New Orleans Pelicans NBA Draft: Finding the next Fred VanVleet

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Markus Howard could be a steal for the New Orleans Pelicans (Photo by Porter Binks) /

New Orleans Pelicans NBA Draft: Markus Howard is a bucket

Markus Howard’s Strengths and Weaknesses

So let’s start with the weaknesses because they are obvious.

Howard is under 6-feet tall, which doesn’t bode well, as there haven’t been too many under-6-footers who have had long careers in the NBA.

However, there is a recent history of under-6-footers making a huge impact in the NBA. Isaiah Thomas put together one of the best offensive seasons in history for the Boston Celtics.

J.J. Barea has had a long career as a change-of-pace scorer for the Mavericks. D.J. Augustin is still going strong for the Magic, Trey Burke put together a nice run for the Mavericks in the playoffs and Fred VanVleet is about to get a bag in free agency after evolving into a great two-way guard.

My point is that height isn’t everything, especially when the player has a strong frame and a high I.Q., as all of these guys do.

Howard’s weakness will obviously be on the defensive end, though he can hold his own. He’s also not much of a passer or rebounder, at least yet. So we’re talking about a fairly one-dimensional player who does one thing well, but that thing is something he does very well.

Howard is a lights out scorer from all over the floor. He can get to the rim and finish, even through traffic, has a solid mid-range game and is money from 3-point range, shooting 43.4 percent on a whopping 10.1 attempts per game.

He’s had some huge games scoring the ball, including dropping 42 on Georgetown in the clip above. He was scoring from all over the floor and G-Town did not have an answer.

Howard averaged 27.8 points per game to lead the nation, he was a first-team All-American and a finalist for the Wooden Award.

Even with all of those awards and accolades, Howard is predicted to drop to the late second round if he is drafted at all. A lot of teams are going to make the same mistake as they did with VanVleet, and I wager that Howard finds a home before the beginning of next season.

Will it be on the New Orleans Pelicans?