New Orleans Pelicans NBA draft: 3 reasons impact players are overlooked

New Orleans Pelicans NBA Draft: Athleticism over skill

He’s not an athlete

The next obsession of the NBA is athleticism. I like to call this one the “Stanley Johnson Conundrum.”

Johnson was arguably the best athlete in the 2015 draft, a guy who had an NBA frame, size, strength, speed and everything else you’d want out of a modern NBA wing.

Teams were so enthralled with his athleticism that they missed the fact that he can’t actually play. Skill is still more important than great athleticism, but every year guys are passed up because they are not elite athletes.

This is how the Heat got Tyler Herro with the 13th pick.

He was not projected as a great athlete, but showed his skill with the ball is much more valuable than being able to jump through the roof.

Is Luka Doncic athletic enough? How about Nikola Jokic?

The Pelicans took Jaxson Hayes just before Rui Hachimura because of his elite athleticism, but Hachimura currently looks like the more skilled and better player.

Athleticism is important obviously but is not the only thing that matters. Give me a smart player with skill over a guy who looks like Usain Bolt but can’t actually play the game.

There are several players in this year’s draft who will fall because they are not elite athletes. Guys like Cole Anthony, Tre Jones and Killian Tillie will likely all fall because of their lack of athleticism. But all have skills, are smart and can play the game, which might be more valuable.

While guys like Patrick Williams are rising on draft boards because of their elite athleticism, are we sure he can actually play the game? Williams looks like the next Stanley Johnson, a guy with an amazing body who we keep saying “he’ll be great once he figures it out” about.

A smart player like Tre Jones will probably fall to the second round but may be more of an impact player than any of the elite athletes that have teams drooling.