Kingsfans 2013 Scouting Report: Anthony Bennett

[Bricklayer]

Anthony Bennett
Position: PF/SF
Hgt: 6'7"
Wgt: 239
Age: 20
Projected Draft Number: #4 NBADraft.net/#4 Draftexpress.com
College: UNLV
College Stats 2012-13: 27.2min 15.8pts (.526FG% .383TPt% .696FT%) 8.0reb 0.9ast 0.7stl 1.2blk 1.9TO

Baja's Review: Bennett was unable to participate in the NBA combine in Chicago due to rotator cuff surgery. So the measurements from the Nike Summit are over a year old, and its possible that he could have grown since then. His injury will keep him off the court for about 4 months, so teams will have to rely on previous information about him for the most part. At UNLV, he averaged 27.1 minutes a game, 16.1 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.4 BPG, while shooting 53.3% overall from the floor and 37.5% from the three. He made 74% of his shots at the rim, which was the best in all of college. Bennett, while playing PF for UNLV, has a lot of SF skills. He's an excellent jumpshooter with range all the way out to the 3 point line. He's an above average athlete and an explosive leaper with a quick second jump. He has the ability to take players off the dribble with a very quick first step and is an excellent ballhandler for a big man. He's also a very good rebounder, especially on the offensive side of the ball. His major weaknesses are his height for the PF position, and his tendecy to coast on the defensive side of the ball. I believe that most scouts see him as a stretch four. With his huge wingspan, he's capable of playing either position.

Gilles' Review: Freshman. Not much to add to previous assessment but he wants to be an SF where he will struggle to contain penetration and might be limited to a jump-shooter unless he develops post game. In college most of his offense was either simple receiving ball in the post and then turnaround to finish or power drives. Don't think either will succeed in the pros where even weakest PF are pretty long and strong. You can see some Melo in his game, but Anthony is quicker and obviously much more polished. Decent team defender but prefered guarding the post by fronting hoping that length and hops will be enough. Well, it wasn't enough. Note: he has asthma. Don't expect him to show anything in Denver, and struggle when there's real tempo.

Capt.'s Review: Bennett is a very talented player who may end being a victim of his size at the next level. As a 6'7" player with an adequate jumpshot (though I wasn't in love with his mechanics) a lot of teams may insist on trying him out at the SF, a position which I think is completely untenable for him in the NBA. I don't think his jumpshot will be enough of a threat, despite having a very nice handle I don't think he's going to be able to effectively face up and drive to the basket from the perimeter, and with his very bulky upper body I don't think he has the remotest chance of guarding the position. If the team that drafts him allows him to play PF, however, I think he has a chance to be special. Yes, he's undersized, but he appears to have very long arms (unfortunately no combine measurements due to his shoulder surgery) which will help him defensively on the block. Others have questioned his defense, particularly his effort, but I felt like he did a good job of using his body on defense, and played good team D both in terms of positioning and in help on rotations. He's a hard worker as a rebounder, consistently finding a man to box out and securing and even stealing boards with ridiculously sticky, dare I say "Webberesque" hands. Offensively, he was devastating at creating dunks in the post, though I'm not confident he'll be able to get away with that in the NBA and I'm not sure how much of a traditional back-to-the-basket game he has. He will be able to face up and play some stretch-4. If he develops a post game (and he'll have to overcome his size to do that) he'll be a star. If not, he still sticks around as a rotation player as long as his team doesn't try to make a SF out of him.

[video=youtube_share;SVCjO-LaZTM]http://youtu.be/SVCjO-LaZTM[/video]

 

[smellfungus]

I'm not a big fan of Bennett. His lack of defensive hustle is a huge red flag. He's got good mass/wingspan/athleticism but only uses it on offense. His reliable 3 ball and face up shooting in general look very transferable. Plus he's young. Although he's also injury prone. At 7 I suppose he has to be in contention, however. That said, I think I like Schroeder better than Bennett here, but I'm by no means sold on Schroeder either, I just think this is such a murky draft, his elite quickness stands out, and he has good upside.

i don't think Bennett is a good fit here, either. His shooting would be nice next to Cuz, as would his offensive rebounding I suppose, but his defensive game and motor don't mesh we'll. I must say that Bennett's shooting is what impresses me most, combined with his wingspan/mass/above the rim trifecta. It's a tough call.

 

[funkykingston]

Bennett is an interesting prospect. I don't see him as a good fit next to DeMarcus at all, but he definitely has some interesting aspects to his game. I can't think of a great comparison for him. Rodney Rogers has been mentioned, but Bennett is a better scorer. Larry Johnson doesn't work as LJ was smaller but much stronger and more explosive, though Bennett's game is somewhat similar to Johnson after his back injury. Maybe a stronger, slower, less skilled Carmelo Anthony is the best comparison.

That said, I'd agree that putting Bennett at SF would be a mistake. His game (as it stands now) is predicated on blowing by slower bigs or hitting shots if they don't step out to contest him. On the NBA level I think being at SF would lead to him trying to bull his way to the hoop or post up more often, neither of which (especially post play) are his main strengths. That and I don't see him being able to guard opposing wing players at ALL.

I think his best fit is on teams in need of scorers like the Suns or Bobcats. I could also see Washington grabbing him if Porter is already gone as he'd make a nice rotation with Nene and Okafor since neither of them are guys that can put points on the board. Like Len, I hope he's gone by #7 because he is a risky prospect that I'd rather see another team gamble on.

 

[bajaden]

Bennett is an interesting prospect. I don't see him as a good fit next to DeMarcus at all, but he definitely has some interesting aspects to his game. I can't think of a great comparison for him. Rodney Rogers has been mentioned, but Bennett is a better scorer. Larry Johnson doesn't work as LJ was smaller but much stronger and more explosive, though Bennett's game is somewhat similar to Johnson after his back injury. Maybe a stronger, slower, less skilled Carmelo Anthony is the best comparison.

That said, I'd agree that putting Bennett at SF would be a mistake. His game (as it stands now) is predicated on blowing by slower bigs or hitting shots if they don't step out to contest him. On the NBA level I think being at SF would lead to him trying to bull his way to the hoop or post up more often, neither of which (especially post play) are his main strengths. That and I don't see him being able to guard opposing wing players at ALL.

I think his best fit is on teams in need of scorers like the Suns or Bobcats. I could also see Washington grabbing him if Porter is already gone as he'd make a nice rotation with Nene and Okafor since neither of them are guys that can put points on the board. Like Len, I hope he's gone by #7 because he is a risky prospect that I'd rather see another team gamble on.

Perhaps I'm missing something that everyone else has seen, but to my eye, Bennett is an above average athlete and an explosive leaper. Whether he can play SF or be a stretch four is anyones guess, but he's certainly athletic enough. Lest anyone forgot, Corliss Williams was a center at Arkansas and he converted to SF and actually won the 6th man of the year award at that position. There is no way in hell that Corliss was as athletic at Bennett is. When you add in that most of Bennett's offensive game is a face up game, and that he has little or no back to the basket game, its not that far fetched to picture him as a stretch four or a SF.

Personally I'm not in favor of drafting anyone that I'm not sure what position they'll play. I'd rather someone else have that problem.

 

[funkykingston]

Perhaps I'm missing something that everyone else has seen, but to my eye, Bennett is an above average athlete and an explosive leaper. Whether he can play SF or be a stretch four is anyones guess, but he's certainly athletic enough. Lest anyone forgot, Corliss Williams was a center at Arkansas and he converted to SF and actually won the 6th man of the year award at that position. There is no way in hell that Corliss was as athletic at Bennett is. When you add in that most of Bennett's offensive game is a face up game, and that he has little or no back to the basket game, its not that far fetched to picture him as a stretch four or a SF.

Personally I'm not in favor of drafting anyone that I'm not sure what position they'll play. I'd rather someone else have that problem.

His offensive game is reminiscent of Carmelo Anthony with more force and less range, but to me your position is defined by who you can guard and I don't see Bennett guarding NBA SFs. To be fair, he doesn't really guard anybody, but he can at least bang with 4's. Corliss played SF out of necessity. As a center at Arkansas I honestly didn't think he'd succeed in the NBA. His offense was all banging in the post which he just didn't have the size to do in the NBA, not at PF and certainly not as a pivot.

Yes, I believe Bennett could make the transition if necessary (to his credit Corliss put in a ton of work on his shot and conditioning) but I don't think there's a ton of value there. Even against smaller guys he didn't do much with his back to the basket and smaller guys will be able to stay in front and challenge his shot more. I think his big advantage is as a mobile big with a nice shot giving him an advantage on 4's that either sag or try to play him tight.

Bennett scares me as a boom or bust prospect. Anybody without a motor worries me on the NBA level but especially an athletic tweener forward. But of course all my views on this draft are colored by the notion that the Kings will move forward with DMC and a re-signed Evans. Bennett doesn't really compliment either guy as a SF or PF.

 

[Gilles]

Anybody without a motor worries me

In April Bennett admitted that he has asthma. That was the reason for his questionable motor - he just doesn't have stamina. He used inhaler every time he was out of public eyes, but now that everybody knows, well, he can have inhaler at hand every time he returns to the bench, so the stamina problems will be alleviated. He will still struggle at altitude which means in Denver, but he is able to use inhaler sitting on the bench he might be much better prospect than he looked like in UNLV.
My main concern with him would still be lack of length for PF position and the fact that he has wide lower body so as he fills out he might have trouble keeping his weight down, which will affect his mobility. Putting him at SF and asking to chase his opponent around the perimeter might be a defensive problem with his health.

 

[Glenn]

I take it basketball doesn't bar the use of stimulants as some sports will not allow what is in an inhaler.

 

[Gilles]

5 minutes search hasn't revealed whether it's banned or not, but it's not a sport based solely on endurance, so it might not be perceived as an edge. Problems might come from PR standpoint: you would get shots of an athlete barely breathing, because NBA is taking his breath away.

 

[Telemachus]

5 minutes search hasn't revealed whether it's banned or not, but it's not a sport based solely on endurance, so it might not be perceived as an edge. Problems might come from PR standpoint: you would get shots of an athlete barely breathing, because NBA is taking his breath away.

Having an oxygen tank he can use would provide much the same of what he would need, and I have seen those on the sidelines before. I know almost every NFL team has them on the sidelines.

 

[KingsFanGER]

Cousins and Bennet would give the Kings some serious firepower in the front court. If we can aquire some defensive minded big-man with Nba-Size for a PF, the roster would be very flexible. Against Opponents without a true PF, you could play Bennet at the 4 to dominate the paint, while playing him as a 3 or off the bench, if you face someone like the Spurs or the Grizzlies.

 

[Double-K]

I've watched most of his games this year and his lack of motivation on D (and sometimes seems lazy in general) is discouraging.

 

[Arby's Roast Beef]

I'm really, really mixed on him, but not because of his game. Mostly because of his position. I'm not sure what he can really fit into in this league, and unfortunately, finding your positional niche is really important. I've dropped him about 16 spots in my mock because of this uncertainty.