The 2019 NBA Draft was long heralded the best draft in years or more, headlined by superstar 19 year old Zion Williamson, the surefire number one pick who the Pelicans took winning the lottery. But after him, there are plenty of stars, starters, role players and highly advanced rated metric guys...
Ja Morant, RJ Barrett, DeAndre Hunter, Darius Garland, Cameron Johnson, PJ Washington, Tyler Herro, Brandon Clarke (leads all draftees in win shares added), Gran Williams, Jordan Poole, Keldon Johnson, Nic Claxton, Coby White, Daniel Gafford, Kevin Porter Jr, Terrance Mann, Jackson Hayes, Matiss Thybulle, Rui Hachimura, Taylen Horton Tucker, and more.... All have become positive impact players if not starters or stars, and at the least key rotation players.
Obviously Zion Williamson has shown us how great he is, but he's also shown us he sits out more games than he plays. Even so, before he got hurt last season he had the Pelicans at first in the West a third through the season putting up 27ppg 7rpg 4apg on 60%+FG. If he played more games he'd lead in win shares but he's at 14.2 playing in less than half the games of most.
But Ja Morant, second pick by Memphis, is the MVP of the draft so far as he's helped lead the Grizzlies back into playoff contenders. The grizzlies also struck gold with Brandon Clarke Jr, who plays PF off the bench and some small ball Center at only 20 minutes a night he still leads the 2019 class in win shares at 19.9, second goes to Morant at 19.4.... Memphis won this draft... Easily. It's amazing how sneaky good the Memphis bench is, but Clarke given a starting job on another team would put up 18ppg 10rpg 1.5spg 1.5bpg on great FG%, as Per36.
Of course Ja has had his issues lately with gun control, he's suspended awhile, and Zion could start next season right and regain his status as the number one.
But all those other players providing tons of win shares, names like Gafford of the Wizards are more impactful than we realize, though he did earn a 3 year $40 million deal as a result.
If we did a redraft based on win shares, which is an advanced metric that takes all things basketball into account, is a very accurate measurement to use. One would think it hurts players not getting as much minutes(see Brandon Clarke Jr leading the list t (18 minutes a game) or you would think being on a losing team effects this, while I won't say it doesn't (look at Daniel Gafford of the wizards or Keldon Johnson of the Spurs). There's a reason certain players get paid good money with mediocre stats and greaat defense (see Matisse Thybulle)... Anyway, this is what it looks like with bench utility player Brandon Clarke leading the way:
1- Brandon Clarke Jr (19.9)
2- Ja Morant (19.4)
3- Daniel Gafford (17.4)
4- Nic Claxton (15.1)
5- Cameron Johnson (14.4)
6- Terrance Mann (14.3)
7- Zion Williamson (14.2)
8- Jaxson Hayes (14.0)
9- Darius Garland (13.8)
10- Grant Williams (12.2)
11- Matisse Thybulle (11.0)
12- PJ Washington (10.6)
13- Tyler Herro (10.5)
14- Keldon Johnson (10.5)
15- Jordan Poole (9.9)
16- Coby White (8.8)
17- RJ Barrett (8.1)
18- Rui Hachimura (7.2)
19- Cody Martin (6.1)
20- Jalen McDaniels (6.1)
22- DeAndre Hunter (5.4)
23- Goga Bitadze (5.4)
24- Eric Paschall (5.0)
25- Jaylen Nowell (4.8)
26- Chuma Okeke (4.1)
27- Talen Horton Tucker (4.1)
28- Nassir Little (4.0)
29- Kevin Porter Jr (4.0)
30- Isaiah Roby (4.0)
The other 30 draftees average win shares anywhere from +3.9 to -0.4, so you can see how this draft is wildly different in term of production on the court and where the player was drafted.
There is such a thing as empty stats, aka Kevin Porter Jr, just like there's a Clarke Jr who plays 18-20 minutes off the bench averaging 10 points and 5 rebound that leads the draft in win shares.
Also note Zion played in less than half the games or more than most players, so if he was healthy he'd be leading by quite a bit.
Hope you enjoyed the read.
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