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Atlanta Hawks wing Vince Carter told Myron Medcalf of ESPN.com that Duke forward Zion Williamson, who is the top candidate to be the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA draft, will “be ready [for the NBA].”
Carter, who has played in the NBA since he was drafted fifth overall by the Toronto Raptors in 1998, offered further comments: “He’s super, super athletic,” the 21-year veteran said. “He has an NBA body already. I think, more than anything, with all his ability, I just say take his time, develop his game, because when you get here, it’s a different beast as far as expectations. A lot of guys try to get here and just develop while they get here.”
The 6’7″, 285-pound Williamson is averaging 20.9 points on 67.9 percent shooting and 9.5 rebounds for a 13-1 Duke team currently ranked No. 1 in the nation.
Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report ranked him first on his big board and even mentioned it’s “become difficult to picture an NBA draft board that doesn’t have (Williamson) at No. 1.” He also said Williamson was “closing in as a lock to go No. 1, regardless of which team is making the selection.”
Williamson is No. 1 for Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated and Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic has him first on his big board.
The bottom line is numerous experts back Williamson so much so that he is a near-consensus to be taken first overall, but Carter’s comments are still noteworthy given his accolades. It’s not every day that an eight-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA player showers praise over a college star, and Carter is one of the most experienced veterans in NBA history. So if he says Williamson will be ready, then he’ll be ready.
Williamson also doesn’t turn 19 years old until July 6, so he has plenty of room to develop his game. ESPN NBA draft analyst Mike Schmitz noted on SportsCenter that Williamson must improve his shooting but that a 3-of-4 performance from beyond the arc against Wake Forest on Tuesday is an encouraging sign.
Williamson will likely need to develop his outside shooting for a league where teams shoot an average of 31.1 threes per game, but he’s light-years ahead of the curve right now in other areas.
The only question is whether we’ll see Carter and Williamson on the same floor next year. Carter said there’s a “90-something percent” chance he’s done, but it would be something if he’s on the court with a player who wasn’t born until the 21st century.
from Top Viral News Blog http://bit.ly/2FgwPpt
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