2022 NBA Draft: Patience Required
Not every drafted player is going to be able to help an NBA team right away. Some might never get there at all. But the draft is a time for hope, where all the raw skills in the world can draw a franchise in. The allure of what could supersedes the reality of what’s there, and teams tend to think that they can have the next big thing if they can just get a player into their development program.
We’re going to take a second and spotlight some players who could be considered “projects,” with an abundance of skill that could be channeled into big upside down the line.
Shaedon Sharpe, F, Kentucky
Sharpe is getting top-10 buzz despite sitting out his lone season at Kentucky. The last tape teams have of him (besides pre-draft workouts) is coming from high school, but that hasn’t slowed the hype train. Sharpe is going to need time to stew given the huge leap in competition he’s about to face, but he has scoring instincts, a lethal 3-point shot and a willingness to pass. Mix in the fact that he’s 6’6″ with a 6’11” wingspan and it’s easy to see the star potential. Wings with that kind of size who can shoot have a pretty stable floor in the league these days.
Sharpe’s a tremendous athlete who can finish above the rim with soft touch on his jumper and knock-down shooting ability from all over the court. He’s not afraid to score in isolation situations and can use them to set the table for his teammates by drawing multiple defenders in and then making the right read out to an open player. Sharpe’s weaknesses are things that will hopefully be ironed out with experience; he can get lost off the ball on defense and will need to work on his shot selection, but the overall package is going to make a fanbase fall in love. Sharpe’s floor appears to be that of a 3-point gunner with enough size to battle on defense. The ceiling is enticing in both fantasy and reality.
Ousmane Dieng, F, NZ Breakers
Any team picking Dieng will be banking on his on-court skills catching up to the rest of him; a 6’10” forward who plays with the mindset of a playmaking guard sounds great if it all works out. Dieng, however, had a very rough start to his season in the Australian league, leading to uninspiring averages of 7.0 points and a .219 mark from the 3-point line. He did improve over the last month of play, however, hitting double figures in 12 contests, and looked far more comfortable on the floor than he did to start. Dieng’s calling card is his guard-level ball-handling, as he can get anywhere he wants on the court with a crafty handle. He’s liable to pull up off the dribble or glide past his defenders to get to the rim, with the vision to drop dimes right out of the dribble as well. At his size, there’s not much that defenders can do to shut off all of those aspects. Defensively, Dieng can slide around to cover multiple positions and has great fluidity, keeping pace with a wide variety of opponents.
Dieng still needs time to grow into his frame, however. He’s not great at playing through contact and avoids it when possible, which is a bad mix considering how poorly he’s performed as a shooter so far. Even with that, a 6’10” forward (he may be shorter, depending on who you want to believe, but is at least 6’8″) who can dribble is going to be appealing in today’s NBA. Until he gets the scoring game going, he’ll be a long-term fantasy prospect. If it all clicks though, Dieng has a lot to offer. Size, defense, and shot creation makes for a great set of building blocks.
Nikola Jovic, F, Mega Basket
Jovic is a 6’10” forward who grew up playing as a guard, giving him the toolkit of a playmaker. It’s an archetype that’s becoming increasingly common as nominal positions matter less and less, but Jovic can take it to a new level. He’s at the best with the ball in his hands and will make the right decisions with it, reading and probing without ever forcing his own shots up. Jovic is great in the open floor and has enough of a handle to buy himself time when he needs to, keeping defenses on their toes as he toggles between scoring and playmaking modes.
Unfortunately, Jovic is only a so-so shooter to this point, and has major defensive deficiencies. It’s going to take a lot of work to get him bulky enough to play against NBA centers on either end of the floor. Jovic gets crushed by any physical play and has trouble finishing in the paint, even with his height advantage over most players. There’s also the matter of a good-not-great showing in the Adriatic League, which is generally not the toughest competition out there. Guys who make the NBA leap tend to be dominant forces for their teams, whereas Jovic was just a cog in the machine for Mega Basket. Jovic is going to get by on intelligence and guile, but if he can make better use of his physical gifts and round out his game, fantasy GMs could have a unique player to monitor.
Peyton Watson, F, UCLA
In theory, Watson is a 6’8″ wing with a seven-foot wingspan, ball-handling skills and a burgeoning scoring game. In theory. In practice, he shot so poorly in his lone year at UCLA (.322 / .226 / .688 shooting splits) as to limit himself from getting more minutes. A raw prospect with lots of long-term upside, Watson was unable to establish any sort of rhythm with the Bruins, though he did deliver flashes of his on-ball defensive potential. The length and quickness are Watson’s greatest baseline tools and there will be teams willing to roll the dice on an upside play. That “in theory” version of Watson sounds pretty good, after all. Good enough to overlook 12.7 mpg and 3.3 points per contest.
He’s a top-flight athlete but will need the sculpting and molding of an NBA development staff to hit the next stage of his career. We’ve seen pops of impact, whether that’s a great play at the rim, an improving jumper or just the discipline to play hard without losing his cool over low playing time. Now it’s just a matter of Watson finding the time to put it all together with some consistency. His frame is ready for the league, but the skills need refinement.
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