With the NCAA and other leagues worldwide heading into their final stretch, NBA scouts are now hard at work looking for their teams’ next potential star and core pieces. As a part of Sports Business Classroom’s 2024 NBA Draft series, the following are wings to watch ahead of June’s draft.
Zaccharie Risacher, Ron Holland, and Cody Williams all have legitimate cases to be the best wing coming out of this draft. They each bring a wide array of reliable skills. Their draft order may be based primarily on team needs.
Risacher brings floor spacing, shooting the ball at a 44.6 percent clip thus far for JL Bourg in France. He has shown flashes of shot creation and is an explosive jumper off one foot, which helps him thrive in transition. While his length does not necessarily stand out, his defensive instincts as a soon-to-be 19-year-old are impressive and provide a strong baseline for development into an elite complementary player.
Holland’s three-point shot is the most significant area of determent within his game. He shoots many of them but only cashes in on 23.7 percent. Holland otherwise has a complete game. He is a high-flyer who can score in many ways, create for others, and put the clamps on whoever is in front of him (when his motor is on). He will need to clean up his turnovers and fouls, but Holland has all the pieces to put together an all-star-caliber NBA career.
Cody Williams of Colorado has plenty in common with his brother Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder in terms of play style, but is three inches taller at 6’8″. He offers a fundamental yet unique style of play that involves high-percentage scoring from all over the court, unselfishness, and versatile defense. Williams struggles to create for himself due to a lack of quickness and tight handles, but you can throw him in almost any lineup, and the young wing will find ways to contribute. Williams boasts a 7’2″ wingspan, and if he can add more muscle, he will become a matchup’s worst nightmare.
First Round
- Zaccharie Risacher – JL Bourg (France)
- Ron Holland – G League Ignite
- Cody Williams – Colorado
- Johnny Furphy – Kansas
- Dalton Knecht – Tennessee
- Kyshawn George – Miami
- Melvin Ajinca – Saint Quentin BB (France)
- Ryan Dunn – Virginia
Second Round
- Jaylon Tyson – California
- Trentyn Flowers – Adelaide 36ers (Australia)
- Dillon Jones – Weber St.
- Terrence Shannon Jr. – Illinois
- Mackenzie Mgbako – Indiana
- Pacome Dadiet – Ratiopharm Ulm (France)
- Alex Karaban – UConn
- Kwame Evans Jr. – Oregon
Undrafted/G League
- Justin Edwards – Kentucky
- Matthew Cleveland – Miami
- Kobe Johnson – USC
- Pelle Larsson – Arizona
Jones is a very intriguing prospect out of Weber St. Individually, he is dominating the Big Sky conference, leading in points per game, total defensive rebounds, assists per game, steals per game, free throws made and attempted per game, and many more. What stands out most about JJones’game is his rebounding. At only 66’6″, he is putting up 9.5 rebounds per game, and this can be credited to not only his 235-lb frame but also his instincts and effort to crash the glass. He can score at all three levels and is comfortable handling the ball and running the offense. At 22, Jones lags a bit behind with his athleticism. He’s not quick and isn’t a high-flier, which may drop him to the second round.
After two seasons with Florida St., Matthew Cleveland transferred to Miami and is making a legitimate push to the next level. He is a prototypical wing, capable of knocking down jumpers inside the arc and out and can get buckets with and without the ball at a very consistent level. His long arms allow him to make ballhandlers uncomfortable and get inside passing lanes. Although not much of a playmaker, he rarely gets stuck in tunnel vision and knows when to keep the ball moving. His minimal two-way versatility and explosiveness may limit his potential to find minutes in the NBA, but he has the tools to find plenty of success in the G League.
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