of those teams. However, if the Lakers land a top two pick then that pick will belong to the Boston Celtics, if it is between pick six and pick 30 then that pick belongs to the Philadelphia 76ers. If it is between picks three and five, then that pick is rightfully theirs.

Any of these top three picks could definitely use a forward of Bagley’s caliber. The other top three picks will most likely be Deandre Ayton and Luka Doncic. Doncic is a point guard who is playing professionally in Spain, and  Ayton is a center for Arizona right now.

Of the four teams, the teams that make the least sense for Bagley are the Lakers and Celtics. The reason for this is because the Lakers have a forward duo of Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma, and they could use a decent center more than any other position. The Celtics have a forward team of Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward and Marcus Morris. The Celtics, like the Lakers, could use a center to back up Al Horford, more than any other position.

The Hawks or the Grizzlies would be a great fit for Bagley due to the fact neither of them have any decent forwards, and they both have point guards which means they would not need someone like Luka Doncic.

Wendell Carter Jr.:

The second player we will be looking at is Wendell Carter Jr. Behind Bagley, Carter will most likely be the second Blue Devil taken in the 2018 draft. The question of where is a bit complicated though. Carter is definitely a top twenty talent, but where in the top twenty is a bit complicated.
The second player we will be looking at is Wendell Carter Jr. Behind Bagley, Carter will most likely be the second Blue Devil taken in the 2018 draft. The question of where is a bit complicated though. Carter is definitely a top twenty talent, but where in the top twenty is a bit complicated. /

I looked at four mock drafts, Sports Illustrated, NBADraft.net, Bleacher Report,  and CBS Sports. All four of these mock drafts have Wendell Carter Jr. going at a different spot, two of which however, have Carter going to the same team, the Utah Jazz.

With that, we are going to take a look at the three teams these four mock drafts have Carter going to. These three teams being the Utah Jazz, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Indiana Pacers. Of the three teams, the two that would make the most sense for Carter would be the Jazz and the Pacers for the sole reason that he could start right when he got there.

The Cavaliers would make the least sense due to the fact that they have a forward you may have heard of, Lebron James. If the Cavaliers were to take Carter with their pick from the Nets Carter would have to be a backup for quite a few years because they have Lebron James and Jae Crowder.

Gary Trent Jr.:

Gary Trent Jr., like Wendell Carter Jr. is a top twenty talent, but no one knows quite where he will be taken. In those same four mock drafts the highest Trent was taken was 17 to the Suns, in two of them, in one of them he fell to the second round, and in the other he was taken 28th to the Celtics.
Gary Trent Jr., like Wendell Carter Jr. is a top twenty talent, but no one knows quite where he will be taken. In those same four mock drafts the highest Trent was taken was 17 to the Suns, in two of them, in one of them he fell to the second round, and in the other he was taken 28th to the Celtics. /

If Trent were to be drafted by the Suns he would be the backup shooting guard to Devin Booker. This season Booker is averaging 34.4 minutes per game which means Trent would be playing less than 14 minutes per game.

If the Celtics were to take Trent at 28 he would be competing for playing time with Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier. Both of which are having great seasons but there could definitely be room for Trent to get some significant minutes.

Grayson Allen:

In the four mock drafts I mentioned, Grayson Allen is taken in three different spots to four different teams, 22nd to the Timberwolves, 24th to the Hawks, 25th to the Cavaliers and 25th to the Spurs. Grayson Allen could make a serious impact for any of those four teams, wherever he were to be drafted.
In the four mock drafts I mentioned, Grayson Allen is taken in three different spots to four different teams, 22nd to the Timberwolves, 24th to the Hawks, 25th to the Cavaliers and 25th to the Spurs. Grayson Allen could make a serious impact for any of those four teams, wherever he were to be drafted. /

For each of those four teams Allen would start out as the backup shooting guard. With the Hawks he would be backing up Kent Bazemore to start out, with the Cavaliers he would be third in line (assuming Dwyane Wade stays in Cleveland) behind JR Smith and Dwyane Wade. In San Antonio Allen would be second behind Danny Green (assuming Manu Ginobili retires), and lastly in Minnesota Grayson Allen would be second behind Jimmy Butler depending on the situation with Jamal Crawford.

The best situation for Grayson Allen would be in San Antonio and behind the Spurs it would be the Hawks. The reason San Antonio is the best fit is because it would allow Grayson Allen to move up to the starting job the quickest. With Manu Ginobili likely retiring following this season Allen would only have to pass Danny Green. In Atlanta Allen would have to pass Kent Bazemore who has been an above average shooting guard.

Next: Three Bold Duke Basketball Predictions for 2018

Trevon Duval:

Lastly we have Trevon Duval. Of the five players in this article Duval is without a doubt the toughest to scout, and no one is quite sure where he will end up. The reason for this is because so far this season he has not lived up to expectations. Now one of the reasons for this may be because he has to split the court with future lottery picks. If Duval can step up his game in the remaining games he could potentially be a top ten pick.
Lastly we have Trevon Duval. Of the five players in this article Duval is without a doubt the toughest to scout, and no one is quite sure where he will end up. The reason for this is because so far this season he has not lived up to expectations. Now one of the reasons for this may be because he has to split the court with future lottery picks. If Duval can step up his game in the remaining games he could potentially be a top ten pick. /

In the four mock drafts I have been using throughout this article, each mock draft has Duval going at a different spot. The four landing spots are the 11th overall pick to the Hornets, 23rd overall to the Pistons, 18th overall to the Bucks, and 17th overall to the Nuggets.

Of these four teams the best landing spot for Duval would be the Detroit Pistons. The reason this is the best landing spot for Duval is because they do not have a point guard who is there for the future. The Pistons have Ish Smith and Reggie Jackson, but neither of them will be there for the long haul, which means Duval has a chance to move up quickly.

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