Although the Chicago Bulls already have tall shooters, selecting Jarrod Uthoff with the 48th pick in the second round gets the team another shooting threat.
The second round of the NBA draft is often a place for finding rough gems or sleeper packages instead of third-tier athletic projects or stashable Euro players.
Iowa’s star player Jarrod Uthoff stands at 6’10” and weighs in at 214 pounds. Uthoff may not be on anyone’s radar and has been omitted from most of the major second round mock drafts just because every NBA team might be hoarding all the available guard and big player prospects or stashing a European project with their picks.
For the Chicago Bulls, they’d be getting a talented tall shooter who can also play decent defense on the perimeter, averaging 2.5 blocks against in his junior season with his size if they study his game and decide to steal him with the 48th pick.
If the Bulls pick him, Uthoff could be a guy that plays against opponents’ secondary units and can help the Bulls offense from sputtering when Doug McDermott, Nikola Mirotic and others may be in a shooting funk or in foul trouble.
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He is described by NBADraft.net as being a “4 with the skillset of a 3”. If you watch the video below, his game will remind you a little of McDermott’s game slowed down a bit and with better ball-handling and dribble-attack skills at the rim.
He’s as crafty as McDermott is at getting shots off but unlike McDermott, Uthoff can create his shot off the dribble attacking the rim or pulling up for a jumper.
With Uthoff on the depth chart, it makes someone like Tony Snell an asset the Bulls can trade away and he can even function with high basketball smarts in a limited point forward capacity, which is an intangible upside that will always be more valuable than pure athletic potential.
Uthoff cannot be left open anywhere on the court like McDermott. They pile up points in the course of a game if you don’t stay nose-to-nose with them on defense. Along with his offensive game, Uthoff’s perimeter defense is more passable than some other prospects who don’t have a knockdown shot. Uthoff can shoot the lights out if given the green light. (He shot 38 percent from deep last season.)
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The Bulls should seriously consider taking a guy like Jarrod Uthoff early in the second round as a three-and-D of the future. Despite Uthoff being 23 years old already and having a what-you-see-is-what-you-get ceiling, his game is suited for a postseason half-court game where every possession counts.
Having someone who could be better and more assertive than Tony Snell, be as tall as Taj GIbson and block shots, while also bringing the ball upcourt like Bobby Portis, has got to count for a lot of draft pizzazz in the early second round.
Next: 2016 NBA Draft: Kansas' Wayne Selden Jr.
You don’t want to miss him if drafting for a wing with any extra picks or if he falls to No. 48 later this month.