Who To Look For At #47
Jalen Slawson, Julian Strawther, Ricky Council IV, James Nnaji
Finding a good player at #47 is going to be an even tougher challenge than the one at #17. Some players decided to go back to school, and now my hopes for a 1st-round ranked player slipping to that 47th pick are slim.
That being said, let’s start with a general list of players I’m currently looking into.
Jalen Slawson
Julian Strawther
Ricky Council IV
James Nnaji
Trayce Jackson-Davis
Amari Bailey
Andre Jackson Jr
Mouhamed Gueye
Bobi Klintman
Ben Sheppard
This current list of players, I have mocked in the early 2nd round except for GG Jackson who I anticipate is going far earlier than where I have him ranked.
This post is going to focus on a little on each player, starting from the top, and continuing to complete the list leading up to draft day.
Jalen Slawson - I’ve written about Slawson before, but it does help to get more official pre-draft measurements. He’s listed at 6’6.5” w/o shoes, with an 8’10” standing reach and 6’11.75” wingspan. That standing reach allows him to be an effective secondary rim protector, while his given height helps lower the center of gravity when he’s being physical against other post players. He’s essentially a center in a power forward frame. While that doesn’t initially sound great, I’m not referring to a traditional hang around the hoop defensive player and just a lob threat. I am referring to a center that makes reads from the perimeter, is a secondary rim protector, makes passing reads from the high post, and has flashed a three-point shot. In my mind, that’s Larry Nance Jr., a productive NBA player as a 4/5 but capable of winning plays.
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to find any tape of him from the combine, but this at least gives some idea of the offensive role I expect him to play next level, pick and slip, decoy dribble hand off, dribble hand off, pick and pop, and spot up.
At that #47 spot in the draft, I’m just trying to find any NBA level player. Dwight Powell is more of an athlete with vertical pop, but Slawson here can fill that role with better craft, decision-making, three-point ability, and a level of rim protection too.
Julian Strawther - Strawther was a notable 2nd rounder that I had hoped the Lakers could have gotten away with last year, but he returned to Gonzaga and helped his draft status a bit. He may not be the solidified 1st rounder on mocks, he has a clear mid-late 1st rank from me. The draft class is so stacked at that range, that my board has him at #28, but it wouldn’t even surprise me if he was ranked over Jett Howard.
He’s listed at 6’6” w/o shoes, 8’9” standing reach, 6’9.25” wingspan; solid wing size.
Here’s a video of what he does best:
I really did hope he would take on more playmaking and initiating duty as a creator. It seems like an easy dimension to add, even if it’s just being great with the first initial read on the drive from such a scoring threat behind the arc with killer floater touch out to midrange. He wasn’t the killer finisher he was prior to the season. Last year, he was 70.5% at the rim. Hoop Math tracked his finishing at the rim at 57.7%. Frankly, I’m not deterred and have full confidence in his shooting, since he basically repeated a 45.3% mark for all other 2-point shots and 41% behind the arc. The prior season had him at 56.5% for all other 2-point shots and 36.5% behind the arc, but it’s clear to see how a change in defensive attention has affected his percentages, and yet, they’re among the best at the NCAA level outside of the rim.
Ricky Council IV - Where Slawson plays with the physicality of a center in terms of rebounding, attacking, and rim protection, Ricky Council IV plays with the physicality of a highly athletic NBA wing. He’s listed at 6’5” w/o shoes, 8’7” standing reach, and 6’9” wingspan. Laker fans may start watching his highlight reel and immediately think of Lonnie Walker IV. I don’t blame them. The biggest difference for me is that Council is more seasoned and has flashed more isolation shot creation chops, especially at mid-range. But, he’s quite a fun watch.
He isn’t ranked as highly, and I can think of several reasons. I don’t think the shooting percentages reflect that he has actual shooting touch. According to Hoop Math, he’s 65.8% / 35.6% / 27%, at the rim, all other 2-point ranges, and behind the arc. Unlike Walker, he had a ton of isolation creation usage, rarely used a screen, and over three years at Arkansas, had a great free throw rate. Unlike Slawson’s .499FTr, I think Council’s FTr is more translatable. Slawson will lose the advantage of being a strong wing at the NCAA level going against centers that can match up with him athletically. Council, on the other hand, had a free throw rate of .455, .421, and .505 because he’s wing sized at a higher athletic tier. He has shown just enough shake (with in-out dribbles, hesitation moves) combined with his athletic ability to get defenders off balance and draw contact at the rim. He seeks that contact out too.
His last month of the season wasn’t a great one shooting-wise. Everything dropped across the board. Maybe it’s the level of competition, but in the mid-late 2nd round, I’m not going to be picky about that, especially when the size, athleticism, enough shot-creation, and the ability to play with force attacking the rim stand out.
James Nnaji - I still have to look for NBA athletes with size, even if seasoning is required. James Nnaji fits the bill. It’s unfortunate that Adem Bona is returning to UCLA, because I felt he was the more disciplined version of Nnaji.
Nnaji is more of a traditional big, athletic center with motor. Every time I watch snippets of his game, I think I’m watching a guy that isn’t aware of big and strong he is relative to the competition. That’s both good and bad. It shows that he’s willing to be aggressive and play physical, but at the same time, it exposes him to foul trouble, jumping over guys on rebounds, being too handsy reaching for the basketball defensively, being too reliant on athleticism to recover, being too reliant on size to make up for differences in timing.
He has shown flashes of ability to read the game defensively and be a tremendous physical presence in the paint, but at the NBA level, there’s a certain level of finesse and understanding of when to use that physicality, legally, and be a positive contributor on the floor. Sometimes that just comes with seasoning. Eventually, the game has to slow down to a certain level to make the transition to the NBA a lot smoother.
While development is required, there’s a chance he’s the best player available at #47, or he becomes a draft and stash. In a league where giants with guard skills dominate the game (Giannis, Embiid, Jokic to name a few), it helps to have a giant with some instinct for defense that can be a lob threat and just be able to compete physically.
That’s a few guys to look at for #47, and while I don’t expect them to make it to that pick, we never know how the draft unfolds until it actually happens. The Lakers could absolutely use the best version of these archetypes; a 4/5 with two-way ability, an elite catch-and-shoot shooting wing that can attack closeouts, a bigger, high-tier athletic wing that can create off-the-dribble and draw contact, or a two-way uniquely athletic big that can protect the rim and have a large catch radius for lobs.
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If there are any questions about these players, or any players in general, feel free to comment here, leave a message in chat, or find me on Twitter at Canyondriver.
Thank you for taking the time to read. I hope you enjoyed it.