By Michael Bradley
CENTERS OF ATTENTION
After flirting with the guards and swingmen for a few years, the NBA Draft will be going back to its first love: big men.
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2018 | THE FINALS
Height: 7-0 Weight: 243 College: Arizona Projected Position: Center There is some debate over whether Ayton should be the top overall pick, but many people are convinced he’s the one. “He’s a franchise-changing talent,” a Western Conference executive says. “He has every offensive tool in the box.” Ayton has tremendous physical skills and athletic ability. He can shoot to 17 feet and even made some threepointers (12-of-35) for the Wildcats. Ayton rebounds well and he isn’t a bad passer. “He has a high skill level,” an Eastern executive says. “He can face up. He makes free throws. His rebounding is elite.” The question with Ayton comes at the other end. He doesn’t protect the rim. He blocked only 66 shots in 35 games, a low total for somebody with his skill and size. Ayton isn’t good at guarding the perimeter and will have to make a big commitment to improving on that side of the ball. “His defensive game is not as good as you would think it is for someone with his physical package,” the Eastern exec says. The thinking is that some work will fix his defense, but you can’t teach the raw skills that Ayton already possesses.
Jaren Jackson Jr.
Height: 6-11 Weight: 240 College: Michigan State Projected Position: Power Forward The son of former player Jaren Sr., Jackson has the chance to do what pops didn’t do: Go up to the draft stage and shake the Commissioner’s hand. But Jr. will have a long road to go before he matches dad’s 12 years in the League, one of them ending in a championship with the San Antonio Spurs in 1999. In order to get there, he’ll have to improve his jump shot and get more consistent with his offensive production. But a team looking for someone with amazing potential would do well to consider him carefully. “He plays the right way, is usually highly engaged in the game, is unselfish and is a really, really good rim protector,” the Eastern personnel man says. “He is good at blocking shots. “His upside stands out.” The Western exec gushes a little more: “He is a freak of nature physically.” Jackson is one of the youngest players in the draft (he doesn’t turn 19 until Sept. 15), which means he has plenty of room to grow. “He’s a very good player,” the Eastern exec says. “He ‘s a great kid, too.”
JOE MURPHY (2)/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
all this one “The Return of the Big Men.” There have been plenty of tall people chosen in the upper reaches of the NBA Draft before, but recently we have been overrun with wings and guards and people who want to do anything but play inside. This year is different. It’s possible as many as four pivots could be chosen during the Lottery portion of the proceedings, and a couple other top prospects have the capacity to handle center duties in smalllineup alignments. “As many six or seven big men could go in the Lottery,” says an Eastern Conference personnel man. While the belief among many in the know is that Arizona center Deandre Ayton is the top prospect, there is no agreement about how the other big men sort themselves out. In a draft that doesn’t include a lot of top-shelf, true guards, people’s eyes will be looking up, and teams will be trying to fortify their interiors with an interesting crop of big men. The following is a rating of the top 15 players, based not on where they will go in the Draft but on how their careers will proceed once they reach the NBA.
Deandre Ayton
