3 potential wings for Cavs to take with fifth selection in 2019 NBA Draft
Jarrett Culver
Culver did it all for the Red Raiders this past season, as he averaged 18.5 points (on 50.5% effective field goal shooting), which was 25.4% of Texas Tech’s offense, per ESPN.
Factoring in Culver’s 3.7 assists per game (and an assist rate of 26.1%, per Sports Reference), too, you saw just how high of a workload he had this past season.
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Overall the 20-year-old guard/wing has a solid offensive game, and can do damage from all levels on the court, but only hit 30.4% percent of his three-point attempts during this past season. Nonetheless, he hit plenty of big shots and has good mechanics, and with NBA perimeter shooting around him, Culver’s three-point shooting clip last season may have been misleading (he did shoot 38.2% from deep his freshman season, anyhow).
Arguably one of Culver’s top strengths is the fact that he played in such a defensive-orientated system, so he has that defensive mindset already ingrained in his mind, on the perimeter in particular. Culver will surely need to add some muscle to his frame as he weighs at a listed just 195 lbs, though, per Tankathon, and especially if he’ll play some wing (which he feasibly could) in the NBA.
A potential backcourt pairing of the 6-foot-6 Culver (who could definitely play as the 3 in various lineups, too) and Collin Sexton would definitely be promising for Cleveland, anyway.
With solid ability as a pull-up shooter and driver, and with a defensive mindset that is maximized by his great defensive instincts, Culver sounds somewhat similar to Sexton. The Alabama prospect came into the league with a suspect perimeter shot, but had a high motor, and developed into one of the better rookies throughout the season in 2018-19.
The last of the 2019 NBA Draft prospects covered in this article will be the third member of the Duke freshmen trio, Cam Reddish.