Cavs hosting Shamorie Ponds for pre-draft workout
The Cleveland Cavaliers will work out St. John’s University point guard Shamorie Ponds prior to the 2018 NBA Draft.
An NBA scouts job is never done and though the Cleveland Cavaliers are embroiled in an intense playoff matchup against the Indiana Pacers, they’ll be hosting St. John’s University sophomore standout Shamorie Ponds for a workout prior to the 2018 NBA Draft.
The 6-foot-1 point guard is a crafty scorer with a streaky outside shot but could be a player to watch in the second-round of the draft or next year, if he decides to return back to school to improve his draft stock.
Per Zach Braziller of the New York Post:
"Since announcing on March 24 he would test the NBA Draft waters without hiring an agent, the 6-foot-1 Ponds has worked out with a personal trainer and continued taking classes at St. John’s. He has workouts with the Cavaliers and Celtics in the works and is hopeful to get invited to the NBA Draft Combine, which will be held May 16-20 in Chicago."
Ponds, the 2018 Haggerty Award winner, averaged 21.6 points per game last season (18th in the NCAA) and was just one of five players in their sophomore year or below to appear in the top-20. He averaged 17.6 points per game as a freshman so this isn’t a one-year wonder we’re talking about.
Ranked 36th on the 2016 ESPN 100 coming out of high school, Ponds was the 2nd-ranked player in New York (behind University of Arizona shooting guard Rawle Alkins) and the 9th-ranked player at his position (Lonzo Ball, Markelle Fultz and De’Aaron Fox were three of the players ranked ahead of him).
Considering his natural talent and that he’s being coached by Hall of Fame small forward Chris Mullin, who’s considered one of the best point-forwards in NBA history, Ponds will come to the NBA ahead of the learning curve.
As far as his scoring abilities go, Ponds one of those rare players whose strengths and weaknesses could be right there on the scouting report and, because of his innate skill level, he’s able to get the shot he wants anyways.
You know he prefers going left but still, he’ll catch you off-balance or call for a screen and splash a jumper or cash in on a layup or floater. He’s a streaky shooter, as I mentioned, but he’s certainly capable of knocking down the three if he works on making his shooting mechanics consistent.
Ponds, who shot 42.0 percent from the field and 25.3 percent from three-point range last season, made 43.9 percent of his shots from the field in his freshman season and 37.5 percent of his three-point attempts.
With a ‘de facto’ shooting coach like Kyle Korver on the roster, getting his shooting mechanics down doesn’t seem like it will be a problem for Ponds if he’s drafted by the Cavs.
Nonetheless, while best-known for his scoring ability, Ponds is a great playmaker and active on-ball defender. In terms of his playmaking, Ponds (who averaged 3.1 assists per game as a freshman and 4.7 assists per game last season), has demonstrated great court vision and touch in the pick-and-roll.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, a team that runs the pick-and-roll for 15.0 percent of their total offense, could utilize a player like Ponds correctly.
On the other end, his slight frame (170 pounds) may give pause initially but as he adds muscle, he should be just fine as a defender. 6-foot-1 isn’t tall by any means in the NBA but it’s decent and his 6-foot-3 wingspan is, again, unimpressive but not a hindrance to him guarding backcourt players.
Besides, strong position defense, film study, tenacity and a willingness to defend at a high-level can often trump physical disadvantages. Furthermore, his quick hands (2.1 steals per game as a freshman and 2.3 steals per game last season) will make only help him a nuisance on the perimeter.
A quick assessment of Ponds and he looks a lot like a Patty Mills or Cory Joseph, two players with a similar size and skillset. Both players have been valuable bench contributors for playoff or championship-contenders in their career.
According to Braziller, one scout even compared him to Los Angeles Clippers guard Lou Williams, who would have won Sixth Man of the Year months ago in the court of public opinion.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about Ponds though, is a philosophy he seems to share with a former Cavs point guard: Kyrie Irving.
Per Braziller:
"“He has no fear — no fear of the opponent, no fear of the moment, no fear of his surroundings,” said the scout, who was at the Duke game, when Ponds exploded for 33 points."
The game that the scout attended, an 81-77 win for the Johnnies on February 3rd, may have been Ponds’ best game of the season.
Aside from scoring a game-high 33 points, he secured a team-high 7 rebounds, dished out 3 assists and recorded a game-high 4 steals while shooting 52.2 percent from the field (on 23 attempts) and 50.0 percent from three-point range (on 8 attempts). Playing like that against a powerhouse team wasn’t new for Ponds either, as he had torched programs like Villanova University, the eventual NCAA champions in both games they played during the season.
They would go 1-1 against the best team in the country with Ponds averaging 26.5 points per game.
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The Cleveland Cavaliers currently own the 8th pick in the draft and can buy their way into the second-round of the NBA Draft.