NBA Draft 2021: Cunningham, Dosunmu, and Kispert featured in mailbag

Where do you think Ayo Dosunmu lands in the draft (if he does declare) and which team do you see that can help increase his value? – Nick A.

I’m not very plugged in with NBA teams so it’s hard for me to predict where Dosunmu ends up. Of the mainstream boards, he’s highest on the Athletic at 24, and lowest on Bleacher Report at 40.

Picking an ideal team for Dosunmu is a challenge because he’s a unique player. I think he’d mesh in well with the Indiana Pacers. They have done a good job developing Malcolm Brogdon, who’s in a similar mold as a tweener guard. Playing off of Domantas Sabonis, one of the league’s best passing bigs would allow him to succeed off the ball. The Pacers also lack creation at the guard spot, which would allow Dosunmu to get reps there.

With the weird Covid season, will the draft shift more towards players at big-name schools since scouts likely got more looks at those guys? – Bryce M.

While in-person scouting has certainly been limited, I don’t think this will hurt players at smaller schools. From my knowledge, it’s been hard for teams to see players at big-time schools in person as well. Duke, for example, allows no outside personnel at their games. Illinois has only had one NBA scout in attendance this season. The accessibility to games on the computer is super easy and I think players from all schools are being looked at.

That being said, this draft is loaded with high-major players anyway. But Western Kentucky’s Charles Bassey and VCU’s Nashon Hyland both have a shot at the first round and I feel confident that Pepperdine’s Kessler Edwards will get picked. I also believe that the tournament will be open to NBA teams, providing scouts to get an in-person look.

If Corey Kispert were 19 years old, as opposed to 22 years old, would he be a lottery pick- Jeff H.

I’ll preface this by saying I think Kispert has a very good shot to go lottery, even with him being a senior. So I’ll spin the question this way: how would we view Kispert if he were a freshman?

We really haven’t seen a shooting season like this from any prospect.  Since 2008, only 26 players have shot 48% from three on 11 attempts per 100 possessions. Of those 26 players, Kispert is the only player who is 6’7 or taller. He’s the only player with a box plus/minus above +10. He’s the only player with more than six dunks. He’s the only player with a true shooting percentage above 72.5 and he’s the only player shooting above 57% on twos (and he’s shooting 67% from two). So, we really haven’t seen anything like this.

If he were 19, I think he’d be a clear top-six prospect at worst. The lack of athleticism would still have him behind Cunningham, Mobley, Jalen Suggs, Jalen Green, and Jonathan Kuminga. We haven’t seen much of Green or Kuminga, so it’s totally feasible one of them plays themself out of that conversation.

The point is that if Kispert were a freshman, I think he’d be a legitimate top-six prospect.