Thunder draft 2015: Can Devin Booker Shoot His Way to Pick 14 for Oklahoma City?

Prospect: Devin Booker

School: Kentucky

DOB: 10/23/1996 (18 years old)

With all the skill on last year's Kentucky basketball team, you might have missed the play of Devin Booker. The wing player from Moss Point, Mississippi put up some really good numbers, albeit very sneakily as he took a back seat to guys like Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein.

Here are Booker's stats last season for the Wildcats

Here are his adjusted per 40 stats.

Strengths

Size

Checking in at 6-6/206lbs, Booker is the ideal size for a shooting guard in the NBA.

Shooting

I would not want to play Devin Booker in horse. His shot making skills are some of the strongest of any candidate in the draft. While I am no expert, I would always pick a player that could shoot over teaching a player how to shoot or require him to change his mechanics. With Booker, NBA teams will never have to question whether or not he has the ability to make a basket.

Deceptive Athlete

Many questioned whether Devin Booker possessed the athletic ability, but this video at the combine puts a lot of this to rest.

Speed is an issue for Kentucky off-guard Devin Booker? He had the combine's fastest shuttle run & lane agility run. https://t.co/B6ZVfRkqbU

— Paul Coro (@paulcoro) May 16, 2015

Potential

Booker will not turn 19 till the end of October. He already possesses a great shot and is a much better athlete than he gets credit for.

Weaknesses

Can He Score in the Paint?

DraftExpress.com has this to say about Booker's ability to score in the lane.

178 of the 200 shots Booker took in the half-court were jump-shots this season. In the rare cases that he does get inside the paint, he is not a great finisher, due to his average explosiveness and the lack of extension he gets around the rim due to his poor wingspan. He relies heavily on pull-up jumpers and floaters once he puts the ball on the floor, which are not the most high percentage looks in the NBA, and rarely gets to the free throw line—only 65 times in 38 games this season.

Can He Create His Own Shot and Create Shots for Other Players?

He rarely had the opportunity at Kentucky to create his own shot or rack up assists. He was mainly a spot up shooter. While part of this certainly resulted from playing alongside the talent he had at Kentucky, this still remains a question mark for Booker moving forward.

Will Booker's Age Take Him Out of Consideration for OKC?

Final Thoughts