2020 NBA draft profile: Iowa State guard Tyrese Haliburton

Overall outlook for Tyrese Haliburton

There’s little doubt that Tyrese Haliburton can be a high-level creator for his teammates, even at the NBA level. His passing ability and basketball IQ is as good as it gets on the college level. There’s no substitute for an innate ability to read and manipulate defenses.

But, his success will largely depend on how the rest of his game translates to the next level.

Can he find a position defensively where he can hide on the ball and utilize his help defensive abilities? Can he find ways to get to the rim consistently against NBA defenders?

Many similar players have found long-term offensive success by using change of pace and other manipulative ways to get defenders off balance. And there’s certainly an art to understanding physical deficiencies and maximizing defensive value through reading and anticipating defenses. And Haliburton has the type of mentality to make those things work.

Despite his athletic deficits, you can expect the Iowa State product to be a solid defender. His potential will be dependent on the extent that his individual offense develops. He was a 42 percent shooter from 3 in college albeit with a rather slow release. He’s an elite creator for his teammates. But how he is able to score in one-on-one opportunities will determine just how successful he becomes.