NBA Mock Draft 2.0: Narrowing down the picks after lottery, combine

Nassir Little appears to be on track to become just the second player to come out of the U.S. collegiate ranks as a first-round pick after not starting a game in NCAA play and the first since UCLA’s Swen Nater went 17th overall to the Milwaukee Bucks in 1973.

Whereas Nater was backing up an all-time great in Bill Walton, Little just never seemed to get settled in at Chapel Hill this season, averaging 9.8 points and 4.6 rebounds in 18.2 minutes per game after coming in ranked as the No. 3 recruit in the nation, ahead of Zion Williamson.

Little is an athletic two-way wing with a 7-foot-1 wingspan and could be an elite defender; think Gerald Wallace but much more advanced at this stage of his career.

But Little never showed the instincts of a scorer and may be ticketed toward a career as a defensive specialist, particularly if he can’t cobble together some sort of long-range shot after hitting just 26.9 percent on 1.4 3-point attempts per game as a freshman at North Carolina.

He’s drawn some comparisons to Kawhi Leonard, but if he falls to Detroit at No. 15, their fan base will be fervently hoping they haven’t just drafted Stanley Johnson 2.0.