Of those 3 I think Jamal Murray has the best chance to excel in the NBA, but I'm not thrilled with any of them. I think they're all going to struggle initially to adjust to the NBA game. At the SG position, 3 different names come to mind for me...
Jaylen Brown at Cal is at the top of my list if we move up and I think he can play SG at least for his first couple years in the league. He just explodes to the basket. Paul George and Kawhi Leonard had similar profiles coming out of college -- they were considered raw players with inconsistent jumpers and underdeveloped handles who nevertheless impressed with their physicality and athletic ability. You're looking at a dominant two way player here if he puts the whole package together.
Next I actually like Dejounte Murray more than the three guys you mentioned. He's not getting nearly the same exposure because Washington is a West Coast team who didn't make the tournament this year but he's got size/skill attributes that jump off the screen to me. Dejounte Murray is so fast and in-control with the ball he's going to be able to get anywhere he wants to on the court even in the NBA. The jumpshot needs refinement, but he's also using his long arms to come up with steals at an impressive rate so already he's got skills that will keep him on the floor while he works on the jumper. He's
having a really impressive Freshman season and just put up a 30, 9, and 5 game yesterday in the first round of the NIT tournament and people aren't even talking about him in the lottery yet. I think he might be the most underrated player in the country right now. Watch some tape of this kid.
And then there's Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot who nobody really knows much about because he plays overseas but he's got ideal size for an NBA SG at 6'7" and flashes a lot of (inconsistent) potential on both sides of the ball. Offensively he can do a lot of things pretty well -- drive to the basket, catch and shoot from outside, make the right pass. Long strides and good touch around the basket account for most of his scoring right now. He reminds me of Dante Exum a little in the way he glides up and down the court looking like he's not expending any energy at all. He's not particularly crafty with the ball but he won't be playing PG like Exum. Defensively he's a mixed bag -- getting lazy at times or losing track of the ball -- but you can see flashes where he's focused and his long arms and solid lateral quickness give him stopper potential. How many times did I just say potential? He's a boom or bust guy but his physical attributes are off the charts which is why you see him projected anywhere from top 10 to mid 20s. With the right coaching he could be another Jimmy Butler and that puts him on the short list for me.
It can be hard to find full games for the international prospects, so
here's one to get you started and you can link to some more from there. Timothe is #23 in the pink jersey. You have to be a little bit hardcore to watch these low-res static sideline-cam games with no commentary, but no one said scouting prospects was glamorous.
