Prospect Watch: Is Duke's AJ Griffin a Top-5 pick?
Plus our Rookie, Sophomore and Draft Prospect of the Week
During the NBA, college and international seasons, my Tuesday newsletter will focus on NBA rookies and sophomores as well as prospects for the 2022 NBA Draft, especially those who have helped or hurt their stock in the past week.
My reports will be based on my own observations as well as information I receive from NBA scouts, executives and agents.
Can Duke’s AJ Griffin Crack the Top 5?
It’s common for all of us, including scouts and NBA draftniks, to overreact a bit to the first month or two of the season. Players that begin the season on a high note or a low note often see their positions on draft boards skyrocket or plummet.
I don’t think there’s been a bigger case of that this year than with Duke’s AJ Griffin. Griffin, the son of former NBA player Adrian Griffin, has been on NBA radar screens for a while, but a rash of injuries have limited his ability to get reps on the court and hindered scouts’ ability to evaluate him.
Our first Big Board of the year had him at No. 11, with a big caveat:
Griffin has the talent to be a top-5 pick. He has an NBA body and the ability to score from anywhere on the floor. Alas, injuries have held him back the last two years and a sprained right knee suffered in practice kept him out of Duke’s Pro Day, to the disappointment of NBA scouts. Teams are crossing their fingers he’ll be ready for Duke’s opener against Kentucky. If he can get healthy and stay healthy, his stock has the potential to rise significantly.
Those injuries and a slow start to the season, when Griffin found himself barely getting minutes on a loaded Duke team, caused him to fall to No. 21 on Big Board 2.0.
Based on his play of late, I think that was a mistake…
(Note to readers: This is an excerpt of my weekly Prospect Watch column provided to free subscribers. To get my my take on AJ Griffin’s draft stock along with my Rookie, Sophomore and Draft Prospect of the Week … you need to be a paid subscriber.
Paid subscribers will also get access to full Mock Drafts, Big Boards, scouting reports on all of the top players in the draft as well as the ability to comment on articles and special discussion boards, Zoom calls and more interaction with me in the coming weeks.)