One of the greatest athletes I’ve ever seen at the college level; just completely dominant physically. Positionally, fits anywhere from the 3-5 but I think will max out at the 5. Brings so much in the way of weakside help at rim, works his ass of defensively. Obviously needs to work on his shot and take the next steps as a shot creator but truly checks off every other box. I think his floor is like Julius Randle, and his ceiling as a modern Charles Barkley. Not a single way he busts.
Bulldog of a wing who works hard and wants to win. Has a good amount of self-creator equity all though he seemed to be more selfish with the ball at Duke than he was in high school. I know the system at Duke wasn’t a great fit for a lot of ball movement but seemed single-focused at times. Needs to improve that aspect of his game to maximize his skillset. Otherwise he is a potential star in a draft class that has a dearth of them. Doesn’t have the upside nor the floor of the top 2 but Barrett will be a great player in the league. I’m going to say his ceiling is what Andrew Wiggins’ ceiling should have been. Median is Khris Middleton, floor is Josh Jackson.
Phenomenal offensive player at Murray State. Ran an NBA system entirely through his up-tempo play and decision-making. Improved his shooting numbers across the board as a sophomore and really fits into the modern NBA as a primary creator. Defensive attitude was hit-or-miss with a penchant for gambling for steals, a few question marks on that end of the floor combined with his lack of strength. Overall, his offensive firepower makes him the clear-cut number 2 in this class. Strikes me as a Damian Lillard-esque talent.
Culver being a potential top 5 pick is a testament to how weak this draft is. With that being said, I’m very impressed with his improvement going into his sophomore year. He ended his freshman year with some potential as a 3&D wing but improved at his weaknesses (scoring and strength) and won Big 12 POY. Culver improved in every relevant category except for 3P%, which you could easily equate to stepping into a bigger offensive role. Projecting to the NBA, he’s a long and strong 6’8 wing who can defend and hit tough shots. He doesn't provide a lot of upside and needs to work on his switchability and moving his feet but I would take a chance on him before Hunter or Reddish due to the leaps and bounds he has taken in college. He’s a bigger Trevor Ariza.
Hunter is a guy who every team would love to have. Imagine him on the Rockets in the playoffs a 6’8 behemoth who can switch 1-5 for spurts, hit 44% of his threes (that will come down in the NBA but the point remains), and attack mismatches. He was the fulcrum of Virginia this year, as the team sorely needed an interior presence who could create something inside. Regardless, Hunter's archetype is where the league is headed; having a bunch of big strong capable wings who can all switch and score. He has a few minor weaknesses holding him back, such as age (21 years old, oldest in the top 5) and lack of elite speed, but he has great intangibles that make up for it. Overall, every team would love to have him, and there's something to be said for that. He’s basically Tobias Harris.
It is super difficult for me to like Cam Reddish as a prospect. I know there are so many reasons to like him, starting with high school production (28 points per game on 50+% shooting from the field in 15 games I found on the internet) and accounting for a horrible situation for him at Duke. The size and skillset are tantalizing in the modern NBA, similar to the other wings in tier. Of the three of them, Reddish has flashed the most self-creation acumen off the dribble, showing confidence pulling up anywhere on the court, along with a knack for making clutch shots. Because of this, the Paul George comparisons are easy to understand, albeit overwhelmingly off. Speaking of being off, Cam Reddish shot only two percentage points higher than half of Zion's field goal percentage. He finished the year with more turnovers than assists. There is some upside with him of course but watching him at Duke did not show me any promise for a long productive NBA career, especially considering he was known to float through games at the high school level. I am low on Reddish, but low for this draft still makes him end up at #6. His floor is Rodney Hood.
Brandon Clarke is a prospect similar to DeAndre Hunter in that they are both strong fits for the modern game. Clarke provides a lot of skill, IQ, and flexibility. He is a fantastic defensive player, one of the best in the last handful of drafts. He is known mostly as a rim protector despite only being 6'8. He has shown a tremendous strength playing in switching schemes and being able to corral smaller guys and is an elite PnR defender. He combines athleticism + intellect defensively like very few players can ever do. Offensively he is no slouch either, he shot 70% from inside the arc and nearly that number from the foul line. Not a great shooter at this juncture but he did completely remake his jumpshot during his redshirt year at Gonzaga, and the results have been promising. He has a semblance of a post up game and can attack the glass, so there are still avenues for him to be a plus offensive player, although it does not seem overwhelmingly likely. His age is a huge deterrent at 22.5 as well as his lack of upside relative to the rest of the lottery but Clarke has a phenomenally polished game. He can be the difference maker for a team looking for the last piece to make the playoffs. Clarke is going to fall somewhere in the realm between Serge Ibaka and Andre Roberson.
Doumbouya is an insanely fluid athlete for his size. Not like Zion who moves like a bull, but he looks to be the perfect combination of strong frame + light on his feet. With the gracefulness of how he moves, he has the physical makings to potentially be a star. However, if you take away his athletic advantages, Doumbouya has very little else to hang his hat on. He lacks tact on a lot of layups, where it looks like he just throws the ball near the rim and goes in. Shooting is near nonexistent (despite solid mechanics), and seems to be more of a ball handler/attacker than a pick and roll threat currently. Defensive IQ is low, rely relies on the athleticism to cover for his mistakes. Overall, Sekou relies almost exclusively on his athleticism. As an 18 year old kid who hasn’t been playing basketball for very long, I would be more inclined to take a shot on his fluidity + athleticism intersection and hope to be able to teach him some of the more nuanced aspects of the game. This isn't the best comparison but I can see some growth to his game similar to Pascal Siakam.
Bol Bol is one of the most bizarre prospects I have ever had to evaluate. He is a 7'2 string bean who excels at shooting over the top of defenders from anywhere on the court. I understand it's a limited sample size but whenever a 7 footer can shoot 57% from the field and 52% from three against D1 talent, you have to recognize the skillset. His size promotes a lot of flexibility with roster composition, as I can see him spending time at either the 4/5 (and maybe the 3 in certain matchups). Defensively he is a good help defender averaging just under 3 blocks per game and he is not a slouch guarding on the perimeter. Now, it's not that Bol is without his flaws. His size presents a mountain of issues, from a strength perspective, a quickness perspective, and a roster perspective. First, there's no guarantee that dudes of that size can even stay on the court, and it's going to take a very centralized strength and conditioning program to turn Bol into the player he can be. Even if he stays healthy and transforms his body, I am very worried about how his game is attacked defensively. He has some helpside defensive talent and can kind of move his feet but there is a chance he is not strong enough in the post and as a rebounder to play the 5 and not quick enough to play the 4. The worst case scenario for Bol is that he can't stay healthy, and when he is healthy he gets attacked on defense and doesn't bring enough to the table offensively to warrant seeing the floor. However, in a lottery as weak as this one I am tantalized by the upside of a 7 foot self creator who can score from all over the floor and isn't bothered by shot contests. Even if there is only a 5% chance of him reaching that peak and a 50% chance of a total bust, this is the year to take that chance. A comparison for a player this unique is foolish to me but for the sake of consistency I will go with Kristaps Porzingis.
Porter is another of these lottery prospects whose season was cut short. . Porter flashed an acumen for unassisted scoring, the truest sign of a NBA-caliber superstar. Porter showed off an adroit midrange game where only 10% of his two point jumpers were assisted, along with shooting over 40% from three where only 40% of those shots were assisted. He scores at all three levels with ease, off the dribble, off the catch, it doesn't matter to him. Porter loves to play with tempo and pace, thriving in transition and at the basket. Overall, Porter offers a complete scoring profile at a good size for the NBA. However, there are few other stastical indicators of things that he does well. He boasts a negative AST:TO ratio, doesn't provide much defese, doesn't always look engaged, and has shown off-the-court problems. When he was cleared to return to action in mid-January, he looked like a worse player than he did before. Porter provides upside for a team looking to take a big risk in the first round of the draft, but there are too many factors that need to go right for me to want to invest a significant amount of draft capital in him.