One of the Top NBA draft pick Wesley Johnson is the next Carmelo Anthony
This year’s NBA draft class is bannered by the top two prospects John Wall of Kentucky and Evan Turner of Ohio State. The Washington Wizards is expected to name John Wall as the Top Overall Pick this year and Turner will most probably end up with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Not far behind is 6-foot-7 Small Forward Wesley Johnson who played last season for Syracuse after spending his first two years in Iowa State University. Last season, he averaged 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds a game for the Syracuse Orange, the same school that produced NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony who is also playing the small forward position like him. He led the Orange to a stint in the NCAA Tournament but they failed to go deep but his impressive exploits helped him to be named as the 2010 Big East Player of the Year and he was also a member of the First Team All American.
He has already caught the attention of many NBA Scouts, Coaches, and General Managers because he showed that he’s ready to contribute immediately for any team. His skills are more polished as compared to other players who are considered to land in the lottery picks. He’s so versatile and he can create his own scoring opportunities because of his athleticism and length. He can also hit mid and long range jumpers but he still needs to improve in this department to be an effective scorer in the NBA.
In the defensive end, he is capable of guarding players who plays point guard up to the power forward. His quickness and his long wing span will post problems to the offensive players that he will be guarding. But he needs to bulk up because he will be going up against bigger and stronger forwards in the NBA.
Johnson is expected to land in the Top 5 picks in the NBA Draft on June 24. After Wall and Turner, it will be an open race for the 3rd pick in the Draft which is owned by the New Jersey Nets. The other 2 players who are considered as shoe-ins in the Top 5 are Derrick Favors and DeMarcus Cousins. The Nets is also considering taking a look at him and working him out but the Nets are more interested to acquire Derick Favors of Georgia Tech. For them, they believe that Favors will be a great compliment to Brook Lopez inside the paint. Both Favors and Lopez can score and defend well because of their size and length.
His most probable destination will be the Minnesota Timberwolves who owns the 4th pick of the draft. The Wolves will most likely past up on the chance to drop DeMarcus Cousins who plays the Center and Power Forward Position because they already have a promising frontline tandem of Al Jefferson and Kevin Love. Playing for the Timberwolves will be a great opportunity for him because he will definitely be their starting small forward. He will definitely blend well with the team inside and outside the court because the Wolves are also a young team.
Wesley Johnson can make an immediate impact in the NBA especially if he’ll end up with teams like the Minessota Timberwolves or even the New Jersey Nets because both teams are currently lacking in talent when it comes to the wing position. But he has a lot of work to do if he wants to be labeled as one of the best small forwards in the league because the standards in that position are way too high mainly because Superstars like Lebron James, Kevin Durant, and Carmelo Anthony plays that position. The team that will draft him should be patient enough if they want to maximize the tremendous potential that Wes Johnson has.
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