Josh Jackson is one of those guys that are going to come off the board pretty quickly come June and Draft time. He is a freshman that plays at the small forward position and is right now playing really well for the Kansas Jayhawks in the March Madness tournament. A lot of people that are looking for a small forward will be looking at this guy first in June. If they decide that they are going to take him, what are they getting?
Jackson is your prototypical small forward because of his physical tools. He can jump out of the gym, has a perfect size for a forward at 6’8” and is still very young. He has the strength to play even at the four against some players as he could defend them because of his strength. The mechanics on his jumper are decent and can be worked on; he is already a good slasher while being lethal in transition. When he is not finishing at the rim, he is more than capable of dishing the ball to his teammates.
He did become a better player playing for the Kansas Jayhawks, but he is still young and will need time to develop. Guys like Jaylen Brown and Brandon Ingram, who are also small forwards, clearly need more time to develop. Brown has shown that he can be a great player in the NBA, but he was as young as Jackson is when he was drafted, and it’s going to be a process for these guys to get to that All-Star level, or even to a level of a legit starter on a contending team.
The upside is significant with Jackson, just like with the guys that we mentioned were drafted last year. But if a team is looking for a guy that is going to make an impact right away, he is not the solution.
