Dream Fits: Wizards, Rockets, Pelicans

Overall Grade: 72.54

Projected Position: PG/SG

Strengths:

• Keeps composure when trapped, through can try to force pass outs when he has space

• Great lateral mobility

• Quick ability to move over & under screens with good navigation

• Great positioning on screen navigation

• Solid physicality in the paint

• Not phased by defenders in his face

• Good help rotation in the paint with quick recognition of need & decision making on when to help

• Secures rebounds with strength

• Great burst

• Elite traffic navigation, able to split defenders & keep ball secure until he elevates

• Good control of handle

• Great utilization of the jumps stop to create on drives

• Composed on drives

• Good timing on weakside block attempts

• Good pass accuracy in tight windows

• Good touch

• Able to quickly reposition himself defensively

• Good usage of arm bar & push off to create space

• Quick & smart switch decisions

• Confident & comfortable being ball dominant

• Good range on 3pt shots

• Great change of direction

• Good mid range game with space creation & touch

• Good cuts

• Good post moves, spins, jabs, scoops, etc..

Weaknesses:

• Lacks physicality initially on drives sometimes sacrificing easy driving lanes

• Poor ball stripping, often unable to strip easy exposed balls

• Secures rebounds too low

• Poor boxouts, unable to keep guy behind him

• Poor burst off pin-down screens

• Lacks physicality when pressing on perimeter

• Ok, not great extension on perimeter contests limiting how much he affects shots

• Slow to follow man in movement towards the middle of the court leaving him suceptible to getting caught in traffic

• Not great at finishing through contact

• Some poor decision making on 3pt looks, low quality shots that he can make

• Good amount of risky passes

• Dribble himself into corners on traps

• Misses some open shots at the rim by a good margin

• Lack of pick & roll action on tape

• Behind the back dribble needs work

Last Ranking: 2

Projected NBA rookie role: Shot creating combo guard

Projected NBA position: Combo Guard

Projected Rookie Statline (Pts, Reb, Ast, Blk/Stl): 17, 4, 4, 1.5 (Stl)

Strengths: Great downhill player and aggresive finisher, Elite shot-creator with solid playmaking instincts, solid perimeter defender

Weakness: Doesnt have the quickest first step which can sometimes be a problem on both sides of the ball

Shades of/comp: Jalen Brunson, Kevin Porter Jr., Cade Cunningham

Best outcome: Continues to develop playmaking abilities, Confident and efficient scorer, All Star

mid outcome: Doesnt show full lead guard abailities with lack of playmaking, Not a consistent defender, still has great scoring abilities

worst outcome: One of the safer prospects for me but could struggle at the next level if the 3 doesnt fall.

Another great prospect in this superb draft class. Very solid in everything you can imagine in a Point Guard, from 3pt shooting, to passing to efficency you can't go wrong with a talent like this. Probably would be the top talent in 2024 ahead of everyone else. He's currently averaging 24 4 and 5 this season. A pretty impressive statline, especially since he's on the same team as Ace. And it's not like he's just shooting, he's 52% from the field on that statline is tremendous. He's a real challenger to Flagg.

He looks like a fabulous player and whoever drafts him are lucky.

Current Ranking: 2

Rating: A-

not much like insane upside but he’s been fine and should be expected to be useful in the league as a PG or a SG, i feel like he could run either one.

while his game doesn't impress me much, he's not a bad player, i just don't think he's very special either.

Pros:

• Finishing

  • one of the best in college, he utilises his change in pace to create space and get to the rim, he can finish with both hand, pivots are interesting, definately Brunson like in terms of his finishing moves and ability, but he's taller so he has a lot more potential on that end for me. His efficiency is absolutely incredible would be great to see that fully translate but really have to compare it to Brunson

• Offensive Production

  • his incredible offensive stats, OBPM of 9.3 (JAN 1st) Offensive win shares of 1.9 (JAN 1st). Puts him with elite company **e.g, Michael Beasley and Trae Young at the guard positions. just incredible production. I think having comparisons like this are extremely important when we are talking about these prospects. I think having similar positional players with similar, advanced statistics really helps us see how good of a transition someone may make, and this company looks really good for Harper.

• PnR Ball Handling and Playmaking

  • Harper makes great reads coming off the pick and roll, unlike Flagg, he splits players and gets to the basket a lot easier and is just more confident at making the right reads at a similar USG% of 29.5 (JAN 1st), he combines that well with his finishing and gets to the cup. The reason I added his PnR play is hes running it at an elite level and is useful for NBA teams to build with. He also doesn't turnover the ball too much, uses his dribble to create space for others can find passes on the perimeter and that has lead to some nice passing stats. Again he doesn't turnover the ball much, he's got a very secure handle and although he isn't very accurate as a passer, he does a good job at it. And remember he's young so good IQ like this means quite a lot for his own innate ability.

• 3 ball

  • he is shooting 45% on catch and shoot 3s and in general he's shooting 37.3% (JAN 1st) from deep and its improving over time, I think it will keep improving but hes been one of the better 3 point shooters who primarily creates for himself Just very strong stats, and having the ability to play off ball is going to be useful to an NBA team although he should definitely used as a primary ball handler

Cons:

• Moving shot

  • Doesn't seem too fall, his form isn't the best and just seems off balance, but this is just off the dribble. but if he is going to be your main ball handler like he should be he needs them to start falling more or just stop taking as many. It's a very high volume and I really don't believe it's something he should prioritise in his game, especially in the mid-range. Yeah just something that really needs to be brushed up on, he's taking low value shots at a bad efficiency, I really don't like that especially if I was a coach.

• Lack of Defensive identity

  • just passable on defence, not a terrible one or a negative but you really want to see a bit of development such as getting in the passing lanes, something he can add defensively to a team rather then just being there. he also isn't totally consistent as well so it think this is actually the biggest swing factor for him. I don't think this a huge negative however, I think NBA teams won't be stressing over this.

Interesting factor:

• Combo Guard

  • Im not a big fan of combo guards, prefer it if he had one position he could play point guard or the 2. I much prefer him at point guard, he doesn't have to be an old school point guard but he can be Jamal Murray, Jalen Brunson etc. who can pass pretty well but that isn't what stands out. But i'd like to see a bit more definition in what that is and if that's what he wants to be.

    • Elite Production

      • Playing at a top level putting him with elite company as said earlier, can he keep this up or improve further maybe he can move up to 1st. you've got to work out if this top tier production is going to translate as their has been a wide range of outcomes for players like this who put crazy numbers as a college player. Will this translate and are you confident hes a 1A Franchise guy because of that. My main thing is can he keep it up or can he add to this.

Conclusion:

Prospect ceiling: All NBA 2nd - 1st team Ceiling

Pick Range: 1-3

NBA Comp: Taller Jalen Brunson

Best Fits: -

• Toronto

• New Orleans

• Washington

Smooth, polished PG who has good size. Good basketball IQ and plays smoothly and under control. He's crafty and is elite at getting downhill and finishing at rim. Great passer and ballhandler. Solid shooter who gets to his spots and hits shots in the clutch. Not very athletic or explosive, but is the best point guard in the class and has a super high ceiling.

NBA Comp: Devin Booker/Cade Cunningham

Projected draft range:

Projected NBA rookie role:

Projected NBA position:

Projected Rookie Statline:

Strengths:

Weakness:

Shades of/comp:

Name: Dylan Harper

My ranking: #1B

Projected draft range: 1st - 3rd pick

Projected NBA role: Slashing Shot creating

Projected NBA position: Combo guard

Projected Rookie Statline: 12 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal(inefficient shooting splits)

Strengths: Aggressive driver Strong mature body Can break down any defender with faints and fakes Already has a very effective go to bag for mid post and low post opportunities Plays the P&R flawlessly Has a wide array of finishes Possess intangibles that you can’t teach(change of speed, plays at his own pace, just has that IT factor) High floor and very high ceiling

Weakness: Not a bad creator for others but not exactly the level of playmaker that you want him to be(This is the key to Dylan becoming a superstar in the league). Defense isn’t bad but it also isn’t something that stands out. Biggest question mark for Dylan is his ability to hit the three ball at the next level, however I wouldn’t worry too much because so far through the season he’s shown a above average jumper.

Shades of/comp:

Games Watched:

1.    vs. St.Peters Peacocks (November 11, 2024)
2.    vs.  Notre Dame Irish (November 26, 2024)
3.    vs. Alabama (November 27, 2024)
    4.     vs. Texas A&M (November 30th, 2024) 
    5.     vs. Michigan St( January 25th, 2025) 
    6.     vs. Maryland(February 9th 2025) 
    7.     vs. Oregon( February 16th, 2025) 
    8.     vs. Michigan(February 27th,2025) 
    9.     vs. Minnesota (March 9th, 2025) 
    10.    vs. USC (March 12th, 2025)