Chicago Bulls 2019 Draft Profile: Shaw G Amir Hinton
Weaknesses
At 190 pounds and a slimmer frame, Hinton will be at a disadvantage on the defensive end against most shooting guards and small forwards. In the post and playing transition defense is where he’ll need to improve the most to be successful in the league and scouts have noticed.
At the Division II level, Shaw was taller than most guards he faced and often scored a fair share of his points in the paint.
Naturally, he’s guarding a defender in smaller stature or equal size, and in the NBA he will mostly be the small player to who he’s guarding. This will be a challenge and adjusting to the speed and pace of the game, not to mention the fact almost everyone that touches the ball now can shoot at a high rate.
The only negative aspect of his offensive game is his three-point shooting. Hinton shot at a 34 percent clip during his redshirt junior season at Shaw.
To earn a final roster spot on an NBA roster, he will have to adapt to the NBA three-point line and shoot around that mark or higher to prove he belongs and his private workouts will be his last chance to do so.
My NBA comparison to Hinton is Kings 2016 First Round pick and former Raptors guard Malachi Richardson. They’re size, skill set, and offensive game coming into the NBA are very similar.
After the NBA combine, Hinton is being mocked as a late second round to undrafted much like Flip Murray who he’s been speaking to for advice.
Flip is also a Philadelphia native and tried out for at least half a dozen teams before being selected No. 42 overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2002.
In an interview with the Sacramento Kings after a pre-draft workout, Hinton spoke on Murray giving him advice and how he’s handling the process and working out for potential employers.
“We have a very good relationship. We talk to each other here and there, throughout the course, I might call him,” Hinton said, ” (to) give me some advice on what he did when he was coming out and how to approach certain situations going to these teams.”
Murray played eight years in the NBA with eight different teams and averaged 9.9 points in 487 games.
Hinton spoke about carrying a chip on his shoulder because he’s not a Division I prospect, and he’ll carry that throughout draft night and his career.