Chandler is a one of the best playmakers in the draft and projects as a top point guard. He has great passing ability and good athleticism. He is a small player, but uses his strength to force his way to the rim. He is able to get downhill with his power and burst. He has shown good decision making. He isn’t the greatest shooter, but he is forced to take low percentage shots since he was playing on a Tennessee team with little creation outside of him. For his size, Kennedy is a good defender, with clutch instincts. He will most certainly be a force in the pros.

Comparison: Bigger Isaiah Thomas

Projected Draft Range: 16-45

Best Team Fits: Denver, Portland, Detroit

Height 6'1

Weight 170 lbs

Wingspan 6'5

DOB 9/16/02 (Draft Age: 19)

Pre-Draft Team Tennessee Volunteers

Offense

• Comfortable pulling up off dribble. Should only get better in this area.

• Good lift in his shot, fluid release.

• Tremendous passing upside. One of the highest playmaking upsides of the class.

• Really good finisher despite his size.

• Hard to keep track of quick, and shifty.

• Good decision maker getting downhill, feed rollers in P&R.

Defense

• Huge steal totals. Awesome in passing lanes.

• Sticky defender guarding the ball handler in P&R.

• Great mover, going to stay in front of his assignments and put pressure on them.

• Should be a very good on-ball defender at the next level despite his size.

Swing Factors

Role

• LOW:

• HIGH:

Ranking Scale:

Athleticism: 6/8

3pt shot: 5/10

Finishing: 3/10

Handle: 7/10

Playmaking: 7/8

Defensive Versatility: 4/10

Defensive Positioning: 6/8

Rebounding: 3/6

NBA Fit: 6/10

Total Score: 47/80

Player analysis

Kennedy Chandler was the lead guard last year at Tennessee while only being a freshman, Chandler led his team to a three seed in the NCAA tournament despite being undersized and inexperienced. Standing at only 6’1 with shoes and 170 pounds he is very small and relies heavily on speed and finesse in order to be effective on the court. Chandler scores primarily using blow pasts to the basket where he takes advantage of his size and agility in order to score, although not a bad shooter he is probably only around average and doesn’t like to shoot as often as he should. Kennedy is a good passer who likes to dish out to open teammates, at Tennessee he was often used as the ball handler in the pick & roll which he was very effective at due to his passing and twitchiness. Chandler is sneakily good at defense because of his small size in a Jose Alvarado esque way, he gets around screens very well and is a pesky perimeter defender. Any team willing to take a risk on an undersized guard should jump on him because of his skill and athleticism, Kennedy’s stature will most likely be the factor to hold him back if he doesn't work out.

Projection

Draft range: [ 23 - 37 ]

Comp: [ Ish Smith + ]

Strengths: Speed and Quickness/ Playmaking Weaknesses: Size and Defensive versatility

High Side Comp: Terry Rozier Low Side Comp: Frank Mason

Best Fit: 2nd Playmaking guard alongside perimeter scorers

Draft Range: 19-43

Result: 38- MEM

Athleticism: 8/10 Size: 1/5 Defense: 4/10 Quickness: 8/10 Creation: 3/5 Jumpshot: 7/10 Finishing: 3/5 NBA Ready: 3/5 Ball Handling: 7/10 Passing: 7/10 Intangibles: 4/5 Potential: 6/10 TOTAL: 61 =Late First

Chandler is my 2nd favorite PG in the draft. His scoring ability is un-natural. He is has great potential to have a lethal pull up game. He is also a above average Play-Maker and averaged 2 steals. He might be undersized which may hurt his defense

Celling: Hall of Fame/ Damian Lillard

Floor: Role Player/ Ish Smith

Pros

-Solid shooter

-Can score off the dribble at a decent clip

-Runs the Tennessee offense well, Tennessee's offense seems to struggle without him

-good athlete

-good rebounder for his size

-one of the better playmakers in this class

-very fast

Cons

-can be a streaky shooter at times

-has trouble finishing at the rim

-needs to improve from the free throw line

-Can play sporadic on offense at times

-undersized

Quick. That is the one word that comes to mind when I watched Kennedy Chandler. His first step, his burst and long speed are extremely impressive, and it makes up for the lack of size he has as a point guard (6'1 and a 6'5 wingspan). For the lack of size, he is also a great finisher around the rim, which is what he did for most of his time at Tennessee. He is a player who prefers to play around the rim and is a very good passer who fits the ball through tight windows and backcuts. He has great form and lift on his jumpshot that gives me a lot of confidence in him becoming an offensive threat. His shooting was streaky at Tennessee, and he became a liability on the defensive end late in games. He does great at forecasting the passing lanes and average about two steals a game. He showed good energy and good disruption on plays as a whole, but I worry about his ability to stay in games at the NBA level when his offensive game is not on. Chandler has ways to go to receive consistent rotation minutes, but he has a good stater upside and that is worth taking in the first round.

Player Comparison: Tyus Jones/Darius Garland

short guy who cant shoot. however, i love his burst/decel/change of pace and his touch around the rim. i have hope. not really though, but he's worth a shoutout in the 2nd round.

Tier 9 Ends