Miami Heat work out 3 guard prospects ahead of 2017 NBA Draft
By Frank Urbina
Donovan Mitchell, PG/SG, Louisville
Prospect breakdown:
- Age: 20
- Height/Wingpsan/Weight: 6’3″, 6’10″, 210 pounds
- Sophomore year averages:
- 15.6 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 2.7 APG, 2.1 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 1.6 TOV, 40.8 FG%, 35.4 3P%, 80.6 FT%, 32.3 MPG
- Draft Express Mock Position: 1st round, 12th overall pick
Strengths:
- Freakish in two manners: athleticism and wingspan. For an example of his explosiveness, click right over here. Hasn’t fully translated to in-game production yet, but his jumper is nearly picture perfect. Free throw percentage (80.6 percent) shows the potential is there to be a knockdown shooter in the league. Ultra-competitive player who truly competes on both ends. Averaged 2.1 steals per game; length and effort make him a force defensively.
Weaknesses:
- Not very efficient; shot under 41 percent as a sophomore. Not tall enough to be a 2-guard, but not a good enough distributor to be a pure point guard either. (I know, positional labels are outdated. Still, the fact he’s a tweener warrants mentioning.) Only averaged 3.9 free throws per 40 minutes — an abysmal clip for a potential combo guard. Shot 46.3 percent from two-point range this past season; he will likely struggle to score against pro athletes early on in his career.
Final verdict:
- Don’t you wish free agency happened before the draft? If that were the case, we would know whether Dion Waiters would be back in Miami or not. If Waiters were to leave in this hypothetical, we’d be heading into the draft with the knowledge that the Heat needed a new combo guard. Thus, Mitchell would make more sense. Unfortunately, now we’re stuck in this gray area of uncertainty. For now, we can say the former Louisville man would not really fill a need. Furthermore, his holes offensively mean there will be better prospects available at No. 14. I’d pass.