Kyle Filipowski Shockingly Plummets in Latest NBA Mock Draft

Despite the fact that the NBA Playoffs are still ongoing, the teams who aren't in the postseason have turned their attention to the 2024 NBA Draft. Now that the draft lottery is decided and the Atlanta Hawks have the No. 1 overall pick, front offices will be in serious evaluation mode until June 26.

In the meantime, we will be getting mock drafts from experts on a regular basis, trying to guess which prospect is going first overall, whose stock is rising, and whose is falling.

This will include the two Duke draft hopefuls, Kyle Filipowski and Jared McCain. Both players are hoping to be lottery picks but in ESPN's latest mock draft, things are looking especially bleak for one of them. (subscription required)

Kyle Filipowski's Draft Stock Plummets in Latest Jonathan Givony Mock

In their latest piece, Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo projected every pick in both rounds of the draft. Duke fans had to scroll down significantly more than they were anticipating to see Kyle Filipowski's name. The Duke big man was mocked to the Toronto Raptors at No. 19.

This is a huge fall for Filipowski. Throughout the season, the versatile 7-footer was projected as a top-ten if not lottery pick. According to Woo, Filipowski has "one of the wider ranges among projected first-rounders".

One area they highlighted is the fit issue. Filipowski is a seven-footer but he doesn't project to be an elite defensive player or a rim protector. So, teams would ideally want to play him next to another big who can anchor the defense. But, Filipowski is also not the fastest or the most athletic prospect, raising questions about his ability to play power forward. So, a very specific kind of frontcourt partner is needed next to Filipowski to optimize his offensive skill set.

With the NBA Draft, all it takes is one team to fall in love with your potential. Filipowski is intriguing enough offensively to warrant a lottery team taking a flyer on him. However, him being mocked this low at this stage of the process underlines the possibility of a precipitous fall for Filipowki on draft day.

More Duke news and rumors: