Dream Fit: Clippers, Thunder, Knicks

Overall Grade: 61.52

Projected Position: C/PF

Strengths:

• Great hand fighting & arm usage on boxouts for rebound attempts

• Good awareness crashing from the perimeter for rebounds

• Solid sudden change of direction

• Good paint touch on push shots, highly translatable

• Comfortable switching onto the perimeter

• Good adjustments to passes & great hands

• Good passout decisions & average vision

• Good extension on shot contests & good ball tracking

• Athletic finisher

• Great offensive rebounding

• Good upright physicality on contests to avoid fouling

• Developmental midrange & 3pt game

• Able to finish over defenders with athleticism

• Good help rotation from the perimeter

• Strong & good leverage

• Good post moves in his back to the basket game

Weaknesses:

• Can clog the paint & at times lack of awareness leads his to get in the way fo driving teammates

• Ineffective handle

• Poor closeout speed

• At times doens't try to contest paint shots as primary shot blocker if he was intially out of position

• Doesn't create from the perimeter & lack of adjustment on drives

• Can't navigate perimeter screens well due to lack of speed, will lead to open 3pt shots at the next level

Scouting Report: Asa Newell

Position: Power Forward
Height/Weight: 6'11", 220 lbs
School: Georgia Bulldogs (Freshman, Class of 2025)
Draft Projection: Late lottery to mid-first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft

Overview:
Asa Newell is a highly skilled and athletic forward with a versatile offensive game and strong defensive instincts. A product of Montverde Academy, Newell has quickly made an impact in college basketball, earning SEC All-Freshman honors. His ability to contribute on both ends of the floor makes him a valuable prospect for the NBA.

Strengths:

• Scoring Efficiency: Newell is an effective scorer, shooting 54% from the field. He can finish at the rim, hit mid-range jumpers, and occasionally stretch the floor with three-point attempts.

• Rebounding: He is a strong rebounder, ranking among the SEC leaders in offensive boards, showcasing his hustle and positioning.

• Athleticism: Newell's mobility and leaping ability make him a threat in transition and around the rim.

• Defensive Potential: With his size and agility, he can protect the rim and guard multiple positions.

• Basketball IQ: His understanding of the game allows him to make smart plays and adapt to different situations.

Areas for Improvement:

• Three-Point Shooting: While he attempts shots from beyond the arc, improving his consistency (currently 29.9%) will elevate his offensive impact.

• Strength: Adding muscle to his frame will help him handle physicality at the next level.

• Playmaking: Developing his passing and court vision will make him a more complete player.

Player Comparisons:

• John Collins (for his athleticism and rebounding)

• Al Horford (for his versatility and basketball IQ)

Summary:
Asa Newell is a dynamic forward with the potential to excel at the professional level. His combination of size, skill, and athleticism makes him an intriguing prospect for the 2025 NBA Draft. With continued development, he could become a key contributor in the NBA.

ASA NEWELL

Position/Archetype: Small Ball 5

College: Georgia

Pros:

• High Motor: He's got a lot of energy for sure, we will get to some added stuff into this but on both sides of the court he adds defensive energy and offensive energy wether thats in transition or on defence with his rebounding and with some good blocks but you can see a strong motor keeping this guy going.

• Explosiveness: He is very comfortable playing off two feet under the basket, operating in the dunker spot and getting up really easy for dunks, his 36 inch vertical is very nice for a 6'9 barefoot player who isn't super skinny. Not only that he pushes the pace pretty well with some good speed for his size. Interesting transition ability.

• Defensive Versatility: He is pretty mobile so I like him operating as a very switchable 5 who won't get mismatched hard by guards since he keeps himself in front well and very coordinated. Not only that he's a pretty good rim protector, he will have problems against larger guys against him since he isn't the biggest center but he does have good defensive ability.

• Touch and finishing: Seen him operate in the dunker spot a tonne and I buy his touch with a mix of hook shots and him being able to find open looks at the rim by keeping the ball high and over physically larger or similar guys as well as effective fakes at the rim and post ability to get his looks. Also can get to the rim with some basic line drives which is nice for a center trying to expand his game to the perimeter, this will be very valuable.

• Developing shot and Modern skillset: The shot isn't there and I will get to that, but as the season progressed so did his shot and the more excited I was for him, I am a Georgia fan by part of being an Atlanta sports fan so I really do hope he continues to follow the jump shot growth we saw this year, developing volume at over 2 attempts per game at just under 30% isn't good, but we've seen a lot worse develop and the form looks good and the willingness is there and the coordination is pretty nice. I think he's got the base to make it work.

Cons:

• Discipline and Focus: Needs to control himself when being too aggressive as a defender, I love the energy as I've said with the motor but its key to keep composed as a rim defender and center, that is what takes you to another level. Added on to that keeping focus in the half court in sets and playing a large role in creating plays offensively, I think thats gonna be a key skill for him to learn to be more effective as an NBA player.

• Size and 3pt uncertainty: Again he is still raw as a shooter, it's the swing factor, the development piece for him that he needs to put together. I buy it personally but if it doesn't come around his size is gonna be an issue since he will have to be a super athletic 5 an one who's a lot stronger in the past and use that coordination to reach his ceiling which is just rare. We'd need to see Bam Adebayo type of skillsets. but when I look at people with similar relative size and build, they've developed shots to be effective in his aim role so thats the real thing we have to see.

NBA Pro Comp: Wendell Carter Jr, Some similarities to John Collins before shot development came in

Projection: I think he will be probably a backup 5 ideally at the NBA level but its all shot dependant, there's massive upside if that shot continues to develop like I think it will, i'm still thinking high level backup 5 to potentially starting as a 4/5 alongside another tall similar swing 4/5. Pretty High Floor with this guy!

CHEESE FINAL BOARD RANKING: (coming soon)

https://youtu.be/if7xs1GcGE0?si=EPDbGT5RhYBN4GJl

Draft Range: 9-22

Projected NBA rookie role:

Projected NBA position: Forward

Projected Rookie Statline (Pts, Reb, Ast, Blk/Stl):

Strengths:

Weakness:

Shades of/comp:

Best outcome:

mid outcome:

worst outcome:

Pros:

Extremely long arms that allow him to catch lobs and rim-run efficiently

Extremely twitchy athlete who dunks everything

Finishes very well around the rim

Deceptively quick and moves well without the ball

Good playmaker and ball handler for his size

Has elite potential as a shot blocker

Great potential as a floor-stretcher

Has good hands and is a solid screener

Cons:

Not the best shooter yet

Post skills need work

Not a great on-ball defender

Limited going to his right

Needs to add pounds

Underwhelming rebounder

Comps: Marvin Bagley III, Zeke Nnaji

Comp: Evan Mobley/Alex Sarr/Obi Toppin

• very high level defender; super lengthy at 6’10” with athleticism and pretty good foot speed

• has the capabilities to be both a good defensive anchor and an elite helpside roamer; doesn’t have much weakness defensively and is portable on that end

• really good without the ball offensively. cuts well and often + is a great lob threat

• can play both 5 and 4

• thrived in college despite a poor-spacing, strangely oriented Georgia offensive scheme

• good physicals; could develop a good scoring game close to the basket

• not a good playmaker with the ball and struggles to create his own shot. predictable in dual-threat

• below average floor spacer positionally. not a shooting threat if not left wide open + not a high volume shooter at all

• mediocre rebounder