Here we continue to look at the top prospects of the 2013 NBA Draft. Today we examine:
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SG, Georgia, 6’5″, 205 lbs
2012-13 Collegiate State Line: (all stats courtesy of ESPN.com)
18.5 points, 43% field goals, 37% 3-point field goals, 80% free throws, 7.1 rebounds, 2 steals
The Skinny:
Caldwell-Pope is a sophomore out of Georgia who was heavily relied upon by the Bulldogs to put the ball in the hole and won the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year award. And unlike his relatively inconsistent freshman season, Caldwell-Pope delivered in his second year, averaging 18.5 points per game and never dipping below double figures in a single game. At 6’5″, he’s a decent-sized shooting guard who can put the ball in the hole, which is even more impressive considering the majority of his shots came from the jump shots on the perimeter (three-quarters of his shots in the half court came from the perimeter according to Draft Express). Caldwell-Pope will likely be competing against other talented shooting guards such as C.J. McCollum and Shabazz Muhammad on the tail end of the top 10.
Strengths:
As anyone can see from simply reading his stat line, Caldwell-Pope can put the ball in the hole. His scoring ability is one of his biggest draws, but what makes him a real talent is the fact that the majority of his shots come from pull-up jumpers or 3-pointers. That’s the exact kind of shooter’s impact many teams are looking for in this year’s weaker draft, which makes a guy like Caldwell-Pope such an enticing option.
For a shooting guard, he also has a big draw as an incredibly efficient rebounder and defender. He’s a 3-and-D kind of guy and his rebounding further enforces that idea. He averaged two steals per game last season and was tremendous at reading the opponent’s offenses to look for steals. His athleticism means he should translate well into the NBA after the brief adjustment period that 95 percent of rookies go through. Finally, does anyone in this draft have a more badass name? Maximus. Leviticus. Kentavious. He fits right in! Can you imagine Kevin Harlan calling a game and Caldwell-Pope going off from 3-point range? Takes the three…KENTAVIOUS! CALDWELL! POPE!
Weaknesses:
To tell the truth, there aren’t many weaknesses to Caldwell-Pope’s game, but it’s definitely worth noting that he can fall in love with his jumper sometimes. Even when it’s not falling, Caldwell-Pope does what most quality shooters do: He keeps shooting. But since he’ll not longer be the cream of the crop in terms of 3-point shooters, NBA coaches might not be as prone to let the “good shooters keep shooting” philosophy play out if he’s not knocking down shots.
Highlight Game:
March 14 vs. LSU (L 68-63) 32 points, 9-for-20 field goals, 6-for-15 3-point field goals, 13 rebounds
In his last game of the season, Caldwell-Pope put on a show for Bulldog fans and scored more than half of his team’s points in a loss to LSU. He shot 45 percent from the floor and although he missed nine 3-pointers, his team clearly didn’t give him much help on the offensive end and he hoisted a large number of 3s. The fact that he still managed to sink 40 percent of his 3s while shooting 15 of them is a testament to the perimeter shooting he can bring to an NBA team and his 13 rebounds show that he’s not just about jacking up 3s.
Lowlight Game:
Dec. 4 at Georgia Tech (L 62-54) 16 points, 5-for-18 field goals, 1-for-8 3-point field goals, 13 rebounds
It was tough to pick a lowlight game for Caldwell-Pope, if only because he was so consistent all season long. He never failed to score double digits in 32 games with the Bulldogs last season, after all. But against Georgia Tech, he effectively shot his team out of the game with a miserable 5-for-18 performance. He still ended up with a 16-13 double-double, but it was one of only five times all season he shot less than 30 percent from the floor. The good news? Four of those five performances came in the first month of the season.
Potential Landing Spots:
Caldwell-Pope is currently projected by some mock drafts (such as Chad Ford’s Mock Draft 6.0) as a top 10 pick, but others (Sports Illustrated’s mock draft and CBS Sports’ two mock drafts) have him falling as far as No.13 and No. 15, respectively. I think the Minnesota Timberwolves will take him with their first pick, but he very well could fall to the mid-teens as well.
Teams That Make Sense:
Minnesota Timberwolves: The Timberwolves have the No. 9 pick and will likely have to choose between Caldwell-Pope, C.J. McCollum and Shabazz Muhammad. All three are talented candidates projected to be top 15 picks, but brining in Caldwell-Pope would certainly help them at the shooting guard position, which is currently occupied by Luke Ridnour and Jose Juan Barea. So yeah, they can definitely improve at the two-spot. Minnesota would probably be happy with any of those three shooting guard candidates, but McCollum might be gone by the time their pick rolls around and I think Muhammad has the highest bust potential, so Caldwell-Pope might turn out to be the best choice.
Dallas Mavericks: The Mavericks may be losing O.J. Mayo to free agency, and good riddance after the mediocre season he had once Dirk Nowitzki returned to action. Dallas was set to pay Mayo $4.2 million this season had he not opted out of his contract, so why not take a younger, talented shooting guard for a fraction of the price and help him develop into a solid contributor?
Milwaukee Bucks: I don’t think a scoring talent like Caldwell-Pope will fall as far as the No. 15 pick, but if he does, the Bucks would be foolish to pass him up. As this spot, Caldwell-Pope would have a chance to be the steal of the draft and would easily give Milwaukee scoring from the shooting guard position that they may lose if they do the right thing and get rid of are unable to keep Monta Ellis. The Bucks will likely also lose J.J. Redick to free agency and Brandon Jennings will be looking for others offers (which he probably won’t find, but still), so any help Milwaukee can get at the guard positions as they attempt to start rebuilding would be extremely welcome.
Overall Synopsis:
Despite this being one of the weaker drafts in NBA history, Caldwell-Pope is a solid prospect who can come in and immediately give a team scoring from the perimeter. His mid-range game could be deadly since he specializes in pull-up jumpers and his 37 percent from three-point range is definitely a good starting point. If he can develop his game a little bit further in attacking the basket, he could become a very efficient player on a number of NBA teams.