• Zhou Qi (16)

Zhou Qi (16) (Photo : Paul Kane | Getty Images Sport)

It's never too early to discuss the 2016 NBA Draft once the 2015 NBA Draft is concluded.

It should not be too early since teams are already preparing for it. The consensus no.1 pick is Ben Simmons, but that is something everyone knows by now.

One of the sleeper prospects in next year's draft is Chinese center Zhou Qi. The NBA recently had a renaissance at the center spot, albeit requiring a different skill set.

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Rim protection and a wider shooting range are all the rage for tall players who want to make the NBA. In some cases, they should be flexible enough to play the 4, alongside veteran big men. Think Kristaps Porzingis of the New York Knicks or defensive specialist Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz.

ESPN draft guru Chad Ford recently released his Mock Draft on ESPN Insider and Zhou Qi was projected at the 20th overall pick to the Boston Celtics. Ford reasons that Zhou might need to stay overseas to "add muscle to his rail thin body" but he mentions that Zhou is indeed "super-talented, skilled and long."

The Celtics can afford to wait, as they can have as many as three first-round picks including a possible top 5 from the Brooklyn Nets and the top 7protected Dallas Mavericks pick.

However, the Celtics could be one-upped by the Philadelphia 76ers who can have four first round picks if they win the Lakers pick (top 3 protected). They have two late picks from Miami and OKC and the belief is that they would package those picks to a team in the 15-20 range, thus, enabling them to pick Zhou ahead of the Celtics.

Sixers site Liberty Ballers has high hopes for Zhou, as they said, "from the eye test, everything about him seems great. He's really great at passing, finishing, rolling, and he's really good at shooting and even taking guys off the dribble. On defense, he can keep up with smaller guys on the perimeter, down to guards some of the time, and he's an incredible rim-protector. Great rebounder to boot."

Zhou may be drafted in June, but he might actually enter the NBA in 2018.