DNHQ Draft Tourney Bonus Group B: Jaime Jaquez, Jalen Wilson, Julian Strawther, Terquavion Smith

heady hustler, versatile mismatch, offball flamethrower, pull-up king

Overall results and how we chose the field at 2023 Dub Nation HQ Draft Tournament. Past Draft Tourneys archived here.

Our Draft Tournament

Yes, we are still having our FOURTH annual DNHQ Draft Tournament, where Dub Nation gets to vote on whom the Warriors should draft via head to head showdowns.

The draft will happen on Jun 22 2023, 5pm.

If the Warriors end up trading the pick, I’ll end the draft tournament early.

The tournament is designed for people who are not draft experts to catch up on prospects in the Warriors range at a casual pace. This is the reason it is sliced up into one on one votes instead of a massive 16 person scouting report.

The ultimate goal is for you to develop opinions and attachments about the different prospects, so you can argue with others, dream about the future, enjoy the draft with more suspense and emotional investment, and then in the future tell everyone how you had it right and the drafters were a bunch of idiots.

And yes yes everyone wants to trade the pick for someone ready to contribute. You can add to conversation with specific players to target, or even better, specific trades.

Bonus Rounds

This means the field is set about a month ahead of time. In that month, prospect reputations go up and down. It would be difficult to adjust the tournament field as you go, and that would also be taking too seriously what is a super unscientific process.

This bonus round will be its own separate mini-tournament to allow us to scout and vote on some key prospects who didn’t make it into our tournament.

For Bonus Group A: in our roundup of 20 mock drafts, most of the mock picks were already in our tournament field, with these exceptions:

• Ben Sheppard. Wasserman, B/R (2023.06.02). Holy crap, Sheppard has been shooting upwards on the mock drafts.

• James Nnaji. Givony and Woo, ESPN DraftExpress. (2023.06.05)

• Kobe Bufkin. Krysten Peek, Yahoo! Sports. (2023.06.05)

  • When setting the field, Bufkin was considered out of our range. His rank has been drifting downwards ever since.

• Kobe Bufkin. Givony and Woo, ESPN DraftExpress. (2023.06.05)

Also, I re-computed the Tourney field with the latest Mocks, and the four top players that would have made the Tourney today are

• Kobe Bufkin (16.5)

• Maxwell Lewis (26.3)

• Ben Sheppard (28)

  • Actually worked out for GSW on June 6.

• Jaime Jaquez (30.3)

  • Actually worked out for GSW on May 30

Thus I will add Lewis to Bonus Group A and put Jaquez in Bonus Round 2.

For Bonus Group B, we know many of the players that have actually worked out with the Warriors. I am keeping a list. I’m not going to scout 32 players, but I think it’s worthwhile to scout some of them. Here are the top 8 invitees so far, ranked by Sam Vecenie:

• Dereck Lively II 14 (he cancelled)

• Colby Jones 28

• Jaime Jaquez 31

• Jalen Wilson 33

• Julian Strawther 35

• Trayce Jackson-Davis 40

• Terquavion Smith 45

• Brandin Podziemski 47

We have the 4 players not in the Tourney in Bonus Group B.

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Jaime Jaquez

O’Connor:

SHADES OF Kevin McHale impressionist

• Hustle

• Feel for the Game

• Off-Ball Defense

• Rebounding

PLUSES

• The cleanest footwork of anyone in the draft. He can change rhythms like a Tool song, and he uses fakes and pivots to get defenders flying off the floor. With manipulative movements, he’s able to generate space on drives and post-ups at the college level, and it should be translatable to the pros.

• Equipped to bully mismatches in the post because of his size, strength, and array of moves.

• Comfortable pulling up from midrange. He’s made 40.6 percent of dribble-jumper 2s and 36.5 percent of dribble-jumper 3s in four years at UCLA. Add in his 74.5 percent from the line, and there’s reason for optimism that he’ll someday become a reliable shooter off the catch.

• Can make virtually any pass, from lobs to wraparounds to cutters. If he draws attention on drives or post-ups, he stays composed and finds the open man with accurate fastballs.

• Excellent off-ball defender who doesn’t miss rotations. He has a great feel for reading plays and strong fundamentals for executing what he’s seeing.

• Hustles hard defending on the ball. He has a never-give-up attitude, whether he’s sliding with faster players or battling for rebounds against bigs. UCLA has him defend the frontcourt more often, but he’s undersized for the next level and will need to defend more wings.

MINUSES

• Still an iffy 3-point shooter who will need to prove that he can regularly hit catch-and-shoot chances to raise his draft stock. He’s made 31.1 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3s in four years at UCLA, per Synergy.

• Needs to maximize his lateral quickness to reach his defensive potential. Even at the college level, he can struggle to keep in front of faster players.

• His lack of verticality and quickness will make it challenging for him to generate space in the NBA. He’s been consistent finishing against length in college but may need to add a floater.

Spinella excerpts:

Luckily for Jaquez, his tremendous basketball IQ and overall well-rounded game allow him to pop within structure. He is so good in complex actions and doing different things based on the matchups. If he can continue to buy into doing whatever is needed for his team to win, Jaquez will make it as a long-time NBA veteran.

There are skill tweaks to make, though. Jaquez is a career 32% 3-point shooter, a low mark for a guy whose pro career doesn’t figure to be built around his on-ball prowess. He’s a below-average athlete in many regards; while a strong-bodied 6’7”, lateral quickness and explosiveness near the rim are both in short supply for him.

Still, Jaquez continues to find ways to overcome the eye test and make positive impacts on a basketball floor. Those intangibles and fundamentals matter a great deal in projecting forward how his NBA career will go and where Jaquez should be selected in relation to younger, higher-upside prospects.

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Overall Analysis

I do believe Jaquez can stick in the NBA. His game is much more closely resembling that of a role player than anything else. His offensive game is very well-rounded, where he’s not just skilled enough to be deployed in different ways but is efficient in nearly all of them. There is a little bit of trepidation about his athleticism, and that’s understandable. I do believe it’s counter-balanced by the things that cannot be taught.

The intangibles stand out with Jaquez. He plays hard while being an incredibly smart player on both ends. He’s always hustling, has a real energy about him, and makes winning plays. Jaquez will roll up his sleeves and do whatever is asked of him to stick in the league. He’ll dive on loose balls, crash the glass, contest at the rim with verticality… whatever his team needs.

Jaquez is known as a scorer at UCLA. But there are enough scorers in the NBA who can do it better than he can. What he does better than so many others is fill in the gaps around those scorers to impact winning. It won’t be without needing to fit scheme and personnel around him to prevent Jaquez’s athleticism from being exposed. Teams like Minnesota, Denver, Chicago, and both Los Angeles teams all fit that mold and would be nice landing spots.

Jaquez does have a chance to sneak into the tail end of the first round. He’s far more likely to go in the 31-45 range as teams use their four-year guarantees on more high-upside, younger picks. I have a hard time seeing him fall past the Clippers at 48.

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Jalen Wilson

O’Connor:

SHADES OF DeMarre Carroll

• Positional Versatility

PLUSES

• Versatile ball handler who was a nightmare mismatch at the college level, where he carried a massive load. Kansas used him as a transition creator, on post-ups, in pick-and-rolls, and on cuts to the basket.

• Because of his size, solid handle, and knack for left-to-right spin moves, he was too quick for bigs and too strong for smaller players. These attacking skills could translate to the NBA as long as his jumper progresses.

• Shot a career-best 79.9 percent from the free throw line as a senior, which raises some optimism about his long-term projections as a spot-up shooter. He also shot above 40 percent on dribble-jumpers as a senior.

• Wide shoulders, a thick frame, and solid lateral quickness give him some defensive versatility. He’s also an aggressive rebounder, though he lacks great athleticism.

MINUSES

• Made only 31.6 percent of his 3s in college, and his numbers worsened in spot-up situations as time progressed. As a senior, he made 40.3 percent of open catch-and-shoot 3s but only 27.5 percent when guarded, per Synergy. This could be viewed optimistically, but it was his first season shooting well even when open, so it’s a small sample.

• Contained by Arkansas’s Jordan Walsh in the NCAA tournament, raising concerns about his ability to generate space off the dribble against pro-caliber defenders. Adding some playmaking vision would help.

• Not an above-the-rim athlete, which limits his finishing ability despite his height. To make matters worse, he also had shaky shot selection from midrange in college and hoisted up some tough, contested attempts.

• Needs to improve athletically to become a better defender, especially in help situations, since he doesn’t get much lift on contests at the rim.

SI.com:

Coming off of an NCAA Championship, Wilson took on even more of an important role in this recent college season. He proved to be up for the challenge and has elevated his game.

After entering the NBA Draft process the past two years, Wilson has ultimately ended up coming back to school both times, and now had a great fourth season.

Although he didn’t play much as a freshman, he’s grown into a veteran player that is a three-year starter. When looking at his production across the board, he's one of the most impactful players in the entire country. Wilson is the perfect example of a player developing over a full four years at the college level.

With that in mind, he is an older prospect and will be 23 years old during most of the upcoming NBA season. That's not to say he's already reached his ceiling and can't continue to improve, but generally players of that age are more of a second-round selection. Either way, he's got the talent and skillset to impact the game at the next level immediately.

A dominant rebounder, the 6-foot-8 forward led Kansas on the boards the last season. As a senior on his way to Big 12 Player of the Year honors, he nearly averaged a 20-point double-double.

As an offensive player, Wilson often exploits mismatches. When traditional bigs defend him, he's got the quickness to blow by. He's also got solid post moves and is crafty in the paint. When smaller players defend him, he's got the strength and size to bully his way into the paint for an easy bucket.

Especially if the 3-point shot continues to improve, he’ll have the tools to be a fantastic player at the next level. Emerging as a prospect that can knock down even 35% of his triples at a consistent rate would really make it hard to pass on Wilson in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft. He's got the size and production that can't be denied. He shot a career-high 33.7% from deep on nearly six attempts per game last season.

Defensively, Wilson is fundamentally sound, but certainly not a stopper. He can defend upwards of three positions depending on the matchup on a given night. It will be fascinating to see whether he ends up being more of a wing or power forward at the next level.

Even playing alongside standout freshman Gradey Dick, Wilson maintained his level of production which is impressive.

Draft Projection: Second-Round Pick in 2023 NBA Draft.

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Julian Strawther

O’Connor:

SHADES OF Bojan Bogdanovic, Morris Peterson

• Catch-and-shoot Threat

• On-Ball Defense

• Off-Ball Defense

PLUSES

• Improved as a shooter every collegiate season, turning from a low-volume non-threat to a high-volume flamethrower off the catch. Gonzaga runs him off screens and Strawther does a good job of fluidly getting himself set for his shots. And now, he’s even pulling up from deep behind the arc.

• Decisive ball handler who can run an occasional pick-and-roll, though he’s best-suited playing off-ball in an NBA offense to take advantage of his ability to attack a rotating defense, relocate, or cut to the basket.

• Super comfortable getting into his efficient floater from awkward angles and deeper ranges closer to the elbows.

• Competitive defender who plays hard with the on-ball quickness to contain guards, and the size to handle wings. He’s also active when defending off-ball, showing awareness rotating into the paint and crashing the glass.

MINUSES

• Despite his activity as a defender, he doesn’t generate many steals or blocks—usually an indicator of defensive success in the NBA.

Spinella excerpts:

Coming into the season, Strawther had garnered a reputation as a guy who struggled against high-major opponents as a result. Perhaps it was him failing to find a place to adequately defend, or maybe it was poor shooting as a result from better athletes defending him. But the reputation definitely existed, and was backed up by some numbers:

• 11/13/21 vs. Texas: 5 PTS in 25 MIN

• 12/18/21 vs. Texas Tech: 9 PTS, 5 REB in 25 MIN

• 3/19/22 vs. Memphis: 6 PTS (0-6 3FG) in 33 MIN

Of course, that ended during the Zags run this season. Strawther had some really good games, both early in the year against high-major foes:

• 11/20/22 vs. Kentucky: 20 PTS (3-4 3FG), 14 REB

• 11/27/22 vs. Xavier: 23 PTS (5-8 3FG), 9 REB, 3 AST

• 12/9/22 vs. Washington: 18 PTS (2-7 3FG), 12 REB

• 3/23/23 vs. UCLA: 16 PTS (3-8 3FG), 10 REB

It wasn’t all sunshine and roses for Strawther in many of those matchups, but he is very clearly a guy whose impact is tethered to how he shoots the ball. Luckily, he has a lightning-quick release and real range. The more I watch Strawther, the more I think he’s a specialist and purely a catch-and-shoot guy.

It’s also worth noting that Gonzaga did a great job of using him while also blanketing him on the other end. Everything off the bounce came going to his right hand. He was utilized off some screens but not enough to expose some footwork deficiencies. Strawther got open looks in the motion off the attention provided to Drew Timme, and was covered on defense by Anton Watson taking the top matchups and sparing Strawther from the toughest ones.

That context is important to me, and is one of the reasons why I’m trending a little downward with Strawther’s pro upside after doing a recent dive. The metrics are great and he’s a reliable shooter. I’m not sure if that’s enough in a system or context that isn’t constructed to protect him.

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Overall Analysis

Mirco-analyzing prospects can be dangerous. We tend to look for all the minutia in the game and, when dissecting it so closely, lose sight of the surface level stuff that is so obvious. The surface level is pretty clear with Strawther. He shoots, he shoots well, he’s big for a wing, and he plays with effort.

As much as I’m not too high on the minutia when it comes to Strawther, I cannot deny his productivity in those simple areas that are so important. The optimist in me is clamoring for his shooting impact to be enough. The analyst in me is not.

I think Strawther is a borderline first-round pick. He brings one of the most valuable role player skills at a high level in a fairly translatable wing. But there aren’t a ton of indicators to a well-rounded game from Strawther, and as a result I tend to see him more as an early second-rounder than someone I would end up with a first-round grade on.

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Terquavion Smith

Notice this next video is from the 2022 Draft, when Smith entered and withdrew.

O’Connor:

SHADES OF Jordan Clarkson

• Pull-up Threat

• Catch-and-shoot Threat

• Off-Ball Defense

PLUSES

• Constant threat to launch jumpers off the dribble. He’s squirmy and creates separation with ease. Though he’s hit only about 30 percent of his dribble-jumper 3s in college, he’s made more than 40 percent of his pull-up 2s and projects to improve his efficiency as he gets stronger.

• He made 41.7 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3s as a freshman, and he’s still at 39 percent as a sophomore. Most of them are in standstill situations or simple relocations, but he’s shown improvement coming off screens, getting his feet set and rapidly launching.

• Scoring around the rim improved as a sophomore after making only 42 percent of his layups as a freshman, per Synergy. He’s near 60 percent now because he’s better at slowing down on drives. If he gets a switch, he’s smarter about when to attack. And once he’s in the paint, he’s able to tap the breaks instead of driving through the glass at 90 miles per hour.

• Playmaking progress has also led to improved interior efficiency. Rather than forcing wild shots, he’s now looking for teammates. He’s not a pure point but his manipulative handling ability allows him to draw defenders and create easy passing opportunities.

• Speedy defender who can make plays in the passing lanes because of his quick-twitch change-of-direction ability. He frequently communicates off-ball, often looking like a linebacker signaling calls.

MINUSES

• At 6-foot-4 and 160 pounds, he’s a lightweight who needs to add a significant amount of weight to withstand the rigors of the NBA. He’s a subpar defender mainly due to his undersized frame.

• He needs to improve as a passer and/or boost his scoring efficiency to establish a regular rotation role. Right now he looks the part of a spark-plug guard but he doesn’t have a knockdown shot off the dribble, he’s still an unproven finisher, and he’s not a true playmaker.

SI.com:

There’s quite a few players in this upcoming class that will have more than one season of college experience. Among the best in that category is Smith. He will still be 20 on draft night, meaning he’s not as old as some of the other prospects that will have played multiple seasons at the college level. While Smith entered the 2022 NBA Draft and would have been selected, he opted to return to NC State for one more season.

He didn't have the massive spike in production we had hoped for, but did improve and will still get first-round consideration this time around again.

A smaller guard, the main concern with Smith is his defensive ability. With his light frame, will he be a liability at the next level? At the 2022 NBA Draft Combine, he weighed in as the lightest player at the entire event. While he isn’t a good defender right now, he is pesky on that end and generates a good number of steals.

The 3-point shot for Smith should be something NBA teams are excited about. He has legitimate range and projects to be a quality shooter at the professional level. He's also got one of the better midrange games in the country.

With that in mind, Smith is more of a volume scorer at this point. He needs the ball in his hands and a bulk of the offensive load to produce at a high level. Whether or not he can be an impactful player without taking a high number of shots will be interesting moving forward. He won't have the same green light he has now early in his NBA career. It's worth noting his efficiency from both inside and outside of the arc declined slightly as a sophomore.

Being a volume shooter, the shot selection for Smith is sometimes questionable. He does knock down tough looks, but in general he needs to work on generating better shots.

The NBA is an isolation game, which is something Smith is great at. He’s a crafty shot creator that can get a bucket when the team needs it. Again, it comes down to the quality of shots he takes.

An extremely quick and shifty guard, Smith could end up being a sixth man at the next level that can score in bunches. He’s not a great rebounder or elite passer, but scoring comes natural. When getting to the paint, he does have the ability to get well above the rim and throw it down. The body control for Smith is great, which does help combat his skinny frame.

The intangibles are there with Smith as well. He plays with a ton of confidence and a chip on his shoulder at all times.

Draft Projection: Mid to Late First-Round Pick in 2023 NBA Draft.

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Your Vote

Vote in this poll and/or by posting a comment (worth ten votes) with a single hashtag #JAQUEZ or #WILSON or #STRAWTHER or #SMITH.

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The DNHQ Big Board…

Super commenter void has made (again) a web app where you can record your Big Board for our limited pool of Draft Tourney participants.

• void’s DNHQ Big Board Vote Site