This is the tenth (10th) installment in a series of regular postings on draft prospects. This series will take a look at the top draft prospects for the 2018 NBA Draft in June. The plan is to have one or two a week, leading up to a flurry of activity the week of the draft.

Jontay Porter

Jontay is the younger brother of Michael Porter Jr. Michael is probably going to be a top 10 draft pick, but Jontay is a first round prospect in his own right. Jontay Porter will still be extremely young (18-years old) at the time of this year's draft. As a reference, Bradley Beal turned 19 the night he was drafted. Jontay will still be only 18 - and won't turn 19 until November. He is the youngest player in this draft class. Jontay has declared for this year’s draft, but has not hired an agent. He can still withdraw before the May 30th deadline.

Porter is a left-handed big man with a ton of potential. His stats don't immediately impress (9.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg), but if you watch his games you'll understand why scouts are interested in him. His game is custom made for the modern NBA.

Porter has a 6’11", 240 pound frame with a 7’0" wingspan. His body is still young and not yet developed. At the beginning of the year, he looked soft; but by the end of the year you could see improvement in his muscle definition. There is still plenty of room for physical improvement and a good NBA strength program will do wonders.

For his position, Porter has great lateral quickness. Although he lacks the explosive hops of some high level prospects, he is agile and fluid and he is a quick leaper. Porter’s got kind of a lilting gait but gets up and down the floor extremely well. Jontay is very quick for a big man; quick hands, quick feet, and is quick laterally. With those tools, Porter is actually a decent defender in space. In addition he shows excellent instincts for making the right decisions in help situations.

Porter also holds his position well in the post, using leverage and his 240 pound body. He does a good job of bodying-up post players and making it difficult. Porter rarely gets beat on quick spins or drop steps. More athletic big men can shoot over him in the post.

On rotations, Porter covers a lot of groun. Because of his court awareness, anticipation, and quick close-outs, Porter gets a lot of blocks on perimeter shots - right place, right timing. Guards think they can shoot over him, and get schooled.

Because of his quick feet and basketball IQ, Porter is a good pick-and-roll defender. His ability to defend in space against quicker guards, using angles, anticipation and timing is unique in this draft class. He is usually able to string the ball handler out long enough for his teammate fight over the screen, while still recovering to his man. I’ve even seen him occasionally hard double team the ball handler (ie: blitz pick and roll).

Despite the fact that he doesn't explode off the floor like some uber-athletic bigs, Porter is a decent rim protector. He shows tremendous timing and awareness gets a lot of blocks and steals (2.5 blocks, 1.2 steals per 36 minutes).

Jontay is fundamentally sound as a rebounder. He averaged 10.0 rebounds per 36. He always looks for a body to box out and is quick to the ball on rebounds outside his immediate area. His lack of verticality hurts a bit, and it wouldn’t hurt for him to put on some additional muscle - but overall he’s an above average rebounder.

He is an above average rebounder, good space defender and adequate shot-blocker. His pick-and-roll defensive abilities should be valuable in the NBA. He is a smart team-oriented defender and knows how to play within team concepts.

On offense, Jonaty Porter has an extremely advanced feel for the game. He doesn’t do anything at an elite level, but there isn’t a single glaring weakness in his game. He’s a good shooter; a good dribbler; good free throw shooter; excellent passer and a good screener. He is very skilled in all things related to offense in basketball.

Porter can bang in the post, and has an array of floaters, hooks and baby jumpers. He’s got really good footwork, and has an array of pump fakes and jukes that gets big men in foul trouble. But the skill most NBA teams will be drooling over at is his shooting, and specifically his shooting from distance.

He’s got good form on his jumper but it's sometimes a bit inconsistent. He shoots with a low release point, but he has a quick, compact release. I never saw him get his shot blocked. He gets great rotation on the ball and his excellent footwork is not confined to the post.

In both pick-and-pop and in spot-up opportunities, Porter is quite comfortable shooting the ball. He is less efficient shooting off the bounce, but the skill is there; it just needs refinement. He shot 36.4% from the three point line this past season (on 110 attempts), and 75.0% from the free throw line. He projects to be a true stretch-5 in the NBA.

Porter has a surprisingly good handle for a big man. He can make plays off the dribble; either attacking close-outs, or by driving and dishing. He can also put the ball on the floor in transition and I saw him lead the break on more than one occasion. I was really impressed on some of his drives to the lane with dump passes to open cutters, or to open 3-point shooters.

As I mentioned above, Jontay Porter can handle the basketball; but he is also an excellent passer. He’s got superior court vision and makes some dynamic passes. He averaged 3.2 assists per 36 minutes last year. Double teaming him is a mistake, because he WILL find the open man. He’s also very good from the elbow finding teammates cutting or coming off screens.

Porter's shooting, passing, and dribbling skills will make him difficult to guard in pick-and-pop and isolation situations in the NBA.

Strengths

• Good shooter. Good free throw shooter.
• 3-point potential
• Very good playmaker
• Good rebounder
• Good shot blocker
• Good lateral quickness. Quick hands and feet.
• High upside, low bust potential

Weaknesses

• Lacks vertical explosiveness
• Needs to improve his body. Add strength

Summary

Jontay Porter had a very poor shooting game in the NCAA Tournament as his Missouri team was bounced in the first round by the Florida State Seminoles. Porter only scored 2 points (1-7 shooting), but he did have 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks and a steal. It was the first game this year that I saw him seemingly rushed on offense. That being said, whichever NBA organization drafts him might be getting a real steal in Jontay Porter. He has the potential to have a long NBA career as a strong 2-way stretch-5.

Fit for the Wizards

If the Wizards are looking for a long-term replacement for Marcin Gortat and/or Markieff Morris, Jontay Porter fits the bill. He is a modern day NBA big man. He can shoot, dribble, pass, protect the rim, rebound and defend in space. I could definitely see him excelling in pick and pop plays with Wall or Beal; receiving kick-out passes from John-knocking down 3-point shots; and hitting cutters like Porter or Oubre from the elbow.

Previous Draft Profiles:

• Mitchell Robinson
• Khyri Thomas
• Daniel Gafford Gafford is returning to college.
• Jacob Evans
• Hamidou Diallo
• Gary Trent Jr.
• Grayson Allen
• Robert Williams
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander