Stanley Johnson
Position: Small forward
Height/Weight: 6-7/242
School: Arizona
Having a quality wing player is a real luxury in the NBA right now. There are few guys with the size to guard multiple positions on a nightly basis and still provide consistent offense.
Even after turning 19 less than two weeks ago, Stanley Johnson already possesses the body of a pro swingman. Simply put, he’s built like a tank.
Johnson already has the prototypical frame for the job. If he works out a few kinks, he’ll have the game to match other established wings in the league.
Strengths
Johnson’s biggest strength is literally his strength. He’s chiseled from top to bottom and knows how to use that size to his advantage. Johnson can bully his way to the rim or create contact to give himself space for a jumper. The 6-foot-7, 242-pounder does all of that while utilizing a strong handle and superb quickness to get out in the open floor.
Defense is where Johnson really has NBA teams salivating. The former Arizona Wildcat can guard point guards down to power forwards. He has the agility to cover out on the perimeter and obviously the physicality to withstand the banging in the paint, all while using his huge mitts to get in the passing lane (1.5 steals per game in his lone collegiate season).
With all of those positives, it would be easy for Johnson to rely on his physical gifts to get by on the court. Instead, he plays with a relentless attitude and high level of intensity rarely seen from players his age.
NBA
Weaknesses
Johnson’s rugged build would have you believe he can virtually finish over anyone on the floor, but that’s not nearly the case. He actually has only moderate hops for a guy his size and doesn’t finish as strongly at the rim as one might expect.
However, a bigger flaw for the Fullerton, California native is his demeanor on offense. We won’t go as far as to call him a ball hog, but we’ll just say Johnson is very confident in his own skills. There were several times for 'Zona last season when Johnson missed open teammates or simply didn’t care to get them the ball. He often opted to take a contested shot instead of trusting his teammates to get the job done.
How he’d fit with Sixers
Johnson’s provides a lot of what the Sixers are missing at small forward at the moment. He can shoot just enough and drive to the bucket, but more importantly his activity and length on defense would give the team a huge boost.
NBA comparison
I’ve seen plenty of comparisons for Johnson from Jae Crowder, to DeMarre Carroll to even Kawhi Leonard. Still, the best one yet has to be a player not currently in the league: Ron Artest. Johnson may not have the same wildness to his personality as Artest, but he plays intense and has brute strength to handle business on both the offensive and defensive ends.
Draft projection
Lottery. Don't be surprised if Johnson's NBA-ready size and versatility are enough to sneak him into the back half of the top 10.