NBA Draft 2019: Final predictions and analysis for all 60 selections
60. Sacramento Kings – Charles Matthews (Simberg)
Matthews draft stock took a fall when it was announced he tore his ACL in a pre draft workout with the Boston Celtics. Nonetheless, I think he would still be worthy of a selection especially for the Kings with the last pick of the draft. Matthews cooled off after a hot start for the Wolverines. He finished the year scoring 12.2 points per game and shooting a poor 29 percent from three but showed upside and promise.
His path to the league will be his on-ball defense. Matthews established himself as one of the best defenders in the country. Standing at 6’6 with a strong frame, Matthews often shut down his opponents in the Big Ten. He was in the 97th percentile for guarding the ball-handler in pick and rolls and in the 92nd percentile for guarding isolations. He will never be a prolific scorer, but if he can just improve his three-point shooting, then he will be a good “three and D” player.
He has a strong work ethic and is a high character guy that will make winning plays to help his team win. Sacramento has shooting on the wings, but lacks depth and a defensive stopper. Matthews can solve both those problems once he is healthy.
59. Toronto Raptors – Alen Smailagic (Jarrett)
The Warriors have been trying to hide Alen Smailagic – who played for their G-League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, this season – from the rest of the NBA all year long, so the newly-crowned Raptors would be thrilled to steal him from their Finals opponent at the end of the draft. Smailagic, who won’t turn 19 until mid-August, spent this year as the youngest player to ever play in the G-League. Despite the fact that he was playing predominantly against grown men, he managed to average 9.1 points and 4 rebounds in just 17.4 minutes per game while shooting nearly 50% from the floor. He has impressive defensive instincts for someone his age, as is evident by the fact that he posted a 2.4% steal rate and 4.8% block rate this season.
While he doesn’t stand out athletically, he is mobile enough to switch onto smaller defenders without it being a disaster. He doesn’t have an outside jumper, which limits him to playing center, but his touch around the rim is outstanding and points to the idea that he could develop a jumper with time. Smailagic is, without a doubt, a project, but he’s the type of player that the Raptors can take a chance on with a loaded roster coming off of a championship. He has a ton of potential, and if any team can help him tap into it, it’s the Raptors, who turned Pascal Siakam into a star and Fred VanVleet into a valuable rotation player.
58. Golden State – Isaiah Roby (Harkins)
Isaiah Roby, in my opinion, is a fringe first-round prospect and there is no way that he should fall as far as No. 58. But, because it did, I jumped on the opportunity to select him for Golden State. An athletic forward at nearly 6-foot-9, Roby makes a great impact on both ends of the floor. Offensively, he projects as a solid rim-running power forward who can finish above the rim and is developing as a perimeter threat. Defensively, he can defend positions 2-through-5 and blocks shots at a high rate. His defensive floor is quite high while he can grow into a solid offensive threat. I think that he would be a steal this late in the draft.
57. New Orleans Pelicans – Miye Oni (Stevens)
Oni is one of the most interesting players in the draft. He is from a school where they do not get much air time, but Oni certainly gets enough “air time”. His vertical leap is something that most scouts are impressed with. Oni is a player that has only gotten better every single season for the Bulldogs and he certainly has the intangibles to be an NBA caliber player. Nothing about his game is going to wow you on the stat sheet, but everything is just good overall for a guard.
With the Pelicans trending down they just need players that want to play with a chip on their shoulders and that is what Oni does. He was thought to be a D3 recruit at the college level and is now expected to be drafted. There is obviously the worry that when he faces real competition what will he do after watching him flop in the tournament, but with better playmakers like Jrue Holiday of the Pelicans he will be fine. Oni has the ability to play a handful of minutes right away in this situation and with his athleticism he would be hard to pass up.
56. Los Angeles Clippers – Zylan Cheatham (Rauf)
After averaging over a double-double at Arizona State, the senior big man did just enough to warrant a pick towards the end of the draft. There are signs that Cheatham can fit into the modern-day NBA, including going 11/25 from three-point range (5/29 two seasons prior) and raking up 3.2 apg. The turnovers also grew but he’s one of the better passing big men in the draft. Already a great rebounder, the Clippers should take a chance to see if his offense translates to the next level to become a rotation piece.