He is a super low risk, SUPER HIGH REWARD type of prospect. He just works in pretty much any NBA lineup. Need a guy who doesn’t need the ball in his hands to be an impactful player on offense? Jett is one of the best off-ball movers in this draft class and has been incredible as a catch and shoot guy/movement shooter. Need a guy who can get you buckets with the ball in his hands but also plays well off the ball so your star player still has the ball the most? Jett fits that description perfectly as well. His handle is pretty dang good for a 6”8 dude and he has flashes a ton of self creation ability this year.
I think the highest end outcome for Jett on offense is he becomes an elite scorer at the next level, especially as a 3-point shooter, and can be the #1 option in a championship team. Or depending on his situation, a very very good #2 option. He can both play off the ball superbly each night and create his own shot at a high level, especially from deep. I really want to see him with the ball in his hands more so he can show the world just how dang good of a scorer he is.
He tends to get hated on for his defense, and there are some legitimate concerns for him in that area. He sometimes falls asleep and lets his assignment slip away from him, which can lead to an easy bucket for the other team. When Jett locks in though, he shows so much potential defensively. He moves well for a 6”8 guy and he can completely trap whatever player he is guarding to the point where they can’t even get in a decent position to receive a pass. If Jett can learn to be locked in at least 80-90% of the time instead of being locked in 40-50% of the time like he is now, he could be a great defensive player at the next level.
Jett Howard is just someone who is almost certainly going to work in the NBA no matter what. His skillset easily translates to the NBA right away, and he will helps his team no matter what situation they are in. This is what has made him a late lottery to mid first round pick in most peoples eyes, but I think his upside is heavily underrated.
If he can lock in more on defense and become the super high level creator that he can be while still be elite off the ball, I would not be surprised at all if he becomes an All-NBA player. His elite elite creation upside, elite off-ball offensive ability, and underrated defensive upside make for a low risk, high reward prospect that could make whoever drafts him look like geniuses based on where he is currently ranked in the consensus.
Now he does have some work to do in order to get to that point. I would like to see him finish around the rim more. Maybe it’s just the role that he is playing in at Michigan, but we don’t get to see him take shots around the rim nearly as much as we do get to see him take 3s. When he does get to the rim he can be a pretty good finisher though, so I do think that if he starts attacking the basket more he will be able to get more buckets around there and also up his free throw rate, which is quite low (though that is largely due to him being much more focused on shooting from deep rather than getting buckets around the basket). The defense also has to lock in more. If he isn’t able to lock in on defense more, than his upside is lowered a little bit. However, the world where he locks in completely on defense is the world where he makes All-NBA teams in his career, and that’s the world I wanna be In.
High end Outcome: Versatile #1 option on offense, good defensive player
Medium end Outcome: A good starter who impacts the game with his elite 3-point shooting ability and also with some creation. More of a #2-#3 option on a team, but still a big time bucket getter. The Defense doesn’t totally lock in though, and he becomes an average defensive player
Low end Outcome: A good rotation player who is a great scorer off the bench, especially as a 3-point shooter. The Defense never locks in at all though, which limits him from being a starter due to inconsistency on that end. Still a good player that any NBA team would want though.
Best team fits: Charlotte Hornets, Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors
