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It's NBA Draft season for most of the league, aside from those residing in Cleveland or Oakland -- and well, in Chicago, New Orleans and Orlando, as well.
NBA Draft guru Chad Ford has released his latest mock draft, his 6th overall. And in his latest version he has the Brooklyn Nets, who are picking 29th, taking forward Jarell Martin, 21, out of LSU.
Martin is a great athlete, but his lack of elite size, length or shooting ability have given him the dreaded "tweener" label. Still, the talent is there and the Nets could use his versatility to help them at both the 3 and 4.
Of course we know the Nets could use more athletes, which makes Martin a nice option here. His lack of shooting ability, however, is certainly a red flag for any tweener.
Martin has been hovering as a late-first to early-second-round pick since the start of his freshman year. He ranked as a top-10 high school senior, although scouts felt his lack of elite size and his tweener game would always keep him from being a lottery pick. That has generally held true during both years at LSU.
While he has an NBA frame, is athletic, rebounds successfully and finishes well at the rim, Martin never really developed the perimeter game to be an NBA 3 and lacks elite size and length to be an NBA 4. He's stuck with the dreaded tweener label -- a virtual death knell for talented, athletic players who don't have a clear position in the pros.
Martin's physical abilities will, however, draw attention from teams, especially those that might feel like he can make the transition to the 3 at the next level. But there might be some wishful thinking involved. His 34 percent shooting on 2-point jumpers and his 27 percent shooting on 3-pointers suggest he's got a long way to go. He should get looks anywhere from No. 25 to No. 40 in the draft.
The NBA Draft is June 25th, so expect changes -- many, many changes -- to be made between now and then.
- ESPN NBA Mock Draft 6.0 - Chad Ford - ESPN