The Oklahoma City Thunder could have drafted a center with the second pick and gone for a forward here, but in doing the opposite they get a high-level and complementary pairing at the big positions, reuniting Paolo Banchero and Mark Williams, Duke teammates on a Final Four team this past season.
Williams is massive, measuring at 7’2″ with an eye-popping 7’6″ wingspan, which would put him among the league’s biggest players from day one. He is an athletic finisher with soft hands, and defensively he is a productive shot-blocker. The Thunder could bank on having the center position locked up for years.
It’s reasonable to have Jalen Duren above Mark Williams; both are elite shot-blocking centers with upside for more. WIth Duren there is less certainty and more upside, as the onetime top player in his class had a rocky freshman season at Memphis as he tried to do more, and saw success when he settled into his role as a rim-running, shot-blocking center.
Duren is one of the youngest players in this draft class, and he boasts upside to become something even better: perhaps creating his own offense inside, or defensively switching on the perimeter. Even if he doesn’t, the Charlotte Hornets really need a center of the future, and Duren projects as a great complement to LaMelo Ball and his high-speed attack.