UNC’s Justin Jackson is the Heat’s dream choice in the NBA draft
The Miami Heat move further from the NBA draft lottery, while North Carolina’s Justin Jackson’s stock keeps rising up draft boards.
As the 2015 NBA draft played out, Duke’s Justise Winslow — believed to be a top-four pick by most experts — continued to slide. The Knicks didn’t pick him at four. Sacramento passed on him at six. Detroit instead chose Stanley Johnson at eight and Charlotte took Frank Kaminsky at nine. Suddenly one of the most highly-regarded players in the draft was sitting their at 10 for Pat Riley to take.
Riley got lucky once with his dream pick sliding to him, and he’ll hope to get lucky again this summer. As the Heat are poised to be picking later than they were in 2015, Riley has to aim at adding a usable asset in this June’s NBA draft. The best-case scenario for the Heat may just be playing in the Final Four: North Carolina’s junior forward Justin Jackson.
Jackson will have a chance to continue to impress draft scouts and decision makers — including Riley — when North Carolina faces Oregon in the Final Four on Saturday night.
It is obvious that the 6-foot-8 small forward is not the best player in the draft. That would be Lonzo Ball, Markelle Fultz or Josh Jackson. But with a playoff spot in their grasps, Miami is poised to land somewhere outside of the first 14 picks of the lottery.
The interesting thing is that despite averaging 18.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, Chad Ford still managed to leave Jackson at No. 30 on his top 100 draft prospects list, out of his Mock Draft 3.3 and stuck in neutral on his stock watch. Which all bodes well for the Heat:
"“Scouts continue to be on the fence on Jackson. Some have him firmly in the mid-first round, others in the second. He gets at least one more game, this time against Dylan Brooks and Oregon, to show he has what it takes to be a good NBA player.”"
Whether it is mid-first round or the second round, Jackson could very well fall into a range where the Heat can draft him if they want him. Sure, the team could use a stretch-4, however the talented Jackson fills holes as well.
For starters, Jackson’s height and 6-foot-11 wingspan would give Miami’s small forward rotation more size than Rodney McGruder does. His 45 percent field goal shooting and 38 percent three-point average would give the team insurance in case they have to purge the roster of a long ball specialist like Wayne Ellington. It also does not hurt that Jackson is versatile enough to put the ball on the floor and work the midrange or get to the rim, where he shoots 66 percent.
And he just keeps getting better through an NCCA tournament run that has seen his percentages from the field and the three rise to 47 and 39, respectively. Bumping his points per game average to 19.8. However there are a few disadvantages.
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His slight frame may get him knocked around in the league and his 22 years of age may mean that he is stuck in his ways, which includes a tendency to fade at times. Despite those flaws, Jackson’s ability to spread the floor and be an all-around presence is more of a sure thing than drafting Duke’s oft-injured Harry Giles.
His performance over the next three days could prove that, and it starts Saturday night.