I really like Jalen Johnson's skill set. It has breadth and depth already and fits our needs. But the red flags seem to be holding him back. We of course will have gotten solid intel from Duke. But even from the outside, the pattern of bailing on his college team (and they were reportedly relieved about his departure) after bailing on his HS team isn't a good look. That he's dropping in mocks seems to suggest some issues strong enough to make teams think twice despite the talent. All that said, I trust our due diligence, so if he ends up our choice, I'm comfortable with it.
As to Garuba, he's commonly described as Dreymond Green with better passing. I haven't seen any info of us interviewing or working him out, but he has been with the national team. Still, since he's rated around our range, I thought it might be worthwhile to look at him.
Just as Kispert fills a need at one end - we sorely need to improve our 3 takes and makes, within reason and flow - Garuba fills it at the other. Our most physical presence at the 4 or anywhere else really is Keldon, and he's not really a 4 but for small ball assignments. The guy bodied Zion on post-ups! Our PF rotation consists of UFAs Rudy, DeMar, Trey, then Luka.... So we're now left with basically Luka as the sole true PF and Keldon filling in.
In addition to true PFs, (or in 'positionless basketball' better described as a player's natural position or the center from which he expands his game) we don't have a lot of toughness. We're not exactly a finesse team as wrecking ball Drew plays that role, DeMar is strong, Rudy has size and build to post guys up and get to the rim, Derrick has a bigger guard build and takes a beating. But we don't really have a bruising type of player who can make guys shrink besides Keldon.
Enter Usman Garuba. He's a beast: 19, PF, 6'8', 229lbs, with a freakish 7'2" wingspan. Seriously, it looks like he has legs protruding from his shoulders. If you drew him accurately he'd look anatomically incorrect, but here he is. He loves to play with great physicality, loves to defend, loves to compete, and is a good passer. He moves his feet well at the perimeter, of course uses his hands to deflect attempts to dribble by him. He has a smooth athleticism for his frame and uses it to the fullest extent on D and rebounding.
The crux - he's not a scorer. Only 47.1FG%, 31.6% from 3 but takes 1.5 per game, and for all that defensive presence, pulls down 4.6 boards and only gets to the FT line an average of once per game and shoots 65.9%.
So in terms of team needs, this is another player that sways greatly to either one end of the floor or the other. Big improvement over milquetoast Lyles, but big deficit on the O end. He's young but has international experience so a team gets a smart player who knows how to play rather than simply a physical, athletic specimen who needs to learn to read plays and respond accordingly.
He'd help with passing, but like gump said, we need guys who are tough, versatile, talented two-way players preferrably on the cusp of creating their own shot.
I think that Garuba, like Kispert, filling one end tips the scales too much one way that lacks the balance of the other. He's going to make the team the drafts him look great as a powerful bench presence that supports and builds on the starting group's efforts, but I think we have a starting group balance adjustment and talent accumulation that we're focusing on. (We could probably invite Pons if he's undrafted for a lot of what Garuba provides, yes?)
Anyway, here's Garuba's body of work:
PLUSES
Plays with elite defensive effort and intelligence. He’s always locked in and flies around the floor for blocked shots, steals, and deflections.
Switchable defender with the bulk to handle bigger players and the agility to match up against quicker wings and even guards. He’s aware and does a good job of using his hands to shut passing windows.
Skilled passer who immediately finds the open man and delivers the ball with precision. If his scoring improves, he could facilitate in the half court using dribble handoffs and his solid handle.
A strong rebounder and a threat to push the ball on the break if he’s not outleting it to a sprinting teammate.
MINUSES
He doesn’t have a big vertical, which hurts him as a finisher around the rim.
Struggles shooting the ball. He has a poor percentage from the line and hasn’t shown much touch away from the rim. Past opponents left him wide open behind the arc, just as they will in the NBA.
https://nbadraft.theringer.com/mock-draft
