ASA NEWELL
Position/Archetype: Small Ball 5
College: Georgia
Pros:
High Motor: He's got a lot of energy for sure, we will get to some added stuff into this but on both sides of the court he adds defensive energy and offensive energy wether thats in transition or on defence with his rebounding and with some good blocks but you can see a strong motor keeping this guy going.
Explosiveness: He is very comfortable playing off two feet under the basket, operating in the dunker spot and getting up really easy for dunks, his 36 inch vertical is very nice for a 6'9 barefoot player who isn't super skinny. Not only that he pushes the pace pretty well with some good speed for his size. Interesting transition ability.
Defensive Versatility: He is pretty mobile so I like him operating as a very switchable 5 who won't get mismatched hard by guards since he keeps himself in front well and very coordinated. Not only that he's a pretty good rim protector, he will have problems against larger guys against him since he isn't the biggest center but he does have good defensive ability.
Touch and finishing: Seen him operate in the dunker spot a tonne and I buy his touch with a mix of hook shots and him being able to find open looks at the rim by keeping the ball high and over physically larger or similar guys as well as effective fakes at the rim and post ability to get his looks. Also can get to the rim with some basic line drives which is nice for a center trying to expand his game to the perimeter, this will be very valuable.
Developing shot and Modern skillset: The shot isn't there and I will get to that, but as the season progressed so did his shot and the more excited I was for him, I am a Georgia fan by part of being an Atlanta sports fan so I really do hope he continues to follow the jump shot growth we saw this year, developing volume at over 2 attempts per game at just under 30% isn't good, but we've seen a lot worse develop and the form looks good and the willingness is there and the coordination is pretty nice. I think he's got the base to make it work.
Cons:
Discipline and Focus: Needs to control himself when being too aggressive as a defender, I love the energy as I've said with the motor but its key to keep composed as a rim defender and center, that is what takes you to another level. Added on to that keeping focus in the half court in sets and playing a large role in creating plays offensively, I think thats gonna be a key skill for him to learn to be more effective as an NBA player.
Size and 3pt uncertainty: Again he is still raw as a shooter, it's the swing factor, the development piece for him that he needs to put together. I buy it personally but if it doesn't come around his size is gonna be an issue since he will have to be a super athletic 5 an one who's a lot stronger in the past and use that coordination to reach his ceiling which is just rare. We'd need to see Bam Adebayo type of skillsets. but when I look at people with similar relative size and build, they've developed shots to be effective in his aim role so thats the real thing we have to see.
NBA Pro Comp: Wendell Carter Jr, Some similarities to John Collins before shot development came in
Projection: I think he will be probably a backup 5 ideally at the NBA level but its all shot dependant, there's massive upside if that shot continues to develop like I think it will, i'm still thinking high level backup 5 to potentially starting as a 4/5 alongside another tall similar swing 4/5. Pretty High Floor with this guy!
CHEESE FINAL BOARD RANKING: (coming soon)