SEC Basketball: Buy or Sell top remaining 2019 NBA Draft decisions
By Alex Weber
E.J. Montgomery (Kentucky) 6’10 Forward/Center
2019 Per-Game Stats: 3.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 1 block, 48.0% FG, 20.0% 3PT
At this stage of his career, any conversation about Montgomery‘s professional career starts and ends with his body and athleticism. At 6’10 and reasonably athletic, E.J. has a near-perfect body to play power forward in the NBA. Laterally, he’s deceptively quick and possesses cunning instincts around the basket. In his one year at Kentucky, though, he failed to shine as a culmination of his talents. Montgomery oozes game-changing potential at the college level but was significantly outplayed by smaller, less athletic forwards P.J. Washington and Reid Travis during the 2019 season–and as a result, saw a stark contrast between minutes he hoped to play and minutes he actually played.
I believe Montgomery’s best days playing basketball are a few years down the road, and there is a base for a productive forward/center at the professional level, whether here in the NBA or overseas. However, I’m currently very skeptical of E.J.’s chances in the League should he declare for the draft this year (which is a strong possibility).
For starters, Montgomery is a baby. He, like many others entering the draft, is a freshman; but he’s a freshman that came off the bench and played slightly over 15 minutes per game. He was, at best, the 7th man this past season for Kentucky. I’m sure that wasn’t his ideal plan after entering the season as a 5-star top-15 talent, but his play forced John Calipari’s hand.
E.J. simply doesn’t do enough well to see minutes for an NBA franchise. He is a decent rebounder, a somewhat crafty finisher around the rim but lacks any individual scoring prowess. On defense, his quickness and length help him at least contest shots at the rim, but if drawn outside the paint he becomes an albatross. And in general, his reaction time is slower than concrete.
More than anything else, Montgomery must develop mentally. Nobody ever really improves their basketball IQ, but more and more experience on the court will help E.J. immensely; although I doubt he’ll see any in the NBA anytime soon. Perhaps he just wants out of college and wants to play in the G-League for a bit, where he can play A LOT more and focus solely on basketball rather than dealing with school. If that’s what he desires, go for it. But if he wants minutes for even the Phoenix Suns next season, a total metamorphosis of his game must occur.