Kamagate is the smooth, fluid big who has been rising up draft boards lately. It is for a good reason too. Starting on the defensive end, he is an excellent athlete. He jumps up to block lots of shots. He is a solid defender on all areas of the floor. He can guard the perimeter as well as protect the rim. He finds holes in the offense and he tends to exploit them. He is a switchy defender and his long arms give him an advantage over his opponents. He is a stellar rebounder on the weak side and legitimately knows how to get the ball. On the other end, Kamagate is a bit more raw. His offensive skills are unpolished, but quite promising. Most of his shots come around the basket, with putbacks and layups. His shooting form is nice though, and he looks to have unicorn potential. His shot is smooth and untethered. He sets good screens and is a great pick and roll target. This is one of the main tactics in the NBA and it will do him good. Despite his size, he is rather mobile. He runs well in transition and is a phenomenal athlete. If nothing else, he will be a run and dunk guy who plays great defense. However, he has shown that he is much more than that. Besides what I already said, he is a solid passer. Now, he isn’t a great playmaker. He has demonstrated strong flashes though. In the right system, with the right coaching, he will become a very good basketball player.

Comparison: Frank Kaminsky +

Projected Draft Range: 20-50

Height 6'11

Weight 225 lbs

Wingspan 7'5

DOB 1/17/01 (Draft Age: 21)

Pre-Draft Team Paris Basketball

Offense

• Long fluid mover. Not fast or overly vertical, but certainly mobile.

• Somewhat smooth around the rim finishing. But virtually no post bag.

• Developing ability to attack the rim. Not a bad looking handle.

• Decent looking stroke, high release. Highly encouraging FT% over 70.

• Outstanding offensive rebounder. A handful to stop.

• Passing looks better than the numbers show. If the game slows down for him he might become a good playmaker for his size.

Defense

• Really nice post defender. Very hard to ignore his 7'5 wingspan and ability to move around the rack.

• Awareness and decision making as a rim protector has to get better.

• Lateral movement is really good should be able to switch out on guards in isolation when called upon.

• Still raw defensively. Biggest issue is getting caught in no mans land and not understanding defensive rotations.

• Not nearly the defensive rebounder he is offensively.

Swing Factors

• Defensive Awareness/IQ -

• Perimeter Shooting -

Role

• LOW:

• HIGH:

I am big Kamagate fan. I think there's a pretty good chance he ends up becoming the best center from this draft if Duren doesn't pan out. He's kind of a late bloomer who didn't have much hype before popping out this year in France so I guess that's why most people don't really care much about him. I think he can be a pretty good rim running center with some added versatility in the NBA. His finishing package is really good, unlike many athletic rim running centers at the same age he has a lot of varied and skilled ways to finish at the rim rather than just scoring off of dunks and lobs. He also has a somewhat decent mid range jumper so in my opinion he might project the best as a shooter from the late first/early second center prospects. Doubt he ever becomes a consistent 3pt shooter tho. His defense comes and goes. Also showed some really good passing off the short roll, I think he's got quite a lot of playmaking skill he didn't get to show much because he was playing on a pro team. Could see him being similar to Bam where he also wasn't thought of as a passer in college because he wasn't used like that but turned out he was pretty good at it. He's got all the tools to be a good rim protector and shows some flashes already, but he also chases blocks a bit too much instead of making the right defensive play. Falls asleep on rotations and on the defensive glass often. I think NBA coaching should help him a lot. He also shows some good switchability potential since he's quite nimble and laterally quick for a center.

Best fits: Charlotte, San Antonio, Denver, Milwaukee

Player analysis

Ismael Kamagate played as a pro basketball player in france last year where he displayed a perfect modern game that any team could want for their center position, Kamagate has a skilled post game where he mixes his athleticism with finesse and he is a gifted defender who can swat shots in a multitude of ways. Ismael can get over any defender and has no problem bullying other centers using length and strength, he has a great touch around the post and often goes to hook shots and small jumpers in order to generate offense. Kamagate is a smart defender and he uses footwork exceptionally in order to keep in front of his defender, he uses long arms to block a lot of shots from mid range and the post. Ismael has great defensive timing and knows when to go after a shot which leads many to believe he is very translatable to the NBA as a defender. Ismael is a little older because he’s been playing as a pro for a small handful of years but I believe that waiting time to become a draft prospect helped him develop his game and skills. I love Kamagate’s game and think that whoever drafts him gets a great center who is extremely flexible and can fit into many different teams as a lob threat and shot blocker.

Projection

Draft range: [ 15 - 33 ]

Comp: [ Nerlens Noel + ]

Strengths: Rim Running and Shotblocking Weaknesses: Shot Creation and Polish

High Side Comp: Serge Ibaka/Chris Boucher Low Side Comp: Mfioundu Kabangele

Ideal Fit: Lob Threat and Switchable Defender

Draft Range:25-58

Result: 46- DEN

Athleticism: 7/10 Size: 4/5 Defense: 6/10 Strength: 2/5 Quickness: 6/10 Creation: 1/5 Jumpshot: 3/10 Finishing:3/5 NBA Ready: 3/5 Ball Handling: 3/10 Passing: 5/10 Intangibles: 2/5 Potential: 6/10 TOTAL: 51= Second Round

Strengths:

• Great verticality, shows a lot of potential as a shot blocker

• Has good court feel when defending the paint off ball

• Has potential to be a really nice pick and roll man

• Has really good timing on blocks

• Doesn't foul much at all for how much he jumps

• Is willing to shoot the odd mid-range jumper

• Some really nice length

• Shows that he can occasionally defend the perimeter

Flaws:

• Can forget to box out at times

• Has absolutely no jumpshot, will not shoot a 3 no matter what

• Shot mechanics look janky

• Will not be a great post playmaker, IQ is nothing to write home about

• Has little to no post game, only useful as a vertical lob-threat can't back anyone down

• Despite being 220 pounds, he needs more muscle because he gets bullied down low

Decent finisher, terrific in the turnaround jumper. Good rebounder for a below-7-footer.

Extremely raw prospect. Someone who needs so much work in the NBA it becomes a risk to even put him on some draft boards at this point.