Tag: Jean Montero

5 possible sleeper candidates to watch for in 2022 NBA draft

Rookie Wire took a look at five possible sleeper candidates in the upcoming NBA draft.

Last year, Herb Jones shocked the NBA as a second-round pick who entered the league and had an immediate impact. After his selection at 35th overall by New Orleans, Jones went on to average 9.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.7 steals at 29.9 minutes per game.

Jones, who was eventually named to the NBA All-Rookie second team, offered extremely valuable defensive basketball and complimentary offense to a Pelicans squad that overperformed their preseason expectations and made it to the playoffs.

It’s safe to say that, entering the 2022 NBA draft, every team would like to find their own version of Jones: A rookie with the ability to prosper and contribute meaningful minutes immediately if given the chance.

Here are five possible options that could meet that criterion in 2022.

Chris Kirschner: Some of the expected …

Chris Kirschner: Some of the expected Hawks draft workout participants in the coming days, I’m told: Jaden Hardy, Jean Montero, EJ Liddell, James Akinjo, Remy Martin, Leonardo Okeke, Kennedy Chandler, Ron Harper, Johnny Juzang, Wendell Moore, Blake Wesley, Brady Manek

Jean Montero | 6-2 guard | 18 years old …

Jean Montero | 6-2 guard | 18 years old | Overtime Elite Montero falls a bit here, just because the scouts who have been down to see him with the OTE program have come away a bit confused on what’s his ultimate role. Montero is an offensive creator who has improved as a distributor this season, finding teammates consistently and making interesting reads. But his own scoring ability hasn’t been awesome, as he’s struggled to consistently knock down 3s. He’s hit just 28 percent in the tracked games that OTE played, a concern given that he made only 26 percent from 3 last season with Gran Canaria’s second team last year in Spain. He has a lot of craft off the bounce that makes you believe he can score, but he also doesn’t profile as much of a great defender despite how he shoots passing lanes and gets steals. Montero is a questionable defender who isn’t an elite distributor, and those guys are a bit tough to fit into the NBA right now. Enough teams I’ve talked to are interested in his creativity off the bounce, though, where he has a case as the best ballhandler in the draft.

Aggregate NBA mock draft 4.0: Duke’s AJ Griffin is soaring back into the top tier

The best prospects in the world are all competing for the top spot in the 2022 NBA draft and it is hard to sort how everyone is stacking up.

The best prospects in the world are all competing for the top spot in the 2022 NBA draft and it is hard to sort how everyone is stacking up.

In order to help us get a better sense of where all of the projected top prospects in the class stand as of right now, we compiled mock drafts from Draft Express (ESPN), Aran Smith (NBADraft.net), Sam Vecenie (The Athletic), Jonathan Wasserman (Bleacher Report), Chad Ford (NBA Big Board), Krysten Peek (Yahoo), Matt Babcock (Basketball News) as well as USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s For The Win.

Please note that these rankings reflect the composite score in order to get a feel for consensus, not our own opinion. Predictions for a first overall pick earned a player 58 points while the second overall pick earned 57 points, the third overall earned 56 points, and so on.

AJ Griffin (Duke), Alondes Williams (Wake Forrest), Iverson Molinar (Mississippi State), Orlando Robinson (Fresno State), Walker Kessler (Fresno State), Justin Lewis (Marquette), Christian Braun (Kansas), and Tari Eason (LSU) have improved their draft stock the most since our most recent update last month.\

The most notable prospects who made their debut on our rankings were Shaedon Sharpe (Kentucky), David Roddy (Colorado State), and Jaylin Williams (Arkansas).

Meanwhile, the top prospects who were not included in any of these recent mock drafts are Daimion Collins (Kentucky), Alex Fudge (LSU), Justin Moore (Villanova), Darius Days (LSU), Jared Rhoden (Seton Hall), Tre Mitchell (Texas), Dawson Garcia (North Carolina), and more.

Otherwise, you can learn the latest updates on every single prospect who has been included in recent mock drafts by scrolling below.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report

Aggregate NBA mock draft 4.0: Duke’s AJ Griffin is soaring back into the top tier

The best prospects in the world are all competing for the top spot in the 2022 NBA draft and it is hard to sort how everyone is stacking up.

In order to help us get a better sense of where all of the projected top prospects in the class stand as of right now, we compiled mock drafts from Draft Express (ESPN), Aran Smith (NBADraft.net), Sam Vecenie (The Athletic), Jonathan Wasserman (Bleacher Report), Chad Ford (NBA Big Board), Krysten Peek (Yahoo), Matt Babcock (Basketball News) as well as USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s For The Win.

Please note that these rankings reflect the composite score in order to get a feel for consensus, not our own opinion. Predictions for a first overall pick earned a player 58 points while the second overall pick earned 57 points, the third overall earned 56 points, and so on.

AJ Griffin (Duke), Alondes Williams (Wake Forrest), Iverson Molinar (Mississippi State), Orlando Robinson (Fresno State), Walker Kessler (Fresno State), Justin Lewis (Marquette), Christian Braun (Kansas), and Tari Eason (LSU) have improved their draft stock the most since our most recent update last month.\

The most notable prospects who made their debut on our rankings were Shaedon Sharpe (Kentucky), David Roddy (Colorado State), and Jaylin Williams (Arkansas).

Meanwhile, the top prospects who were not included in any of these recent mock drafts are Daimion Collins (Kentucky), Alex Fudge (LSU), Justin Moore (Villanova), Darius Days (LSU), Jared Rhoden (Seton Hall), Tre Mitchell (Texas), Dawson Garcia (North Carolina), and more.

Otherwise, you can learn the latest updates on every single prospect who has been included in recent mock drafts by scrolling below.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report