2022 NBA Draft Breakdown - Jared Rhoden, Tyrese Martin, Kenneth Lofton Jr., Darius Days, Bryson Williams
These guys were all promoted from the G League Elite Camp, do any of them stand a chance at being drafted?
In recent years, we have seen success stories emerge from the G League Elite Camp, an event hosted for players with G League optics that operates like the NBA Combine. Last year saw guys like Jose Alvarado, Aaron Wiggins and Duane Washington Jr. either have successful NBA seasons or get promoted to the official combine. Before that, guys like Terance Mann had success at the elite camp. This year, seven players were promoted from the G League Elite Camp to the NBA Combine: Houston’s Marcus Sasser, Kansas’s Jalen Wilson, Seton Hall’s Jared Rhoden, Texas Tech’s Bryson Williams, LSU’s Darius Days, UConn’s Tyrese Martin and Louisana Tech’s Kenneth Lofton Jr. Sasser and Wilson ended up going back to school, leaving five players to evaluate for this class. Let’s take a quick look at each of these guys and see which ones are likeliest to be drafted or sign NBA contracts.
Jared Rhoden, 6-foot-6, 200.6-pound wing, Seton Hall - 15.5 PTS, 6.7 REB, 1.2 AST, 1.8 STK, 39% FG, 33.6% 3PT, 80.3% FT, BORN: 8/27/1999
Rhoden is a guy that steadily improved each year of college and stands out as a wing/forward that plays up and above his height, registering 6.7 boards per game and often overpowering others in traffic. Rhoden is a solid isolation scorer, taking guys out on an island and burying a signature mid-range jumper.
Rhoden excels offensively in his ability as a cutter and driver, and he registered a solid free-throw percentage with 4.4 free-throw attempts per game and got to the line at a 32% rate.
Despite being above average as a cutter and at being able to draw fouls, Rhoden is one of those guys that can do just about everything pretty well but nothing great. However, Rhoden does have the physical tools to make him an intriguing second-round flier, especially considering how he performed at the elite camp. Rhoden boasts a 10.5-inch hand width, a 6-foot-11 wingspan and was one of the top finishers in each of the lane speed tests. Interestingly, Rhoden hit 23 of his 30 off-the-dribble shot attempts (76.7%) in testing at the elite camp, tied for the third-best mark of any player who participated. Rhoden is apparently continuously working on his frame, dropping 10 pounds from the season to the elite camp testing period.
In the first scrimmage game, Rhoden put up 13 points, 10 rebounds and three stocks while playing strong defense, though he petered out in the second game.
At 23 years old, Rhoden probably isn’t going to hit any untapped gold mine of potential, but he has fewer holes in his game than most and his biggest weakness is all-around shooting, which he appears to be working on. His athletic testing makes Rhoden capable of stepping into a deep rotation role almost immediately. Out of the G League Elite Camp guys to earn a promotion, I would feel the most comfortable in drafting Rhoden (or Days), but his range appears to be as a priority undrafted free agent, poised to start his career on a two-way deal.
Tyrese Martin, 6-foot-7, 215.8-pound forward, UConn - 13.6 PTS, 7.5 REB, 1.9 AST, 1.3 STK, 44.9% FG, 43% 3PT, 68.9% FT, BORN: 3/7/1999
Over the course of last season, I got to cover the UConn Huskies for The Field of 68 under Rob Dauster and Jeff Goodman and in doing so, I learned about a player that wasn’t on my radar as much before the season in Tyrese Martin. Having gotten to talk with Martin, he’s a humble guy that has a “do everything” mentality that translates well to court.
The first thing to mention with Martin is how he transformed himself into a potential three-and-D swingman this past season, going from a guy that shot under 32% from deep in his first three seasons to hitting 43% of his 3.4 three-point attempts per game. Martin’s mechanics are slowly coming along and his form looked good in the scrimmage games, despite the fact that he went just 1 for 5 in the first such scrimmage. When Martin was on this past season, it paid dividends for the Huskies, who went 4-2 in games where Martin hit three or more threes.
Martin isn’t going to blow anyone away with length, but he has impressive athleticism and a slim, yet firm frame that makes him a better defender than his stats advertise and it allows him to be a dynamic slasher.
And while he didn’t show it often in college, Martin showed out as a playmaker in the elite camp, putting up six assists in two games and finding guys in the corner and inside with ease. If that segment of his game comes along, Martin will end up being one of the more desirable undrafted free-agent targets as a Swiss-Army knife swingman. As of right now, Martin’s range is toward the back end of the second round, but it’s more likely that he goes undrafted and signs a two-way deal.
Bryson Williams, 6-foot-8, 228-pound forward, Texas Tech - 14.1 PTS, 4.2 REB, 1.1 AST, 0.9 STK, 53.5% FG, 41.7% 3PT, 75.5% FT, BORN: 4/25/1998
Williams is an intriguing prospect with a 7-foot-2.25 wingspan that transferred from Fresno State to UTEP to Texas Tech in his final season, improving every step of the way. The former Red Raider scored 33 points against Kansas this year and their wide array of impressive defenders, showcasing his three-point shot in the process. Williams was a late bloomer in that regard, jumping from 27.9% from deep last season at UTEP to the near-42% mark he shot last season, but his mechanics are sound.
Williams uses his strength and size to play defense, shutting down passing lanes and overpowering opposing players, as well as using his fast feet to his advantage.
However, Williams has a number of weaknesses that keep him out of draft range, including his hesitance to take and create his own shots, his struggles to score through contact and in traffic and the fact that he’s stuck between forward positions.
The 6-foot-8 forward will likely end up an undrafted free agent, especially considering the fact that he’s already 24 years old, but scouts seem to be a fan of him and he appears to have two-way contract upside.
Kenneth Lofton Jr., 6-foot-7, 280.4-pound forward, Louisiana Tech - 16.5 PTS, 10.5 REB, 2.8 AST, 1.9 STK, 53.9% FG, 20% 3PT, 67.2% FT, BORN: 8/14/2002
Lofton is one of the more interesting archetypes of players in this draft class. He’s huge, clocking in at 280.4 pounds, over 41 pounds heavier than Days, who is the same height, and a whopping 80 more than Rhoden, who is just an inch shorter. Naturally, Lofton’s size gives him the strength to bully opposing players in the paint and on drives, which he does against weaker interiors like that of N.C. State’s when he erupted for 36 points and 17 rebounds (as well as four assists).
Lofton has a tendency to pass the ball, something he flashed at both the elite camp and during the regular season. Granted, he was playing lower competition, but Lofton had 11 games this season with four or more assists including a seven-assist outing against Florida International. On the year, Lofton boasted a 23.4% assist percentage, which is quite high for a big man, and actually ranked in the top 30 of all NCAA D1 players that entered the draft. Despite good numbers on the surface, Lofton isn’t so much skilled at passing as he was just doing whatever it took to get his team wins. Lofton’s turnover numbers are dreadful, averaging 3.1 per game, resulting in a negative assist-to-turnover ratio. In the two scrimmage games he performed in at the camp, Lofton registered seven assists and seven turnovers, an exact one-to-one ratio.
I was surprised to see how well Lofton performed in his agility testing considering his size, but going back and watching the scrimmage games showed a hustling athlete and someone that never got lost in a play. With an impressive 10.5-inch hand width and a 6-foot-11 wingspan, the natural tools are there for some development. Despite this, Lofton will need to slim down if he wants to fit in the NBA. While he isn’t stuck in molasses, he’s still slow and too short to play with that much bulk. Colorado State’s David Roddy was criticized at the combine for below-average shooting and some mediocre physical testing and Lofton still registered about 4% more body fat (~15%) at the elite camp than Roddy did (~11%) at the combine.
In the scrimmage games, Lofton did show some improvement in areas he needs to work on, such as when he hit two three-pointers in the first game and limited his fouls. But in the second, it was more of the same as he had six fouls and didn’t attempt a three.
It’s for these reasons that Lofton currently doesn't have a draftable grade from me. Lofton is a fun player no doubt, and he definitely has tremendous scoring, rebounding and passing numbers, but he’s too slow to guard quicker players, he’s too small too guard taller players, he’s turnover and foul prone and even if he’s slowly improving, he still has a poor shooting range at this point in his game. If Lofton slimmed down in the right program, he could end up being a dangerous role player. A team should give Lofton a training camp deal and see if he can earn a two-way deal while working with him on conditioning. However, due to his elite collegiate stats, I could see a team throwing him a two-way deal right away. It helps that he proved that he could put those stats up against other future NBA players in the elite camp.
Darius Days, 6-foot-6, 239-pound forward, LSU - 13.7 PTS, 7.8 REB, 0.9 AST, 1.8 STK, 43.4% FG, 35% 3PT, 70% FT, BORN: 10/20/1999
Days is a guy that I’ve had my eye on forever, having watched a boatload of LSU tape over the last four years, scouting Kavell Bigby-Williams, Tremont Waters, Skylar Mays, Naz Reid, Emmitt Williams, Javonte Smart, Cam Thomas and Tari Eason, many of whom went on to be some of my favorite sleepers in their respective classes. Days always stood out on tape as the epitome of efficiency, averaging roughly 12 points and eight boards in each of his past three seasons.
The LSU product is a long athlete with a 7-foot-1 wingspan, allowing him to be a tenacious defender and rebounder, using his length to poke steals away. Though he isn’t the most elite athlete, that kind of positive wingspan is bound to be appealing for an already enticing defender.
Days transformed into a three-point threat as he began to shoulder a larger offensive load in his last two seasons, and he hit 35% of his six three-point attempts last season. Though his free-throw percentage doesn’t indicate any spectacular mechanics, Days’ shot release and form look clean for his size and wingspan, though it can sometimes take him a bit to load up the shot if he’s given a bit more space. In the 2020-21 season, Days shot over 50% from the floor and 40% from deep and in the 2019-20 season, he hit nearly 80% of his free-throw attempts, so his shot is something for teams to take note of. At the elite camp, Days hit 20 of his 30 off-the-dribble shots, 9 of 10 free throws and 14 of 25 (56%) of his three-point star drill shots.
The main improvement area for Days comes in the form of playmaking and if he can augment that form of his game, he becomes an offensive juggernaut with a bag inside and out. Like Rhoden, I’d feel comfortable in giving Days a two-way contract almost immediately and I truly believe he’s a guy that can work his way up to a guaranteed deal before the end of next season, like his former teammates Reid, Mays and Watford did.