We’ve been giving you a prospect to watch each week leading up to the NBA Draft. Now that the draft is this week, here are some extra names to know. Some of these prospects have been shooting up mock draft boards because of workouts or their performance at the combine. Here are those names and what to expect from them.
Josh Minott
The nearly 6-foot-9 and 197-pound freshman out of Memphis is raw and would be a project. But his combine and workout performances have some teams seriously considering him early in the second round or even late in the first. His role was inconsistent at Memphis and that’s a reflection of how inconsistent the program was as a whole last season.
The 19-year old averaged 6.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game in less than 15 minutes a game. He’s active off the ball and crashes the glass well. He has a great motor, but he will be a project for whoever drafts him.
Ismael Kamagate
The 6-foot-11, 225-pound rim-running center could be available late in the first round. He’s fairly raw, but also young having been born in 2001. He is an excellent lob target and rim protector right now. If his knuckle-ball shot can get fixed, there’s hope he might be able to space the floor. However, that is a long shot at this moment.
He would immediately make the Spurs more athletic and could help anchor the defense with the bench unit. In 34 games with Paris Basketball, he shot over 60% from the field — with a lot of those shots coming near the rim — and managed to grab over six rebounds a game playing about 27 minutes per contest.
Justin Lewis
The 6-foot-7.5-inch and 237-pound forward out of Marquette drastically improved his game in his sophomore season. He earned Most Improved Player in the Big East and became the Golden Eagles’ go-to scorer and top option in the offense. His improved jump shot was a big reason for that as well as becoming more efficient.
He has room to grow as a defensive player, but should have the wingspan and foot speed to guard forwards. He will have to work on staying locked in on switches and using his length better if he wants to stick in the league.
MarJon Beauchamp
The 6-foot-6.5-inch, 197-pound wing man from the G-League has made it clear that he has a connection with fellow Seattle native Dejounte Murray. He’d be a great culture fit as someone who is willing to put in the work to get to San Antonio if he spends time in Austin first. He’s on the older side (almost 22 years old), but still has some upside ahead of him and would add some much needed athleticism to the Spurs.
Beauchamp has the physical tools to succeed at the NBA level and can shoot it decently from inside and out. He shows promise as a shooter from deep and in the midrange. He uses his length and athleticism to finish through and around contact at the rim as well.
Bryce McGowens
The 6-foot-6.5-inch, 181-pound forward was a volume scorer at Nebraska in his lone season as a Cornhusker. Oftentimes he was the lone option on offense as he scored 16.8 points per game on almost 13 field goal attempts a game so the efficiency wasn’t there and is a concern for some.
He is a bit of a sieve on defense and he doesn’t create for others. But he is a strong player who can get to his spots and the efficiency should get a bit better with a diminished role at the NBA level. He will have to care about defense at some point, but the team drafting him will have to know that end of the floor is a project for him.
Max Christie
The near 6-foot-6, 189-pound guard out of Michigan State was the Spartans’ best perimeter defender all year. As a freshman, he started all but one game for Tom Izzo. He can get into the midrange well, is a solid athlete, and is adept at navigating most defenses when the ball is in his hands.
Christie struggled shooting the ball this year as evidenced by his 38.2% shooting percentage from the floor. He shot above 31% from three, but will have to work on being more efficient from the floor overall. But he should be able to shore up the perimeter defense immediately for whoever drafts him.
