At 6’6.5″ Washington fits the trend of the new small ball era (6’8″ in shoes). Another of the Kentucky products PJ Washington is one of those players who have a wealth of skills but nothing which stands out as extraordinary.
Although he began the mock draft season listed much higher on most boards he’s experienced a great deal of movement and wide range of where he could land. My initial thinking is this is the prospect who’ll end up dropping down the list on draft night through no fault of his own potential and then the Spurs will do what they always do and swoop in to nab him at 19.
Some mock drafts have him slated to go the Hornets. I find this ironic as watching his film I found his body and some of his skills reminded me of current Hornet Miles Bridges. The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor relates him to OKC Thunder big man Jerami Grant which is another intriguing comparison choice.
Wingspans of players who were underrated in draft and became defensive studs:
— Dean (@deanondraft) May 16, 2019
Siakam: 7'3.25
Giannis: 7'3
Kawhi: 7'3
Millsap: 7'2
RobCov: 7'2
Draymond: 7'1.25
Wingspan is super important for perimeter D. If there's a secret D stud in this draft, it's PJ Washington @ 7'2.5"
This season Washington worked on improving two things: his body and his shot. In the latter situation, PJ worked on his release to take the shot quicker and make his shot pocket higher so he could avoid hitting the rim. The sophomore experienced palpable growth based on these switches particularly at the 3-point line where his rookie campaign at Kentucky witnessed 23.8 percent perimeter efficiency on 0.6 attempts per game to a robust 42.3 percent on 2.3 attempts in his sophomore season.
There may be concerns over his height at the position, but something tells me if Popovich and company get their hands on this kid he could be a prototypical Spur.