The word that everyone at the combine used to describe Kenny Lofton was this: Versatile. Yes, despite his size, he is versatile. He can play the post, wing, as well as the perimeter. He can handle the ball and get down the floor even though at any given time he may be 50 pounds heavier than other players on the court. He is so unique in so many ways. Get him in an NBA conditioning program, and he might become unstoppable. The early days could be rough on defense, as he won't be able to defend quicker players. Once he adjusts to the speed of a new league, however, he may have sky high potential.

For his position, he is huge. However, he has reportedly slimmed down twenty some pounds. On the basketball end, he's a beast. He is versatile, and is always looking for the next winning opportunity. He fights hard for rebounds, using his seemingly endless motor. His bag of offensive tricks is deep. He can post up, shoot the three, or create his own midrange bucket. He has all the ingredients of an NBA player. Now, all he has to do is keep working on his conditioning.

NBA Comparison: Grant Williams

Projected Draft Range: 38-Undrafted

Height 6'7

Weight 280 lbs

Wingspan 6'11

DOB 8/14/02 (Draft Age: 19)

Pre-Draft Team Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

Offense

• One of the most unique players of the class. Huge body at 280 lbs and only 6'6.

• Relies on left, but is a dominant post scorer who found himself at the line 8+ times per 40. Draws and absorbs contact.

• Big boy strength and finishing.

• Not a perimeter shooter just yet, but vastly improved FT% year 1 to 2. 60% to 67% and showed glimpses as a shooter in the combine scrimmages. Needs to prove he can shoot or he isn't a PnP threat.

• When put into uncomfortable situations showed some turnover issues, poor shot selection and over reliance on his left. This should be a minimized issue in the league if he balances his right and assuming he has a vastly reduced usage rate.

• Awesome playmaker, uses awareness and fakes to create passes for easy layups and alley-oops. Can create for others in the turnaround game and at the top of the key.

• Plus handles and playmaking vision in the open court.

Defense

• Plenty of work cut out for him on this end of the floor from a technique and footwork perspective.

• Needs to lose some weight which will potentially help him with lateral movement.

• There have been concerns about the defensive effort.

• Hard to project where he guards competently.

Swing Factors

• Perimeter Shooting - Gaining this skill unlocks the other parts of his vast offensive potential. Without it he probably gets overlooked.

• Defensive Ability - Without a reputation for defense or defensive effort and a body type some would find undesirable Lofton needs to prove he can fit in a scheme defense to get out on the floor.

Role

• A multi-faceted offensive threat near the basket and playmaking.

• LOW: Lofton is unable to expand his range and his defensive limitations plague him from the start. He goes overseas to carve out a career scoring and playmaking inside fifteen feet.

• HIGH: Lofton's range shows promise and he is eventually a league average spot up guy, offensively his pitbull traits continue and he's used as a playmaker out of the post and a top the key. He plays well in transition and is just an overall plus to a well oiled offense. Defensively he finds his niche guarding primarily 3's and 4's. His improved conditioning gives him better lateral ability and he's no longer much of a liability on the perimeter. Lofton settles in near the front of a bench as a key contributor.

Player analysis

Kenneth Lofton continues a trend of unique oddball body types finding a role in the NBA, he is 6’6 and has fluctuated from 270 - 290. He is a really gifted post up scorer and who finds a way to score over the lengthiest of defenders. Although his offensive style is outdated he can certainly play his way into a spot in the league, if he can work on more modern aspects of offense his playability could go up tremendously. He has flashed outside shooting from three and in the midrange but it has been against weak defense and mostly came from open opportunities. Another flaw in his offense is the fact that he is far too ball dominant when looking to score and it gets worse when it happens in the paint, he doesn’t have the endurance to play in transition and he also doesn’t have the athleticism so he slows the game down a lot. Many blackhole players with his skillset often are lacking in translating production to impact and I’m afraid his offense might be in the same vein, the difference between him and most others like this is his defense. On the other end of the floor he is very versatile and can obviously stand his ground on a plethora of different players. He holds his stance on defense but also moves his feet well, he knows when to close out and run with his man while staying opposing. He is a little small in terms of length especially for the small ball big that he projects to be which might be a problem in the league. Right now to me he feels more of like a stat padding gimmick rather than a real prospect. He shined at the draft combine but like I said numbers aren't a problem for him, It's more about the impact.

Projection

Draft range: [ 51 - undrafted ]

Comp: [ Julius Randle with Zions body ]

He can't shoot the three he is to short for his position and to fat. I will say he is a real gamer and if he wants to be in the NBA the only shot he has to hit threes.

He would have to quit taking bad shots, Lose 30 pounds and gain some quickness. He would have to quit turning the ball over.

I just question if he has the heart to mentally work on these things.

Strengths:

• Has an incredibly high motor, despite lack of fitness never seems to slow down no matter how tired he looks

• Works extremely hard of the court

• Seems like a fun guy to be around

• Has drastically improved his jumper in a short space of time

• At both the G league elite camp and draft combine he really stood out

• Used his weight to his advantage and absolutely bodied players at the college level

• Pretty young (2002)

• Won a gold medal with the under 19 team USA squad

• Amazing at finishing through contact

• Works hard on defense and is very good at playing passing lanes

• Can defend both the perimeter and post

• Super high upside

• Shot mechanics look pretty smooth, has a lot of potential as a shooter

• Boxes out very well

Flaws:

• He's criminally overweight, the heaviest player in the draft at 175 pounds at only 6'7

• Has no true position, will be quite difficult to assign him a definite role

• Quite unfit and slow

• Not great free throw shooter at 67%

• Has not shown the greatest playmaking upside averaging only 2.8 assists this past year

• Often doesn't look to shooters and irrationally attack double teams in the post

• Doesn't see the whole court and IQ needs work