Workout 9: Toumani Camara, Armaan Franklin, Colby Jones, Justyn Mutts, Julian Phillips, and Daivien Williamson

2 comments

1. Am I stupid for really liking Julian Phillips as a prospect?

2. 1. Julian Phillips

   Julian Phillips, outside of Wemby, is likely the best long term defensive prospect in the class. He’s exceedingly reliable about making simple rotations, has S tier physical tools at 6’7″ and a 7′ wingspan next to excellent leaping ability and lateral quickness that allow him to guard 1-5 at the college level (and the inevitably condensed version of that at the next level that runs like 1.5-5’s but not Embiid), and occasionally does some more complex problem solving. Offensively, well, let’s just say you’re hoping it was Tennessee’s fault. Which isn’t to say there were no positives — he was able to draw a lot of fouls using his athleticism, and while his direct numbers at the rim are a little weak for an athlete of his caliber (55.7%), that’s heavily impacted by Tennessee’s absolutely terrible spacing and the previously noted foul drawing. He’s also surprisingly good, for a limited shooter, at spacing around the perimeter. He hits lifts and repositions around the 3 point arc as well as anyone in this class. His ballhandling process is a little weak, but not totally terrible, so there might be something there. The big thing, though, as with any defensive role player, is the shot, which, flatly, didn’t go in. He only made 24.4% of 45 attempts on the season. So not only did he not make 3’s, he barely took them. That said, mechanically, there’s some stuff to like from the waist up. Most of his problems right now are just that he doesn’t consistently use the same form, especially in the lower body. I think that’s preferable to someone who takes a ton with terrible mechanics, but in either case, his shot is certainly a project to be worked on. The net sum of Phillips, though, is a very good prospect. I’m probably going to have him in the teens, so of course I’d be glad to take him at 27.

   2. Colby Jones

   Every class, seemingly, has a wing who’s good at a lot of things but not great at any who gets wildly overdrafted because they are simply good at basketball. Elijah Hughes is kind of the quintessential example, but Jones is this year’s. He’s an okay to good shooter, an okay to good defender, an okay to good handler, an okay to good passer, an okay to good finisher, and an okay to good feel guy. He’s not bad at really anything, but he’s also not really exceptional at anything. Not going to embarrass us if we pick him, and probably in play at 27, but I’d prefer to have him on one of our 2nds than have to take him over a better option at 27.

   3. Justyn Mutts

   Mutts is a 6th year senior, but he’s an explosive finisher around the rim at 6’7″ with good ability to put the ball on the floor and make creative passes. And, to be clear, when I say “good ability to put the ball on the floor” I’m not talking straight line, inflexible drives. He has good body control through the driving process. Same thing with the passing — it’s not just simple “hit the open man when it’s super obvious”. He has legitimately good ability to see the court and vary his passing mechanics (i.e. one hand whip passes vs. overhead skips and so on). As for the shot, the FT% means it’s probably fake, and taking so few 3’s in a Mike Young offense is a bit of a flag (and obviously he needs to shoot given his age and expected role), but Mutts did shoot 45.9% on non-rim 2’s. That’s probably being influenced by his post game — a lot of those might be in the 3-7 foot range — but regardless, it’s still a strong number. Overall, Mutts is a guy that I’m still trying to figure out exactly what I’d invest in him, but I would lean that he’s an E10 guy, albeit a strong one that might be into two-way territory.

   4. Toumani Camara

   When Toumani Camara scored at least 10 points last season, Dayton was 19-4. When Toumani Camara did not score 10 points last season, Dayton was 3-8. Camara is a wildly inconsistent post 4. He is an extremely good rebounder, and he at least learned to fake a shot last year (36% on 2.4 attempts/game), but overall when Camara is having a bad day, he will legitimately tank your whole team because he’s just not valuable at all if he’s not putting the ball in the basket. And yeah some of that was Dayton’s inconsistent guard play — Camara probably has a higher ratio of good games to bad if not for that — but overall Camara is one of my least favorite kinds of prospect — the kind that makes his far better teammate (in Holmes, but also in Sharavjamts) look worse. He’s a below average passer and defender, with minimal athletic tools, so it’s not like there’s huge upside here either. He’s an E10 guy, nothing more.

   5. Armaan Franklin

   Microwave shooter. Have seen him called both the worst player in America and absolutely vital in the same game. Also has a good reputation as a defender, though I don’t think it’s more than good. Overall, I think I’d be fine with him on an E10, though he’s probably closer to a standard G Leaguer.

   6. Daivien Williamson

   Williamson is a very good shooter who missed out on a chance to take a major step forward in a well-coached offense this season because he was hampered with a back injury. So while he’s probably better than he was this year, his prior year was also nowhere close to prospect level good. The problem here is ultimately that his 6’2″ listing is highly generous and he doesn’t really do anything at an elite level other than shoot. Probably more of a summer league guy than even a G League roster spot, but he’s probably here more because of the local connection than actual basketball, even if he’s clearly better than the average local guy call-up