Jarace Walker - 2023 NBA Draft Prospect

[timvp]

Jarace Walker


Full Scouting Report

Height: 6-foot-8
Weight: 240 pounds
College: Houston
Position: PF/C
Draft Range: 4-8

Spurs Comparison: Industrial Strength Robert Horry

Strengths: Defensive upside, basketball IQ, touch on floaters, winning ways

Weaknesses: Burst and explosiveness, offensive upside, shooting form

Full Scouting Report

[Ariel]

“He seems like a Spurs guy but I’m not sure where he plays there,” a scout told me about Walker’s fit in San Antonio. “[Jeremy] Sochan and Keldon [Johnson] would be roadblocks to minutes. If he doesn’t shoot it, he could be stuck without a pathway.”

I think Walker is too heavy to defend elite NBA wings and too undersized to defend elite NBA bigs, making him a 4/small ball 5. Also his shooting is ok but nothing to write home about, especially from the FT line where he shot 66% which takes away some of my confidence in him sustaining that 3P% at the NBA level.
Most importantly, I don't think he's the better long term partner with Sochan, I'd like a better shooter next to him long term. I see Brandon Miller and Cam Whitmore as better fits given their shooting and off ball play, so I'd rather go with someone else.

[Mr. Body]

Good review, hits basically everything on him.

He reminds me of Julius Randle, who was pick #7 and took a little bit to find his place in the league. Walker is much better a defender, Randle had no 3pter at all. But they feel a bit like tweeners, if well-built and strong.

It feels like that's his top-line, though?

- Hard-working defender, good apparent intangibles
- Weirdly low free throw attempts, did not seek contact on drives, fairly poor fg%
- Steals, blocks are nice, lowish rebounds
- His shooting from deep to me feels like a chimera. He was 1.0/2.8 attempts. Sochan was 0.8/2.7 attempts. It's actually not that far off, and Sochan's shot was clearly broken. Walker's ft% isn't really good.
- Where does Walker play?

I like him generally, but it's those two things 1) how good does he actually become, and 2) fit isn't there, and is he better enough in his Tier to pick over someone else? I'd rather grab a wing or guard that's needed with the same talent level.

[spurraider21]

bench big imo

montrezl harrell is probably his upside, though harrell has 7'4 wingspan

the intrigue is if they believe the outside jumper is real

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

His scouting report reads a little like Kawhi's when he entered the draft. Of course Kawhi added so much to his game after college, so not comparing the two, per se, since few envisioned what Kawhi would work to eventually become.

[rjv]

His scouting report reads a little like Kawhi's when he entered the draft. Of course Kawhi added so much to his game after college, so not comparing the two, per se, since few envisioned what Kawhi would work to eventually become.

dug this up: https://www.nbadraft.net/players/kawhi-leonard/

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

dug this up: https://www.nbadraft.net/players/kawhi-leonard/

Thanks for finding that!

You definitely don't read that and think Kawhi would amount to what he eventually became. I remember reading reports giving him a bit more defensive props, but yeah you certainly couldn't envision the polished, finished product when Kawhi was in school.

Not sure why Walker's intrigues, but he does. If Spurs are unlucky enough to draft at 6 or 7 he wouldn't be a horrible choice.

[exstatic]

His scouting report reads a little like Kawhi's when he entered the draft. Of course Kawhi added so much to his game after college, so not comparing the two, per se, since few envisioned what Kawhi would work to eventually become.

Kawhi's assist/TO was even, and he was a FAR stronger rebounder than Jarace, 10.6 in his pre-draft year to 6.8.

[Mr. Body]

Yeah, what pops out in kawhi's college stats are those rebounds and that his ft% really wasn't terrible although his shooting from deep wasn't great. He also was a pretty good facilitator.

Walker's rebounding really is much lower (as are Whitmore's and Hendrix's). I wonder if this is era-specific; that there's many more threes shot nowadays, so misses are more up for grabs for guards (longer bounces). Jabari Smith and Brandon Miller are also fairly low... or Kawhi just was very good in this department.

Walker has decent assist nos., I feel. It's just that he's clearly a PF, imo, a position that is a hard fit in tody's NBA without some execptional skills, and Kawhi was clearly a SF moving into an era where the SF was perhaps the most dominant and important position in the league.

[couchman]

Walker seems like a really nice piece on a team that is already coming together.
He also would help the Spurs with rebounding, which IMO was a sneaky weakness last season.
However, the Spurs need to shoot for someone with more potential than Walker, even if the possible floor is lower.
I guess if we end up picking 6th or 7th then maybe yeah we go for him.

[mo7888]

Walker will make KJ or Sochan more expendable. If his outside shooting improves then he could play alongside Sochan and give us a bigger and interchangeable 3 and 4 position that would look pretty good. I think he's got a better future than KJ or Sochan. I'd have him in consideration for any pick after #2.

[exstatic]

Walker seems like a really nice piece on a team that is already coming together.
He also would help the Spurs with rebounding, which IMO was a sneaky weakness last season.
However, the Spurs need to shoot for someone with more potential than Walker, even if the possible floor is lower.
I guess if we end up picking 6th or 7th then maybe yeah we go for him.

Walker is the worst rebounder of the four domestic big forwards.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

I really want to like him and try to see past his raw numbers and especially his weird shot. Not at all concerned about his rebounding or fit but that J of his is slow and ugly. He’s young though, has a man’s body and has shown he can fit in a good team and impact winning, which is more than you could say for most other players in the draft.

Houston were pretty rigid offensively, very conservative, slow and deliberate. Hopefully he has more to his offence than what he’s been able to show.

Also, from I’ve seen, apart from his body type, he’s nothing like Randle, completely different players. Don’t get the comparisons at all.

[Ariel]

dug this up: https://www.nbadraft.net/players/kawhi-leonard/

At the time, nbadraft.net's comparison for Thiago Splitter was... Dirk Nowitzki
It was ridiculous at the time for anyone who had actually watched Splitter play, and after a few years in the league it was so embarrassing that they went ahead and changed it in hindsight.
My point is, I wouldn't use anything nbadraft.net said as a reputable source.

[spurraider21]

the way i see it, if we wind up with this guy that means the lottery went horribly wrong anyway and we were outside the top 5. but there are higher ceiling options out there that i'd explore

[Ariel]

the way i see it, if we wind up with this guy that means the lottery went horribly wrong anyway and we were outside the top 5. but there are higher ceiling options out there that i'd explore

If we end up with this guy it means we screwed things up even if the lottery went horribly wrong.

[spurraider21]

If we end up with this guy it means we screwed things up even if the lottery went horribly wrong.

inclined to agree

[Chinook]

If Walker is a legit swing-forward, then drafting him even with Johnson and Sochan makes sense. I wouldn't be against the Spurs throwing a big offer at Cam Johnson precisely because I think that'd make a strong forward rotation. Plus add in how much Pop player Keldon at the two and Sochan at the 1, and position isn't the problem. He does just seem pretty limited for where the Spurs are picking. I do think folks are ignoring a scenario where the Spurs get 3 and trade down with Orlando for 6 and 11 and take Walker at 11 and Amen or whoever at 6. If the rumors are true and Thompson is their target, then Walker's just gravy, and I'm fine with that. I'm sure he has potential, and the second half of the lottery is where picking role-players who might show a chance to be more starts making sense.

[Ariel]

A trade down from 2/3 to 6 + 11 sounds pretty good to me, and Walker at 11 is of course a very different story, but I'd still pass if one of Taylor Hendricks, Anthony Black or Keyonte George is available (likely the latter only). I just like their upside better.

[duncan2150]

Walker is the worst rebounder of the four domestic big forwards.

Imo it's a bad take as He was playing a lot on the perimeter particullarly on O. With is IQ and the tools, it will depends on his role. Maybe he'll not be a monster rebounder but he will Be good in that area.

By the numbers (per36) he is a better rebounder than the other PFs projected in the first : Murray, GG Jackson, Hendricks....

Overall, like a lot il see him as a true PF and small ball five so he can play with Collins or sochan easily. I don't see a position problem.

[Dejounte]

Imo it's a bad take as He was playing a lot on the perimeter particullarly on O. With is IQ and the tools, it will depends on his role. Maybe he'll not be a monster rebounder but he will Be good in that area.

By the numbers (per36) he is a better rebounder than the other PFs projected in the first : Murray, GG Jackson, Hendricks....

Overall, like a lot il see him as a true PF and small ball five so he can play with Collins or sochan easily. I don't see a position problem.

Plus the fact that there have been several rule changes in college basketball since Nephew was drafted, this is another example of taking stats without any context.

[BackHome]

I think he is rising because people are talking about what he was doing in practice meaning he can handle the ball and has offensive potential. One thing when looking at a player especially a Freshman is that if they on a good team they are usually restricted to doing certain things and very rarely given the Green light on offense. You look at Sharpe he got picked high and he didn’t even play a lot was based on his practice scrimmages that the scouts were watching

[exstatic]

Evaluating someone based on practice is no better than evaluating OTE game film.

Practice? You’re talking about practice?

[DPG21920]

I kind of like Whitmore over Walker as of today…..

[spurraider21]

I kind of like Whitmore over Walker as of today…..

yep. feel like he kind of just comes in and becomes a better keldon with the requisite athletic ability to actually survive out on the perimeter