Jaden McDaniels is one of the players in the draft that most defines high-ceiling, low-floor to some evaluators.
A five-star prospect out of high school, McDaniels showed some positives in college as a player with two-way potential and the ability to handle the ball in a 6-foot-10 frame, but he also struggled to prove he’s ready at the next level.
With that said, The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie thinks the Oklahoma City Thunder should “take a home run swing” and draft the Washington forward with the No. 25 pick.
The Thunder have (approximately) one million first-round picks forthcoming from the trades involving Paul George and Russell Westbrook. They can afford to take a home run swing on a player who fits the tools that they tend to covet in players. Traditionally, the team has preferred guys with good positional size and length who are plus athletes for the position and have some two-way potential. McDaniels ticks a lot of those boxes.
McDaniels averaged 13.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists along with 1.4 blocks per game as a freshman.
He shot only 40.5% from the field, and his 33.9% 3-point shooting was lacking.
The talent is very clear, as it’s hard to find players who are this tall who can also handle it a bit and have potential to shoot it. But McDaniels has teams trying to get a handle on how to assess his mentality and more.
His fouling was problematic, as he picked up four in 15 of 31 games and fouled out eight times. He averaged far more turnovers than assists.
But Vecenie thinks McDaniels can approach his upside with the “strong developmental track record” of Oklahoma City.
With a pick so late in the first round, to Vecenie, that it’s worth the risk.
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