2019 NBA Draft: Intriguing prospects at each position to watch for

Guard: Keldon Johnson, Kentucky

A five-star recruit who earned McDonald’s All-American honors, Keldon Johnson is the likely to be the first Kentucky player off the boards. Physically, he is ready to compete with anyone standing at 6’6″ and a solid 210-pound frame. He may not be the best athlete, but can use his strength and physical approach to get where he wants to on the court.

Offensively, Johnson has a multitude of skills that just need to be refined. Due to his physical presence, he is a strong finisher around the rim and can throw down powerful dunks when given the opportunity. Johnson can easily hold his own handling the ball and excels navigating through the lanes to knock down mid-range shots.

His jump shot, like most young players, needs to become more consistent to maximize his scoring potential inside the 3-point line. If John Calipari can get Johnson to be a solid catch-and-shoot player on the wing, it should give teams more confidence about his future ability to carry an offensive load. As Kevin Durant put it, “You talk about a scorer — this guy’s it.”

Even with his scoring potential, the other end of the court is where he established himself as a true lottery pick. His strength and versatility make Johnson one of the most promising lockdown defenders in the draft. People throw out a player’s ability to guard multiple positions all the time, but Johnson truly has the ability to guard a point guard one possession, and the very next switch onto a 4 and prevent him from bullying his way into the post.

He is expected to play small forward this season for Kentucky, but his skills may be best utilized as a physical shooting guard who can switch to small forward or point, depending on if he can make a leap with his playmaking ability.

Guard: Temetrius Morant, Murray State

Morant is unlikely to get much publicity this season playing for a mid-major team, but has enough talent to warrant late-lottery consideration from NBA teams. Averaging 12.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game in his freshman season last year, Morant was able to make his presence known on the court and stuff the box score.

Only 174 pounds but averaging over six rebounds a game, the potential to be an elite rebounder at his position is more than likely. As he adds muscle, his presence on the boards should only go up, as well as his defense ability, which currently leave much to be desired.

If you watch Morant play, however, you might be surprised to hear about his slim frame as he plays with a lot of strength and force. Often scoring through contact near the basket, his very elusive change of speed helps him navigate to the paint, where he is exceptional at fighting through contact and using both hands to finish. He is excellent at using his hang time to generate enough open space to shoot when in the paint.

Morant’s ability to thrive in the paint enhances his passing, with the ability to find players on the wing or sneak the ball to a big man if he gets too much attention close to the basket. Shooting and defense should be his biggest focus points this season, and if scouts see enough improvement in each to be passable at the NBA level, expect Morant to be one of the biggest steals next year.