NBA Draft 2019: 10 most intriguing undrafted free agent prospects

Shamorie Ponds, PG, St. John’s

Signed a multi-year deal with the Houston Rockets

One of the more polarizing prospects in the draft, Shamorie Ponds was rated as a lottery pick by some and an undrafted talent by others. The latter projection ended up being correct, but the people who thought of him as a lottery pick didn’t think that way for no reason.

Although pull-up mid-range jumpers are one of the most inefficient shots in basketball, it’s still encouraging that Ponds is really good at them. Pull-up shooting is perhaps the most important trait necessary to be a star guard in the NBA (see: Steph Curry, Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving, etc.), and having a foundation in that area as good as Ponds’ is rare, even if he hasn’t quite extended his prowess to the three-point line.

He’s also a good playmaker, posting an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.6 during his senior campaign. He made some of the best passes that we saw all season long, and he’s especially good at bounce passes, which is another skill that is fairly hard to come by.

When there’s a player in the who possesses two skills found in a lot of star point guards, you take your chances with him, even if he’s a bit undersized at 6’1. I’m surprised nobody did just that during the draft, but it didn’t take long for Ponds to get signed afterward, as the Houston Rockets scooped him up.

Ponds is a strange fit in Houston. The dynamic with two ball-dominant guards didn’t work with Chris Paul and James Harden (at least from an egotistical standpoint), and the Rockets’ style of burying opponents with their three-point attack isn’t something that Ponds will be able to contribute to consistently.

With that said, Paul’s inevitable departure does open a door at the point guard position, and I think that Ponds may be able to take advantage and earn a spot in Houston’s rotation. There’s no question that he has the talent to do so.

Ponds was ranked 42nd on Lukas Harkins’ final Big Board.