There are a handful of players I like for the Pistons at pick 37 if that ends up being the deal.
Here they are (may post more about them in coming days/weeks):
Brice Williams (combo guard.. quite toolsy, high IQ.... just kinda skinny)
Darrion Williams (bulky versatile 6'6 forward... returned to school)
Micah Peavy (thick 6'7ish wing that finally hit treys his last two years of college) **Peavy's post here
Sion James (strong combo guard with shooting and defensive chops) **James' post here
Alex Toohey (6'7ish wing...high IQ player, nice frame, 20 y/o)
Kobe Brea (6'7 wing shooooter)
John Tonje (6'5 wing shooter, although a crafty scorer overall)
Cam Jones (streaky fun shooting guard)
Maxime Raynaud (7-footer...bit of a shooter...seemingly decent athlete. Very skilled overall. These days he's a likely first rounder)
Drake Powell (young, toolsy and exceptionally athletic shooting guard. These days he's a likely first rounder)
Note: Wing sharp shooter Isaiah Evans (Duke) was on my original list, but he returned to Duke for his sophomore season
NEXT UP...
John Tonje
Another 24-year-old rookie! John Tonje has been around a bit with this whole basketball playing adventure. He's turned out to be quite good, in fact!
Tonje finished up his college career with a loud bang at Wisconsin, putting up big time numbers: 19.6 pts, (38.8% from downtown on 5.9 att/gm) and 5.3 rebounds. He shot 90% from the charity stripe (231/254)... he got there nearly 7 times per game! So, yes, he's just not solely a jump shooter.
Prior to Wisconsin, Tonje played 4 seasons at Colorado State, gradually improving each season. For his covid year he chose Missouri, but a foot injury derailed his time there. He was granted a sixth year of eligibility and chose Wisconsin to finish his career out.
I enjoyed this video of Tonje right before his start at Wisconsin this past season.
Strengths
- putting the ball in the basket at a pretty efficient rate. Hey look, another basketball player that does most basketball things consistently well!
- high IQ player...his shot selection is second to very few other shooting guards. Also not a bad ball handler if creating offense for himself
- ...relatedly, he knows how to move without the ball. While he's not a sub-par athlete, he's far from a freak either, so a player like that must win in the margins. Moving without the ball is going to be even more vital in the NBA with the superior athletes and their length/speed
- much like previously mentioned potential second round prospects Sion James and Micah Peavy, Tonje is a strong guy. He's spent some time in the weight room and has cranked out at least a few reps
- knows how to use what God gave him: his wingspan is 6'9. And he's physical. Charles Barkley, who can often be unintentionally goofy with his explanations, might say a player like Tonje will be good at 'banging other guys' on the court.
- as stated earlier, he's 24 years-old, so he's a mature player and has seen some things. He's grown his game slowly but surely over several years, and obviously developed many good habits.
- speaking of good habits...Tonje goes on walks and buys candles. And reads books. I'd say he's figuring out this life thing nicely.. and at a pretty young age to boot.
Concerns
- He's 24...
- just like Peavy, Tonje only really started to flourish when he was between 22 and 24, often at least a few years older than most teammates and opponents.
- due to not having impressive hops or speed, he's not going to wow you with finishing at the rim. Although at the NBA level most of his opportunities will be on the perimeter and mid range
- not going to create for others much. (However, his IQ will likely translate into him being a good connector. He's going to make the extra / right pass. But for Tonje, he's going to be graded on how he efficiently he is finishing plays, not creating for others)
- it's best if non-point guards can guard three positions. Tonje is likely just a guard-two-positions type guy.
Comparisons..
In my view, Tonje's ceiling in the association is as an 8th or 9th man. So I'm going with 10-year NBA vet Georges Niang. Niang is bigger and taller dude, although from a purely skill standpoint he's a guy I can see Tonje being like: knock down shooter, not a weak defender, connector, and will be at least decent with his two point field goal efficiency. Niang just had a career season with 12 points per game on 41.3% from deep on over 6.5 att/ game with Atlanta in 28 games, plus 40% from deep with Cleveland earlier in the season (51 games).
Johnny Juzang, just having finished his third season in the NBA, is somewhat making a case for an end of the rotation guy. Juzang is a bit skinnier than Tonje but the overall profile is similar as a perimeter scorer who can occasionally score in other ways and hold his own most of the time in other areas.
