Estimated read time: 8-9 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — It's almost June and that means the NBA draft is still getting closer. It is still a few weeks away, but it is getting closer.
Over the past three weeks the top-five prospects at center, power forward and small forward were broken down and today the shooting guards will be evaluated. Shooting guard, like the small forward, is an interesting situation for the Jazz. Depending on where Gordon Hayward plays they could have depth or a lack at shooting guard.
The two positions are interchangeable in the Jazz's system regardless. The shooting guard has been more of a shooter though on offense, but that might have more to do with Randy Foye than anything else. Foye wants to come back and the Jazz could be looking to bring him back for his shooting.
For now they only have Alec Burks and maybe Hayward playing shooting guard, some feel Hayward is a better shooting guard than small forward. With that in mind here is a look at the top five options for the Jazz at shooting guard.
5. Seth Curry:Sr. Duke
Just quickly pull this bandage off, he isn't his brother, Steph, and might not be his dad, Dell, but he can still shoot. However, like his brother he is a tweener, he translates best to the shooting guard spot, but he's not that big.
He isn't a lot of things, but he is a great shooter. He is one of the best shooters in the draft. He started his career at Liberty college and averaged 20 points per game as a freshman. He transferred to Duke for his final three years. He never quite had the same point production, but he had two season with over 43 percent 3-point shooting.
His senior year, as a 6-3 guard, he shot 46.5 percent overall. He can get his shot off anywhere and at any time. He would be a wonderful situational player to be an instant offense type guy especially if he didn't have to control the ball, but could guard point guards.
He isn't a great defender, he's okay, but shouldn't be on the court when needing a stop. He isn't a great athlete and he is small for a 2-guard. He might be considered with the Jazz's second-round pick, but will probably be an undrafted player. He has a high IQ and is a Jazz character guy. Either way don't expect him to be Steph, but if he gets a chance he could still produce in the right situations.
4. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope:Soph. Georgia
This ranking is assuming the Jazz would have to use the 14th pick to get him. If they could get him with the 21st pick it would be significantly higher, but that seems unlikely. If the Jazz had a bigger need at the wing it would be fine, but he doesn't fill a great need for their first pick.
Caldwell-Pope is a great prospect in this draft. He has a defined position as shooting guard, he has the size (6-6 200 lbs.), strength and athleticism for it. Has great explosion in his game. Has a handful of chase down blocks because of his near-elite athleticism.
He can be a matchup problem because he is so explosive and shoots so well that you have to play him very honest when he doesn't have the ball. He can move without the ball and hit a spot-up jumper from anywhere so defenders have to keep an eye on him, and usually their whole body.
The greatest problems that he has is that he isn't a very good ball-handler. This allows defenders to crowd him and force him to drive when he gets the ball. He doesn't have a great mid-range game, so even if he gets past the first level a flashing big forcing him to pull-up is bad for him. He also doesn't finish at the rim very well.
He is a good to great defender who will bother smaller guards with length and can pester bigger guards with his athleticism. His downfalls on defense are very teachable if he chooses to put in the effort. Gets rebounds at a great rate, averaged 7.1 his sophomore season.
Seems like, from an admitted limited amount of tape, he wants the spotlight. If his offensive or defensive play won't be spectacular he won't try as hard. Again that is a limited amount of tape, but he seems to get lost when he is playing off-ball on either end. If he fell at 21 the Jazz would have a gem. At 14 the positional value might not be there for them, but he should be a good pro wherever he goes.
3. Alex Abrines:20 y.o. Spain
Abrines is an interesting prospect. He has tape that can wow, but at the same time he isn't getting on the court for his team right now. He plays well without the ball and has a quick trigger on his catch and shoot. He isn't a phenomenal ball-handler, but seems very comfortable with both hands and it wouldn't be nerve wracking to see him bring the ball down the court.
He has good height at 6-6 in the league, but like most kids he needs to get stronger to compete on both ends. He doesn't have a great first step on either end, but again it isn't awful.
Ultimately he is a scorer. Play him off ball and sit him in the corner and he will be around the NBA for years. He has a very low floor because he will work hard and can shoot. At the end of the day taking a flier in the second round could be much worse. He has gone up and down the draft board and might end up as a first round pick.
He is the type of pick that Greg Popovich has made a living off of. He might not do everything well, but he will shoot the lights out and hustle. He could get booed when he is drafted, almost anywhere, but he can flat out play.
He could be ranked higher, but he is in a weird spot and the Jazz would have to pray he slides to their second-round pick because he probably isn't worth the 21. He can score in waves and has a great shot and is a pretty good athlete to boot.
2. Carrick Felix:Sr. Arizona State
This is another second round prospect. At this point teams are looking for someone who has a skill. Felix has a skill and that is defense. He is a little over 6-6 and has long arms and a very good vertical. He has enough explosion to become a very good defender in the league.
He is a flawed offensive player. This is why he is far down the draft board. He isn't a great ball-handler, can't create for himself and doesn't have any mid-range game. He can catch and shoot from deep and his best attribute is his ability to finish.
His explosiveness is best used with cutting to the rim and crashing the boards, where he gets his points more often than not. He scored 14.6 points per game his senior year despite being limited. The nice thing is it seems he knows what he can't do. He doesn't try to drive through people with his dribbling, just when he has a clear path he takes it.
He does have a good deep shot and coupled with his defensive prowess could become a poor man's Tony Allen or Bruce Bowen. Those guys may be his ceiling and his floor is an exciting young player who can guard multiple positions for short bursts.
He was academically ineligible coming out of high school, then was denied admission to Duke based on his grades after two JUCO seasons. At a position where the team has offense he could become a defensive stopper in situational play.
1. Sergey Karasev:19 y.o. Russia
Karasev is considered one of the more NBA ready players in this draft, especially in the second-half of the first round. He is a less athletic Gordon Hayward in a sense. His best work is in the illustrious playmaking role. He is 6-7 and is considered either a small forward or a shooting guard. He played both for his team.
Hayward took off last year when he was able to control the ball and Karasev is probably the same way. He doesn't have to have it, but when he can control the ball and make plays for others his game really shines. He is a good shooter, not great, but not a liability.
He is only 19 and already able to do just about everything well, just might not be able to do anything great. He has already played pro ball for three years and has Olympic experience. His upside is all about his IQ and playmaking. He isn't a great athlete and might not even be a good one at shooting guard.
He is intriguing, especially for the Jazz. He can control the ball, pass and shoot. If he, Hayward and Alec Burks played on the same line they could have three ball-handlers and no point guards. He is unselfish almost to a fault.
Who he defends would be the real question. If the Jazz believe he can become a solid defender, not even great, he could be a good player. Hayward could be a great mentor to him, they really have similar styles to their game.
Again this isn't the best players, Ben McLemore and Victor Oladipo will be gone by the time the Jazz draft. The shooting guard isn't a spot of great need, but the Jazz need to fill roster spots with talent anyway and anywhere they can find it.
Next week the point guards will be broken down, the area of greatest need for the Jazz.
