NBA Draft 2022: Final Big Board of top 60 overall prospects

45. Tyrese Martin – Uconn – Wing – 6’6, 215 lbs – March 1999 – Senior

Martin is another guy who helped himself in the pre-draft process, playing well at the G-League Elite camp and earning himself an invite to the NBA Combine. But I am surprised scouts weren’t onto Martin sooner. Yes, he’s a tad older. But he’s got positional size for a wing, is a tough, hard-nosed defender, and had a productive year offensively on a good team averaging 13.5 points on 44/43/68 shooting splits.

Martin doesn’t wow you athletically, but he’s good in tight spaces. He’s a powerful driver who could improve his touch a bit at the rim. The shooting will be a big swing skill. After three consecutive seasons of 32% from deep, Martin skyrocketed up to 43% as a senior, so it remains to be seen what version of Martin we get as a shooter at the next level.

But the defense and rebounding at his position will play to the NBA level right away. As long as Martin doesn’t kill a team on offense, he can contribute right away in the NBA. The age and lack of offensive upside wouldn’t make me want to select him in the first round, but this seems like a good spot for him.

46. Peyton Watson – UCLA – Wing – 6’8, 203 lbs – September 2002 – Freshman

Watson struggled to find consistent minutes on a veteran-heavy Bruin team this past season. When he did play, Watson flashed some really interesting things defensively. He’s better off the ball than on, using his 7-foot wingspan and good activity to make an impact. He posted a block rate over five and a steal rate over 2.5.

The offense, however, was brutal. Watson looked like a deer in headlights most times, shooting 32% from the field, 37% at the rim, and 22% from three, and a negative assist to turnover rate. His understanding of the team concept on that end seemed to go over his head at times too. Watson shot 34% at the U19 Fiba World Cup the summer before, so I wasn’t expecting a big-time scorer, but it was a noticeably disappointing year on that end.

I’ll cut Watson some slack and say he’s young and being a high school player in the state of California cost him most of his senior season, hurting his development. He has an NBA body and the tools to be a good defensive player. The offense just has so much room to grow to become “NBA bad” even, I’m not sure it gets there. I would have liked to see him return to UCLA or play for G-League Ignite (since he’ll be in the G-League anyway), but at this point, I’m taking the gamble that the defense helps him find a role down the line.

47. Ryan Rollins – Toledo – Guard- 6’3, 179 lbs – July 2002 – Sophomore

An intelligent, crafty combo guard, Rollins was the best player in the MAC last season. He got to the rim at will, using some creative handling flashes and deceptive quickness. He’s nearly as good as attacking with his off-hand, which is impressive at that age. The shooting percentages weren’t great, but I think his shot is fixable and a lot of that was usage based.

The defense is pretty concerning at this stage as he didn’t show a ton of intensity on that end. His nearly 6’10 wingspan helped him nab some cheap steals, but he has a long way to go on the ball and could get targeted early on in his career. He also noticeably struggled in his games against better opponents, although I thought he looked like he belonged at the combine. He’s young for a sophomore though and I believe the shot, but doesn’t quite do anything at an NBA-level yet to give me full confidence he sticks. In a weak guard class though, he’s got some upside as a second rounder.

48. Max Christie – Michigan State – Wing – 6’5.75, 182 lbs – February 2003 – Freshman

At a glance, Christie looks like a prototypical NBA wing, standing at 6’6 with a +3 wingspan and a clean-looking shooting stroke. But like a handful of other freshmen in this class, he struggled to make an impact. The shot consistency wavered, and Christie is very contact averse right now. He only attempted 48 shots at the rim, too often pre-determining he’s going to pull up for a jumper on his drives. He didn’t create for others very well with his loose handle. Defensively, the lack of physicality was present. He didn’t pressure the ball well at all, giving handlers a ton of space.

I understand why some have a first-round grade on Christie. The Michigan State system is typically not favorable to raw counting stats for wings, especially freshmen. From an aesthetic and shot preparation standpoint, Christie looks like a big-time shooter. But having scouted him since early on in his high-school career, he’s actually struggled with consistency in that regard.

He can still add weight to his frame (which may help him in a physicality standpoint) but without the jumper, and I don’t fully believe in it, then the pathway to Christie sticking in the NBA becomes murkier. As an aside, the list of drafted players to have a Box Plus/Minus below 1.0 in their draft year has not aged favorably.