Jeremiah Robinson-Earl did it all on both ends for Villanova in his 16-8-2 campaign that got his name called two Junes ago. But with a set of measurements and an on-ball package that both lose some of their punch in the pros, finding a role in the NBA has been largely up to his versatility and intelligence.

Defense

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl’s biggest defensive strengths are adaptations around his physical shortcomings – starting with his attentiveness. Standing at just 6’9” with a neutral wingspan and a 32-inch max vert, a second too late could mean an inch too short. Spend any defensive possession just watching JRE and you’ll see how active and instructive his head and hands are – even when he isn’t directly involved in the action.

When he is involved in the play, JRE has to do more with each movement than a normal seven footer would have to. Just as animals have evolved to make themselves artificially bigger in the wake of predators, JRE has learned deimatic bluffs to appear like he’s covering the ball-handler, the roller, the rim, and everything in between. He shrinks the horizontal gap between ball and man with outstretched arms whilst simultaneously moderating the downhill gap by alternating opened and closed stances – tactically luring the ball-handler further or feinting a commitment.

His nimble footwork and balance when backpedaling, zippy (yet vertically limited) load time to leave his feet, and precise hand-eye ball-tracking are the cherries on top of his pristine and purposeful technique. The latter of the two you can also see in more general help defense settings, enabling him to seemingly guard two players are once.

All of this combines to be one of the most impressive drop coverage techniques in the league – with JRE out-punching his size by holding ball-handlers to just 0.743 points per possessions in 144 defended pick and rolls this season, according to Synergy. These successful results have consolidated JRE’s cover-versatile repertoire into primarily a drop for the time being. However, you’ll still catch JRE aggressively switching or hedging-and-recovering on a situational basis – and those same perimeter chops are also on full display when tasked with 1-on-1 matchups vs big wings like Julius or Zion.

But even with this all considered, JRE’s height is ultimately the ceiling for his defense – quite literally. Averaging 0.7 blocks per 70 possessions, the fruits of JRE’s labor play the probability game – similar to the likes of Daniel Theis or Isaiah Stewart – decreasing opponents’ chances of scoring, but never eliminating them entirely.

Offense

Robinson-Earl was a bucket-getting swiss army knife in his final year of college – balancing above-80th percentile efficiency in each of post-ups, spot-ups, cuts, isos, and finishing as a screener. But without the hops to rim-run or the height to post-up against NBA athletes, that multi-bladed arsenal has dampened to a dulled set of butter knives. JRE has traded the majority of his on-ball usage for spot-up shooting, where he’s spent 44.8% of his non-putback opportunities in the halfcourt. Growing in confidence, he’s been hot and unhesitant from beyond the arc to start the year, nailing 38.2% of 68 attempts – although is likely closer to his career average of 36.1%.

As much as I hate how the “Will-He-Shoot?” question reduces talented players to a single dimension, reviving the vestiges of JRE’s collegiate on-ball game will rely almost entirely on his shot becoming respectable. As we’ve seen from late-bloomers Wendell Carter Jr. and Grant Williams, convincing hard closeouts creates driving lanes, and driving lanes create chances to reopen latent ball skills. Intriguing driving flashes do exist, but shooting is still JRE’s clear primary tendency off the catch – not to mention, he’s already been called on 3 traveling violations trying to put the ball on the ground. If not a shooter long-term, he’d likely be better off upping his dive/cut frequency on these chances like his teammates Wiggins, Giddey, and Kenrich.

A viable off-catch game would paint JRE more as a wing than a big on offense, which I think is worth exploring with him not offering a ton as a screener. Without a bulky-enough frame to set high-contact screens, or above-the-rim rolling pop, JRE struggles to create advantages in the two-man game. But as a smart decision-maker, he’s been able to reclaim some value slipping screens, quick pitching, or reversing the ball to the second side – which all interest me – but it’s difficult to make a living on those skills alone unless the offense is committed to putting the ball in your hands a lot, which I don’t think see a SGA-Giddey-led team doing.

But smart players find a way more often than not, and JRE has discovered transition as a new way to add value. His most recent development has been upping his transition frequency from 11.5% to 20.7% of his total scoring chances this year – a great compliment to fast-break wizard Giddey. And with his ball skills still somewhere in his bag, eventually JRE may be the one sparking the break.

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Entering his 2nd year with the Houston Rockets, Spanish Forward Usman Garuba seems to be finding his footing. The former 23rd pick in the 2021 NBA Draft has been anchoring the Rockets best lineups, and impacting the game with his energy and defensive intensity. Garuba has thrived so far this season, being in 4 of the top 6 lineups in net rating on the Rockets. Garuba is still very raw, and it is evident in his game. However, his impact on the court is also evident, and makes him one of the better defenders in the NBA.

Offense

Offensively, Garuba is still very rough around the edges. Although his lack of shooting and handling is also a concern, one of his biggest weak points is his inability to control the ball. Garuba often fumbled passes, allowing the ball to bounce off his hands and away from him. This became an issue with passes, rebounds, gathers… basically anything that involved putting both hands on the ball. His inability to hold onto the ball became a cause of struggle, although it has seemed improved so far this season.

Where Garuba has shown some improvements is in the short roll. Usman has a good feel for passes, although sometimes makes reads a tad too late. He will often miss reads to open guys behind him, as he still lacks the awareness and handling ability to turn around a find them. However, he is still a decent decision maker in these instances around the nail, and has shown flashes of being able to punish defenses in this low-volume connector role.

A necessary improvement in his game will be spot up shooting. Usman could easily play in a PJ Tucker style role offensively, if he can respectably hit the corner 3. He is a bit too short to be a consistent roll man, so this could be another route to success for Garuba offensively.

Defense

Where Garuba will make his career is on the defensive end. Garuba is a versatile defender, quick enough to stick in front of smaller wings, but long enough to guard some of the biggest big men in the league. He averages near 2 blocks and 2 steals per 70 possessions, and has stood out on many defensive metrics across the board. The tape shows this as well, as Garuba’s hustle and determination to disrupt plays has been one of the staples of the Rockets’ defense.

An adjustment he will need to make that has been slowly happening is his over-aggression defensively. In Spain, Garuba was allowed to use his body to lunge into balls, push guys around and utilize his size in a more brute manner. Now, in the NBA, he needs to learn how to be less physical. Although he hasn’t fouled as much as expected in the NBA, his over-aggression does occasionally lead to unnecessary fouls or over-playing plays, giving the team open looks. By being more disciplined, Garuba can become the all-defensive level player that many hoped for pre-draft.

Overall

Playing behind Alperen Sengun, Tari Eason and Jabari Smith, it might be hard for Garuba to get consistent minutes moving forward. With recent reports stating that Garuba will be playing behind Bruno Fernando as well in the rotation, Usman will likely have to fight for his minutes throughout the season. Luckily for him, his play-style relies on defense and hustle, two things that will help cement you into a rotation. With work on the shooting touch, helping him understand reads and improving his hands, Garuba could see himself being a game-winner on the court with his intensity and impact on the defensive end.

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Drafted 3rd overall in the 2022 NBA Draft, Jabari Smith Jr out of Auburn University may be the most “safe” player out of his class. The 6’11” forward made his mark on the SEC as a disruptive defender and a knockdown shooter. On an Auburn team with fellow draftee Walker Kessler, Jabari led Auburn to one of their better seasons of recent. Now, on a young energetic Rockets team with guards Kevin Porter Jr and Jalen Green, Jabari will have plenty of on-ball reps to improve offensively and reach the star potential that made him the 3rd overall pick. At the very least, he has a route to become one of the elite shooters in the NBA.

Offense

While Jabari does convert at the rim at a decent rate, he lacks the on-ball skills and strength to really excel at the rim. More of a straight-line driver, Jabari CAN attack closeouts, but is often better suited simply shooting over the defender. Jabari shot 42.2% from 3 last season, a number many believe he will be able to match at the NBA level given his quick, high release. A below average passer and ball-handler, Jabari will see the majority of his touches coming in cuts, catch and shoot opportunities, and offensive rebounds. Smith shows flashes of being able to become an elite post player as well. His high release and long strides allow him to create space, and with a soft touch, drop in many post fadeaways. With some additional skill development, Jabari can become a great second option for the newly built Rockets next to budding superstar Jalen Green.

Defense

What makes Jabari stand out compared to other big sharpshooters is his defensive versatility. Jabari’s long frame and defensive instincts make him an incredible shot blocker, but his quick feet and smooth lateral movement help him keep up with smaller players. Jabari’s low and wide stance on defense allows him to switch onto guards, and his quick load time and high vertical allow him to contest almost any look. In Houston, his role on defense will, much of the time, likely be similar to that of a small ball 5. On a small Houston team, Jabari will be tested early against bigger centers, something he did not need to do much at Auburn. However, Jabari is still very skinny for his size, and with NBA strength training could bulk up to be able to guard stronger players well.

Conclusion

Jabari Smith will find plenty of opportunity early in his career to improve on his weak points offensively, and next to two electric scoring guards, Smith should have many open looks to showcase his marksmanship. While he has some obvious spots for improvement to reach his ceiling, at his worst Jabari will still be an impactful player on both ends of the court, with consistent effort on defense and spreading the floor offensively.

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MarJon Beauchamp was drafted with the 24th overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2022 NBA Draft. The 6’7″ wing out of Yakima, Washington took an unconventional path to the NBA. Despite being a highly touted 4-star recruit, Beauchamp opted out of the college route, instead training at San Francisco-based training facility Chameleon BX until the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Beauchamp then played for his local Community College, Yakima Valley CC, where he averaged 31 point a game and over 10 rebounds. Beauchamp’s success in Yakima found him a spot on the 2021 G League Ignite roster. It was here that Beauchamp excelled, finding his role immediately. His ability to find open space in the half court and hustle on both ends saw him becoming Team Ignite’s energizer throughout the season. Playing in an off-ball role, Beauchamp still managed to have many big games. He finished the season averaging 15.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Alongside his elite defense, Beauchamp’s rise was enough to see the young kid from Yakima become a first round pick.

Offense

Despite struggling from deep, MarJon has one of the more aesthetically pleasing dribble pull-ups, and the rate at which he converts these bodes well for future shooting development. Shooting just 29.6% from 3, Beauchamp shot 42.9% on all off the dribble jump shot attempts. However, this pull-up game will likely not be where MarJon finds his touches to start his career. Even with GLI, MarJon came in as arguably the 5th highest-touted prospect, seeing him play more off-ball next to ball-heavy teammates Jaden Hardy and Dyson Daniels. MarJon’s role as a play finisher is due to his ability to cut to the rim, find gaps in the defense and attack in space. Sometimes, MarJon seems to even walk into open space. Shiftier than anticipated, MarJon is great at attacking closeouts, even without a consistent jumper. MarJon also excels around the rim, shooting an incredible 68.4% on rim attempts throughout the season. On a Bucks team with many shot creators and play makers, MarJon will find plenty of space to get open looks.

Defense

Despite being one of the better defenders on G League Ignite last season, MarJon still has some struggles on the point of attack. His lack of hip mobility gives him struggles against shiftier guards. However, against players who liken straight-line drives, Beauchamp is able to use his strong frame to wall off offensive players and keep them out the paint. This, combined with his keen defensive instincts off-ball, show similarities to fellow “Roamer” Robert Covington. While both have their flaws as POA defenders, both make their impact as help defenders. Beauchamp averaged 2.95 deflections per game last season in the G League and forced 2.3 turnovers a game. His disruptive nature in the passing lanes and digging into ball handlers keep offenses on their toes. In the paint, his seven-foot wingspan allows him to keep up with bigger forwards and still cause problems at the rim. MarJon’s defense, albeit not perfect, makes him an impactful player, often making winning plays on this end.

Conclusion

One of the older prospects, MarJon still has plenty of room to develop. His unorthodox track to the NBA still had a great record. From being a 4-star prospect, to a JuCo star, to being the battery that sparked Team Ignite, Beauchamp has always found his role and excelled in it. Now, with his locker directly next to that of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Beauchamp is in the perfect environment to come along slowly on a winning team. An absolute work-horse, it is hard to see a world that Beauchamp does not stick in the NBA. The Bucks likely won’t let it happen either. Just look at how happy they were to land him!

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With the 37th pick of the 2022 NBA Draft, the Dallas Mavericks selected former 5-star recruit, Jaden Hardy, out of the G League Ignite. Standing at 6’4″, Hardy brings an intriguing skillset to a Mavericks team in desperate need of more ballhandlers. Hardy loves to get to his shot and he flashed advanced shot-making and self-creation throughout his time with Ignite, though not without room for improvement.

While the flashes are nice, Hardy badly needs to improve his efficiency for him to have a positive impact on the offensive side of the floor. In 25 games for Ignite, Hardy rocked a 52% true shooting percentage and took far too many early clock and heavily contested jumpers for my liking.

Despite this, I remain confident he’ll improve his efficiency, as his free throw shooting (82%) and shot volume/diet are both great indicators of ++ touch while I trust an NBA coaching staff and a simplified role to clean up the shot selection a little bit. Where most of my concern lies with Hardy is his finishing at the rim. He shot a paltry 49% at the cup this past season and really struggled with size, length, and contact, pointing to functional strength and vertical pop deficiencies. Finishing against NBA bigs will likely compound this problem, and could seriously limit his upside as an on-ball creator if he doesn’t improve.

Luckily for Hardy, he should thrive in a more off-ball role next to a creator like Luka as his off-ball movement and catch-and-shoot ability are both at a good level at this point in his career. He’s shown the ability to attack closeouts well, and while the rim finishing will continue to hurt him here, his passing game really grew as the G League season went on, suggesting an avenue to success in attacking and making reads against a tilted defense. Meanwhile, his off-the-dribble shotmaking could give the Mavs and Luka a release valve similar to the one Jalen Brunson provided to the team.

Where Hardy has Improved Already

I’m going to quickly outline some areas that Hardy has already improved in to give us a good idea of his current development trajectory and where we can expect his improvements to come.

As I mentioned earlier, Hardy’s passing has improved a bit already, trading tougher shots that he was taking earlier in the season for smarter decisions. Overall, the game just slowed down for him as the season went on, showing some really nice instances of poise, control, and playing at his own pace in situations where he previously panicked or rushed to get to his shot. Continuing to improve in this area will really help his efficiency and even his finishing at the rim as he picks and chooses when to attack a little better.

Defense

The defensive end of the floor is a bit less promising for Hardy. As a point-of-attack defender, he gave up blow-bys far too often, frequently getting beat as a result of a poor gamble, body orientation, or screen navigation. With lackluster strength and recovery skills, a Hardy blow-by almost always guaranteed a good shot opportunity for the opponent and is something to monitor as Jason Kidd attempts to get him acclimated to playing defense at the NBA level. There may be room for optimism as Hardy’s plus wingspan and active hands already bother opposing players at times. A lot of growth could come from simply getting more minutes and understanding as a part of an NBA defense.

As an off-ball defender, Hardy wasn’t great either, rotating and playing passing lanes well at times, but also missing tags or rotations here and there due to ball-watching or lapses in concentration. Again, a lot of this should in theory improve with time, but it is still important to note the level he’s at now.

Conclusion

All in all, Jaden Hardy is a really fun prospect who, if he continues to make improvements to his game, could make a lot of teams regret letting him fall to the Mavericks. While he’s started the season out of the rotation, expect him to grow into a larger role for the Mavs as the season goes on.

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Entering his third season with the Mavericks, Josh Green’s path to positive value is becoming clearer by the day. Green is extremely quick laterally and expertly mirrors ballhandlers all over the court. The 6’5″ guard is a tenacious defender, often picking opponent guards up full court and chasing them around the court. Green is especially adept at making defensive plays in transition: just look at him sneak up on Nemanja Bjelica to regain possession here for the Mavs.

Green is a great defensive playmaker in general, leveraging his crazy quick hands and excellent anticipation to rack up 1.54 steals per 70 possessions, good for the 32nd most among qualified players in 2021-22. Look at the anticipation and hand-eye coordination that make this steal against Steph Curry possible. Not many players across the league are capable of making this play.

While Green still gets caught by screens here and there, he’s shown enough possessions of good screen navigation to make me confident he could soon be a big plus there too (hence the inclusion of the skill up top). As an off-ball defender, Green has displayed excellent instincts and often pokes the ball away from the nail or one pass away. He’s got great defensive feel, rarely missing a rotation and using his anticipation to jump passing lanes. When you put together good defensive instincts AND great physical tools, you get a guy that has an All-Defensive ceiling, and that is exactly what I see in Green even if the minutes are not yet there.

Once he forces a turnover, Green is a weapon in transition, beating his opponents across the floor and utilizing his vertical athleticism to finish strong. The rest of Green’s offensive game, on the other hand, is still a work in progress. As on defense, Green is a ball of energy on the offensive end, crashing the class with force, but also can look jittery with the ball in his hands at times (Mavs fans refer to it as ‘hot-potato’). He’s a really good passer, quick decision-maker and cutter but held back by his limitations as a scorer. Through roughly two seasons thus far, he’s shot 31.7% from three on only 1 attempt per game (2.38 per 70 poss.). This past postseason, he found himself out of the rotation once the Suns decided to pay absolutely no attention to him on offense. Their defense essentially left him unguarded and were able to shrink the court, making generating any sort of offense in the halfcourt extremely difficult. I’ve touched on it before, but in my eyes, Green’s struggles from three and scoring may be more mental than anything. Green struggled with a short leash under Rick Carlisle, letting misses get to his head and discourage him from trying things on offense. With some regained confidence under Jason Kidd last year, Green was able to showcase a bit more, even posting a 10-assist game against the Trail Blazers.

From a purely mechanical view, Green’s shot doesn’t look too bad. His slight valgus collapse appears to have messed with his transfer of energy somewhat. He still has signs of it this year, but the transfer of energy seems cleaner (perhaps a product of a narrower base and more lift) and I’m interested in seeing the results.

If or when he can figure out the shot, everything else should fall into place rather nicely. As I mentioned earlier, he really is a pretty special passer, and forcing stronger closeouts from the defense consistently could allow him to attack them more and weaponize his passing further.

As far as self-creation goes, it’s pretty easily Green’s rawest skill as his handle is rudimentary and his lack of a left-hand greatly limits his finishing in the halfcourt (in addition to the shooting woes). It’s part of why I don’t really buy him as a ‘ball-handling’ option for the Mavs off the bench despite what some of the reports have suggested. Still, Green doesn’t need to be the one driving offense to have a positive impact; his role as a connector is what makes him special.

Conclusion

Josh Green’s breakout feels imminent. As his confidence continues to grow and more and more of those 3s start to fall, Green could quickly become one of the more valuable role players in the entire league. He already plays excellent defense both on and off the ball, is a one-man wrecking ball in transition, has shown to be a willing and capable passer, and is an intelligent mover off the ball. Once that shot starts to go down and he commands stronger closeouts, he’ll be the perfect connective piece for Luka Doncic and the Mavs.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers have a likely future All-Defense team member in Evan Mobley, while he is also just scratching the surface on his offensive upside. After taking Mobley third in the 2021 NBA draft, the Cavs implemented a twin towers defensive approach, with Jarrett Allen taking the more traditional big role as Mobley roved causing havoc with his long limbs and incredible hand-eye coordination. The degree of difficulty on Mobley steals and blocks was among the toughest in the league, immediately. With him able to stick seamlessly with wings, and Allen providing the home base last line behind him, the Cavs defense ranked in the top 10 despite being 25th the season before.

The Cavs have doubled down on this strategy by trading for Donovan Mitchell to rev up the backcourt even further while counting on Mobley and Allen to pick up the slack. Mobley will have his hands full, but with rapid reactive instincts and the smooth movement skills needed to cover entire swathes of the court with his 7’4” wingspan.

Meanwhile, the addition of Mitchell on offense should free up Mobley to continue to develop his offense game. Not to overstate his offense as a weakness – Mobley was fifth in points per game of all rookies – but getting more of a chance to create on his own seems on the table, and leveraging the combined playmaking threat of Mitchell and Garland can help unlock that.

Mobley is an excellent passer, but with poor perimeter shooting efficiency so far, does not always get the chance to showcase that beyond as a connector. In sets like the below from their opening game of the 2022-23 season, Mobley is able to use the threat of his length and capable ballhandling to threaten the rim downhill, opening up an easy kick opportunity. One imagines this type of opportunity and, similarly, short roll reps will be plentiful with opponents scrambling to cover the quick backcourt pairing.

While the form looks smoothed somewhat after working on it over the offseason, gains there are likely to be gradual, and unlikely to earn hard close-outs. But he provides a lot of value as a lob threat as well, utilizing that wingspan again but also, perhaps an underrated quality for a roll man, perfect footwork and agility. Here, again from their opening game, Mobley receives a lob from Donovan Mitchell after slipping the screen (more on that later). Mobley’s speed gets him past his defender, Pascal Siakam, quite easily for the lob, but faces a contest at the rim as the lob falls a bit short of ideal accuracy. Unbothered, Mobley pumps in mid-air as he catches the lob, converting it to a lay-in as Scottie flies past.

But Mobley deciding not to go straight through Barnes for the dunk is significant as well, and points to one of the few sticking points with the 21-year-old’s game. Mobley is still quite skinny, even after adding some muscle from last season. This leads to inconsistent screens as well as occasional hiccups after not being able to keep his spot. Screening in particular will be important when playing with two PNR-heavy guards, and if he’s spending ample time chasing opponents on defense, the energy expense equation becomes tougher for the young big.

The Cavs have high expectations for Mobley, as show by their willingness to go all in on the current core by trading future picks for Donovan Mitchell. There may be growing pains as they adjust to the lopsided scheme, but have as good of a connecting, scheme-versatile big as they could ask in Mobley. Even getting a play like this once or twice a game would be huge for raising the Cavs’ ceiling, as opponents will struggle to sag off of the Cleveland guards.

As is obvious by his seamless rotations and rapid reactive passing, Mobley is a brainiac. Combine that with an immense athletic toolkit to work from, and odds are he’ll figure it out. It may only take refinement on the edges to get him into some serious accolade talk.

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Scottie Barnes is a powerhouse unto himself. The nicest thing I can say about Scottie is, despite all the makings of a connector with his skill set, is he is a pure hooper. Barnes has an improvisational flexibility that few have access to, a “hey, what if I?” when the opponent least expects it.

It’s not exclusively sunshine and rainbows (despite Scottie’s effusive personality), but Barnes’ ability to show new facets of his game the second he stepped on the court for the Toronto Raptors also displays his flexibility as a player to build around. After shooting a mere 5-21 on pull-up jumpers as a freshman at Florida State, Barnes shot consistently around 40% on copious pull-ups with the Raptors. What seems like too slow-loading of a shot to work off the dribble, Barnes is able to re-set his body quickly enough out of drives and long enough to shoot over defenders.

If you defend him tight, his handle, speed and deliberate strides can get him to the rim. Which gets us to our second point: Barnes is also incredibly strong, but more importantly loves to use it. Just look at him forcing the issue against Dean Wade in Toronto’s opener:

The Raptors love allowing their players, especially 6’7’’-6’9’’ ones with ballhandling chops, to fully explore their creation space. Barnes having the freedom to just try things works perfectly with his natural creativity. I love the below pass as clearly outside of a set design. But Barnes holds to find the advantage point, and has the flexibility of mind to capitalize on it:

It’s not the prettiest method of creating offense as a team, but allowing Barnes to roam with the ball to pick his delivery method generally gives his team an advantage. Perhaps his most unique ability is to make zip-line passes from 20+ feet away and nail his target in the hands, often slinging with one arm at unexpected moments. Again these are essential tools to create openings for an often-stagnant offense. Few can imitate both the speed and accuracy on skip pass reads like this, with innumerable examples:

Barnes is often referred to as a defense-first player, but I think it’s quite the opposite. Barnes’ best asset on defense is how he loves to be in the muck and physical, as well as always happy to take on a challenging assignment. But he has major issues with positioning, and despite the “can guard 1-5” label doesn’t have the footspeed to hang with real guards. It’s common for a rookie to feel lost on defense, but the technique lacks in spots as well, as he can chase after non-threatening offensive players or take poor angles when defending the pick and roll handler. Some additional attention to detail will be needed for Barnes to live up to his billing as a true wing stopper, and as we’ve established, he seems to be cut out for the challenge.

Most importantly, however, Scottie wants to be that guy. His playful intensity on the court means challenging himself throughout a game, as this breaking through consecutive off-ball screens without being slowed for a single frame was staggering to witness. Very few players his size are willing to throw themselves through a screen like that, and Scottie did it in game one of the regular season while chasing after the not-so-threatening Cedi Osman.

Not even within sets, Scottie loves setting an off-ball screen at any random moment if he thinks it will give his team an opening. He loves the game and has all kinds of tools to figure out how to cover up his weaknesses.

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Devin has been an impactful off-ball defender since he entered the league thanks to his surprising length and anticipation. He doesn’t have an eye-popping number of steals and blocks but is consistently getting his hand on the ball for deflections and mucking up passing lanes for offenses. Couple that with solid timing and verticality when protecting the rim and you have an incredibly high level team defensive wing capable of playing in a variety of different roles.

On-ball Vassell has occasional venus flytrap moments, engulfing smaller ball handlers with his quickness and length. He is quick laterally but can struggle to flip his hips and when navigating screens, both on and off the ball. Devin’s slender frame makes it more difficult for him to handle the contact of a well-set screen, often resulting in a difficult rear-side contest or a forced switch. He has great tools recovering to contest shots, but relying on that consistently is a slippery slope. Learning to wriggle around screens is a skill-set that comes with time, but is a necessary development for him to reach a higher level defensive outcome.

Offensively Vassell has had flashes of brilliance shooting from both beyond the arc and in the mid-range but struggled to score efficiently on a consistent basis. His shot from three is more versatile than your typical 3-D wing, as the team regularly uses actions to run him off screens and get him open on the move. Converting three point attempts off of movement at a higher clip is an essential first step towards improving his overall efficiency. He has the volume at over 7 attempts per game, but 36% from distance is not high enough to buoy the rest of his offensive game.

Devin is a talented shot-creator in the mid-range with a reliable turnaround jumper at the elbow but was incredibly reliant on it, taking over twice as many mid-range attempts as shots at the rim. He has struggled to create rim attempts with any regularity, even out of ball-screen scenarios. Vassell is a solid athlete, but an unremarkable one and this is where it shows most. Without a powerful frame or elite short-area quickness Devin has had difficulties finishing through traffic in the half court which has ultimately resulted in an unideal shot diet. He looks to have added a significant amount of weight to his frame this off-season, time will tell if that helps him alter his shot diet.

Where Devin does shine when operating ball screens is his pull-up shooting and growing passing acumen. He has a high enough release point to where contests rarely matter, he is able to shoot over nearly anyone. As he has gotten more reps he has become more consistent finding open shooters on the perimeter and creating quality looks for his teammates. He doesn’t have the scoring gravity to be a high leverage option here, but the ancillary skills are there.

If Devin is able to increase his rim frequency he could be in for a sizable leap as a creator. If that doesn’t come around Vassell should continue to profile as a valuable and versatile defensive-minded wing with quick decision making and impressive shot versatility on the perimeter.

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Dyson Daniels is a 6’8″ connective guard from Australia who spent last season on G League Ignite. A lesser known prospect as a product of the NBA Academy, Daniels quickly caught the eyes of scouts. By the 2nd half of the season, Daniels had surpassed teammate and former top-5 recruit Jaden Hardy on NBA draft big boards. In the Rising Stars challenge, Daniels played alongside former #1 pick Cade Cunningham, and won their tournament with Daniels playing a key role on the team. Daniels went 8th overall to the New Orleans Pelicans, a team with many other connective players and pseudo-playmakers. Daniels looks to carve out a role on a young Pelicans team through his defensive prowess and quick decision-making.

Offense

Dyson excelled last season in the point guard role for Team Ignite. Struggling in the first half of the season, he found his footing during the G League Ignite tour. Dyson had a 10 percentage point increase in 3 point percentage, and had improved stats in every category. On a struggling Ignite team, Daniels stood out with his decision making. Adjusting from his academy style of playmaking to the more freeform style of the G League, Daniels was the perfect mix of creative and methodical. With little advantage creators on the roster, Dyson knew how to draw in defenders, get to his spots and find the open man.

Defense

Dyson’s long frame and quick feet allow him to guard the one through four positions. Dyson led the G League in deflections last season with 3.9 deflections per game. This preseason with the Pelicans, Dyson averaged 5.3 steals, 1.3 blocks and 8.7 deflections per 36. The deflections would be three higher than Matisse Thybulle, who led the league in deflections last season. Dyson’s considered a “glue guy” due to his keen shot-blocking ability and his versatility defensively. While his offense may struggle to begin his career, Dyson will find his minutes on the defensive end. With added weight, Dyson could quickly become one of the more dominant defenders in the league.

Outlook

On a Pelicans team with many skilled players, Dyson can come to use on the defensive end and as a connective creator on offense. The Pelicans have plenty of skilled players that, with Dyson, can lead to many creative options. Dyson, alongside Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III, will likely anchor the wing defense for the Pelicans this season. If Dyson can improve as a shooter off the catch, he can add a new fold to his game, and the Pelicans offense. Next to many creators with versatile offensive games, the possibilities and avenues to success for Dyson Daniels are endless in New Orleans.

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