Denver Nuggets: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s potential fit
By Max Carlin
Defensive projection
It’s hard to say exactly how Gilgeous-Alexander’s defense projects to the NBA. I feel confident saying he won’t be able to guard starting point guards. They’re too explosive. It simply won’t work. Against backup point guards, I think he’ll do just fine. Once he develops better technique, he should be able to slide with those guards who just don’t have enough pop to find a home in a starting lineup. When he runs into one of those miniature but speedy backups (think Shane Larkin or Tyler Ulis), he’ll overwhelm with length.
If you’re looking for defensive upside, something worth getting excited about, I think there’s a sliver of hope. Gilgeous-Alexander has height and length that — yes, I’m going there — you can’t teach. If he adds a ton of mass (we’re talking something like 30 pounds), he should have the size, length and strength to stick with most wings.
In terms of intelligence to survive off-ball, I think there’s hope there, too. As you’ll see soon, there’s a massive disconnect between Gilgeous-Alexander the defensive player and Gilgeous-Alexander the offensive player. Without giving too much away, SGA has displayed an ability to see the floor at a high level on offense. If he ever applies that to defense, he’ll get significantly better.
In a starting lineup, if Gilgeous-Alexander develops even moderately well, his team should be able to stick him on the opponent’s worst perimeter player with limited negative consequences. At the highest level (think Houston Rockets vs. Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals), it might be hard to hide him, but otherwise, Gilgeous-Alexander can, approaching this optimistically, evolve into an average defender.