To help readers get to know top NBA draft prospects, Insider offers a 360-degree look at many of them in a concise and thorough scouting report featuring three expert perspectives: Kevin Pelton (analytics), Fran Fraschilla (scouting) and Chad Ford (NBA front offices). Here's a look at D'Angelo Russell.
WARP Projection: 2.9 (2nd among players in the top 100)
Comparables: Brandon Knight (92.0), Bradley Beal (91.8), Xavier Henry (90.8), Jerryd Bayless (90.8)
Strengths: Usage, Shooting, Rebound%, Assist%
Weaknesses: 2P%, FTA%
The analytics perspective
Russell tops all NCAA prospects in projected WARP, with one of the 10 best projections for any freshman in my database back through 2003. His strength is his versatility. Per Sports-Reference.com, Russell is the only major-conference freshman to average at least five rebounds and five assists per game since 2009-10. (D.J. Cooper did so as a mid-major freshman.) Russell's statistics suggest he should be able to play point guard in the NBA. In fact, his projected assist rate would put him in the top 25 percent of all point guards in my database.