The 2020 NBA Draft will be an important event for teams to build for their future. Here is the Jaden McDaniels 2020 NBA Draft Profile.
Background
Position: Forward
Size: 6-foot-9, 200 pounds
School: Washington
Class: Freshman
McDaniels was one of the best recruits in the country and chose to go to Washington for his college career. While his one season didn’t go as he would have hoped, McDaniels was still able to show off his talent.
In his lone season with the Huskies, McDaniels averaged 13 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. One of his best performances came in the regular-season finale against Arizona when he had 20 points, six rebounds and three blocks. Despite having high expectations heading into the season, Washington went just 15-17 on the season.
McDaniels decided to enter his name in the NBA Draft after the disappointing season. He is projected to be taken late in the first round or early in the second round of the 2020 NBA Draft.
Strengths
McDaniels is tall for a wing player at 6-foot-9. He also has great length, so if teams decide to play him on the wing rather than on the interior, he will be a matchup problem. His size and length will help him shoot over smaller defenders and contest more shots when he is on the defensive end of the floor.
For his size, McDaniels has good ball-handling skills. He can bring the ball up the court for his team and push the ball in transition. McDaniels also has the capability to drive to the basket well. He can get all the way to the rim or he can get into the middle of the lane and then make the defense collapse on him.
He has the ability to stretch the floor for a team, as he shoots decently well from deep. At Washington, he shot 33.9 percent from deep, while attempting over four threes a game. His size helps him get shots up over smaller defenders and his range should extend to beyond the NBA three-point line.
Weaknesses
He may be limited to playing on the wing because he is so thin. McDaniels weighs 200 pounds, which at his height, makes him really thin. This will give him trouble when having to guard in the post against bigger players. It also makes it tougher for him to finish through contact on the offensive end. McDaniels needs to get in the weight room a lot if he wishes to play in the post in the NBA.
McDaniels has trouble keeping up with the speed of some opponents when he is playing defense. His foot speed isn’t the greatest so he can sometimes get beat. In the NBA, he will give up a lot of points unless he can get quicker or use his length better to stop players on the perimeter from scoring. He also doesn’t rack up many steals, which limits his ability defensively.
A lot of times McDaniels needs to have better shot selection. He has the dribbling and size to get to the basket, but he oftentimes McDaniels settles for deep shots. If his shot selection got better, his shooting percentage would have a chance to drastically rise from just over 40 percent, which is what it was at Washington.
Projected Draft Range: Late First Round-Second Round Pick
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