NBA Draft: Why Darius Garland is in position to have immediate success

Every team should consider selecting Darius Garland in the 2019 NBA Draft as he has a multifaceted offensive skill set that would allow him to thrive in any offense

"Chicago has Zach LaVine at the two, Otto Porter at the three, Lauri Markkanen at the four, and Wendell Carter Jr. at the five. The only position the Bulls have left to fill is point guard. Garland is a super-quick, dead-eye shooter with the ability to play on or off the ball. If LaVine is going to be a primary creator going forward, having someone who can shoot as well as Garland can is key."

This was said by Spencer Pearlman of Yahoo Sports in regards to what team is projected to select Darius Garland in the 2019 NBA draft. However one can argue that every team should consider drafting Garland as he has a multifaceted offensive skill set that would allow him to thrive in any offense.

Garland developed the reputation of being a versatile offensive player during his amateur career because of an exceptional ability to shoot and pass the basketball. Kevin O’Connor echoed these sentiments in late February when the Ringer published their first NBA draft big board of 2019:

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"Garland is a score-first point guard, but like Trae Young the year before, he uses his threat to pull up from anywhere to generate open looks for his teammates. Garland excels at creating space by using a plethora of dribble moves, and he delivers accurate passes. I watched him in person against USC earlier this season and was especially impressed by his knack for dissecting defenses, changing speeds, and then attacking."

Consequently, his skill set makes him a perfect fit for most of the top lottery teams as they currently run a ball movement system or already have a primary ball handler on the roster. For instance, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Phoenix Suns have been using ball movement to generate offense this season meaning that their players spend significant amounts of time off the ball.

One example of the Suns’ offense was early in the first quarter of a home game against the Memphis Grizzlies when De’Anthony Melton dribbled the ball to the three-point line. Once this happened, he passed the basketball to DeAndre Ayton who was standing near the elbow with his back to the basket.

Ayton proceeded to back Jonas Valanciunas down for a couple of seconds before entering a dribble handoff sequence with Devin Booker. Booker ended the possession missing a mid-range jumper.

Conversely, one example of the Cavs was early in the first quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers, when Collin Sexton dribbled the basketball to the three-point line. Once this happened, he passed the ball to David Nwaba who was standing on the left wing.

Newba dribbles the ball to the top of the key and proceeds to pass it to Cedi Osman. Osman decided to start a pick and roll sequence with Tristan Thompson on the right wing. The pick and roll sequence resulted in Cedi Osman making a layup.

A similar situation is happening with the Chicago Bulls as they have their point guard Kris Dunn spending a significant amount of time off the ball as a spot up shooter or bystander. A prime example of this is when Dunn would dribble the basketball up to the 3-point line and pass the ball to a teammate to initiate the pick and roll.

Once this happened, Kris would spend the rest of the possession standing behind the 3-point line in the role of a spot up shooter.

On the other hand, the Atlanta Hawks have been thrilled to have rookie point guard Trae Young as their primary ball handler. Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk told CBS Sports last summer that he hadn’t seen a point guard of Young’s age manipulate the pick and roll like Trae had.

Similar to Atlanta, the New York Knicks recently acquired a primary ball handler from the Dallas Mavericks in the form of Dennis Smith Jr. According to ESPN, Smith asked the Mavericks to trade him after he saw that Luka Doncic was becoming the primary ball handler.

As a consequence, these organizations would force Darius Garland to spend a substantial amount of time off the ball in the role of bystander or spot up shooter. Fortunately, 3-point shooting is a strength for Garland as he shot 47.8 percent from behind the arc (making 2.2 3’s in 4.6 attempts per game) in five games with the Vanderbilt Commodores.

Darius’s 3-point percentage is at least 11.5 percentage points better than Ja Morant (36.3 percent), RJ Barrett (30.8 percent) and Zion Williamson (33.8 percent) Therefore, NBA teams cannot afford to leave him open because of his ability to shoot from behind the arc which helps the floor spacing for the rest of the team.

Although his 3 point shooting makes him a good fit with these teams, his playmaking ability would make him an ideal sidekick for Jaren Jackson Jr. According to pre-draft scouting reports Jackson Jr is best suited to be the screener in a pick and roll offense:

"The combination of his out-front shot release and his lack of post game means that teams are going to switch on him without trepidation. Smaller players won’t have many issues defending him since he won’t be as much a threat to shoot over the top or hurt them in the post, which will be another factor that constrains his offensive game. For this reason, it will be important that he plays with a pick-and-roll guard who can attack switches as much as possible. Jackson has strong pick-and-pop footwork and if he gets out there with a point guard who can really attack and create for him in those situations, he’ll be a strong threat on those plays."

Consequently, it would give the Memphis Grizzlies a pick and roll duo for the next decade. In conclusion, the versatile skill set of Darius Garland puts him in position to have immediate success as he would thrive in any offense.

Even though the multifaceted skill set of Darius Garland makes him an appealing prospect, he is not expected to go in the top 3 picks as he tore his left meniscus five games into his college career. Therefore, teams should trade down to the fourth pick to get some future picks and then draft Garland.