Welcome to Atlanta -- AJ Griffin

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AJ Griffin Draft Scouting Report

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Position: SF
Height: 6'6"
Pro Comparison: Saddiq Bey

Scouting Report: Griffin built a case as the class' top shooter in terms of accuracy and shot-making versatility. He also won't turn 19 until August, so he should have plenty of room to expand his off-the-dribble game skills for creating and playmaking.

Griffin was a 5-star prospect coming out of Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York, according to 247Sports. He displayed a well-rounded skill set during his only college season with the Blue Devils, which bodes well for him making a quick impact at the NBA level.

The forward is an efficient shooter—including the ability to knock down outside shots—and a strong wing defender. It should allow him to play an important role in the Hawks' rotation, even if he doesn't receive a ton of touches on offense as a rookie.

Griffins' role with the Hawks will steadily increase as his offensive arsenal continues to grow in the coming years.

Bleacher Report

[Jamaaliver]

AJ Griffin

One of the most talented scorers in the draft, though he missed most of two years with knee and ankle injuries in high school.

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Height: 6'6"
Weight: 220
Age: 19
Year: Freshman

Shades of: Jaylen Brown, TJ Warren

PLUSES

• Creative bucket-getter who uses subtle pump fakes, hesitations, and shimmies to throw defenders off balance. He dribbles at his own rhythm to get into pull-up jumpers and stepbacks going to his left.
• From midrange, he can draw contact and score in ways that resemble Jimmy Butler. On top of that, he’s also a knockdown shooter who would have led the NCAA in 3-point percentage if he had qualified. It came on just 3.9 attempts per game, but with a higher usage Griffin could have exploded.
• Does all the little things on offense as a savvy cutter and willing passer who can fire on-target dimes to open teammates. He’s still developing a feel for creating opportunities but he keeps the ball flowing with quick decisions while limiting turnovers.
• Great defensive potential largely thanks to his tough mindset and impressive measurables (including a 7-foot wingspan). He has a wide, sturdy frame and the pound-for-pound strength of a big man. If he’s able to master his fundamentals he could become a lockdown defender.
• Griffin missed nearly two years of basketball due to injuries in high school. For him to play this well against the best competition of his life reflects the positive intel about him. Scouts say he has a great head on his shoulders, works hard on his weaknesses, and absorbs feedback from coaches. He comes from an athletic family as the son of 10-year NBA veteran Adrian Griffin, and his mother Audrey ran track in college.

MINUSES

• Knee and ankle injuries have plagued Griffin’s young career. The medical reports that teams receive will be key in determining his final draft positioning.
• He shows effort on defense but he’s not always reliable due to his inexperience. He takes awkward angles on rotations and sometimes loses track of his man when off the ball. Learning proper positioning should come in time, but it doesn’t always.
• Rigid shooting mechanics could limit his upside unless he’s able to make a change. From 3-point range off the catch and from certain angles pulling up, he needs to go into a set shot. There’s a slight pause that can give defenders time to close out. Removing that hitch would make him even more dynamic as a shooter.
• Inexperienced pick-and-roll operator without a good feel for timing, angles, and leveraging screens. Considering his isolation scoring skills, becoming more advanced using ball screens could allow him to blossom.

PTS 10.3 .647 TS% 3P% 48.3 120 3PA FT% 82.6 on 37 FTA

The Ringer

[Jamaaliver]

Draft Grades:

Atlanta Hawks: B-

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It comes as somewhat of a surprise that Griffin fell this far. However, injuries were a concern to teams after he missed so much time in high school. The Hawks are taking a necessary risk, though, since he brings 3-and-D skills—an important tool next to Trae Young, as we've seen in recent years with draft picks like Cam Reddish and De’Andre Hunter. There's some untapped shot-making ability in Griffin, and though he has a long way to go, he'll have time to develop with Atlanta already having a workhorse in Young and other ball handlers.

The Ringer

Atlanta Hawks: AJ Griffin, SF, Duke

Grade: A-

The Hawks needed a wing defender who wouldn’t spoil their spacing. They should be overjoyed that Griffin fell in their lap.

Ankle and knee injuries robbed him of nearly two years of his high school career, but you wouldn’t know it based on his polish. Chalk that up to his tremendous work ethic, but credit at least a little of it also to his father, former NBA wing and current Toronto Raptors assistant coach, Adrian Griffin.

Duke’s loaded roster kept Griffin’s numbers relatively in check, but he still popped with a 44.7 percent splash rate from three and 54.7 percent mark on twos. He looks the part of an NBA-ready three-and-D wing (with more shot-creation than the label typically implies), though his defensive awareness needs an upgrade to really fill that niche.

Bleacher Report

A.J. Griffin | 6-foot-6, wing | 18 years old, freshman | Duke

Vecenie’s prospect ranking: 11

Griffin’s NBA upside comes down to how much you buy him as a shot creator. If you think he’s such a good shooter and jump-shot generator that he can average an efficient 20 points per game while living almost entirely on 3-pointers and pull-ups, then you should have him in the top five. As a scorer, I would argue that he has the most upside in the draft outside of the top four guys because of that value as a shooter. But if you don’t buy that he can get enough separation because his stiffness and athletic limits hinder his game’s fluidity and functionality, there is some real downside because of how poor he is on defense. When he’s not scoring, he can be invisible because he’s not making an impact as a defender, transition driver or passer. There were far too many moments where he was a passenger for Duke. This is a risk/reward pick. Take your chances.

Hollinger’s team fit:Griffin is an interesting pick for Atlanta because the Hawks seemed more intent on improving the defense and landing quality forwards with size. However, he can really shoot, and presents an obvious offensive pairing with pick-and-roll maestro Trae Young. Was he the best player available? It’s close enough to defend the pick.

The Athletic

[Jamaaliver]

AJ Griffin scouting report:



Strengths

Terrific frame at 6'6" and 220 pounds with a 6'11" wingspan. Has shown a terrific intersection of power and explosiveness at lower levels, particularly as a leaper. At Duke, showcased more of the power. Plays through contact exceptionally well. Made 65% of his shots at the basket in half-court settings, per Synergy. Didn’t get there a ton but makes tough, below-the-rim finishes when he does. Knows how to play off contact to create angles.

Hard to overemphasize his potential as a floor spacer and shooter. Behind only Jabari Smith Jr. in this class in terms of shot-maker potential. The shot looks a bit strange, as he has a wide base on the catch, but his touch is terrific and has been in every level of his career. Gets terrific rhythm and weight transfer with very simple mechanics on a set shot. Beautiful one-motion shot. Always aligned toward the rim and ready to fire off a one-two step. Great setup where his right hip and right elbow are aligned with a slightly turned base. Very comfortable firing from behind the NBA 3-point line. Took more than 40 shots from beyond 25 feet, making 33 percent of them, per Synergy — not a bad mark for an 18-year-old. Knows how to hunt open 3s too. Finds them in transition and finds them by shuffling into open areas to spot up from 3.

Can also hit pull-up jumpers. Because of his natural touch level, Griffin has immense upside if his athleticism ever returns to previous levels. His stepback game is nasty. Per Synergy, he hit 43.7 percent of his pull-up jumpers, including 43.2 percent of his pull-up 3s. Creates a ton of separation on his stepback to his left with a hop-step. Plays with great pace on his dribble leading into it, rocking defenders onto their back foot before hitting them with that stepback. Loves the left-to-right dribble between the legs before a stepback to his left. Tough to guard, and part of it is because you have to stay balanced on him as a driver to his left. His moves flow into each other in a way that makes sense because of it. Will drive left then hit a turnaround jumper to his right or get to the rim using his power from his lower half. If you guard him small, he’s going to elevate over the top to finish because of his touch level. Has real potential to take smaller guards into the post on switches because of this.

He uses that physical strength well on defense too. Has the potential to guard bigger guys with ease because of his strength. Won’t have any issues against fours in the NBA because of his strength and length. You can’t go through his chest because of his strong core and base. There are defensive issues if the athleticism doesn’t come back — and he’s a genuine negative on defense right now — but defending bigger assignments in isolation won’t be an issue.

Weaknesses

Has dealt with some past injury issues. Missed most of his junior season in high school with a knee injury and then his senior season with an ankle injury. He also had knee surgery before his freshman season at Duke. Could be a situation where the injuries have sapped some of the twitch or could be that he’s still recovering given that it’s been one injury after another for a couple of years.

And there are concerns about his defense.

Griffin must work on his lateral quickness...you can’t feel comfortable with him in switches because his foot speed isn’t good enough. He’s bad on closeouts, in large part because he gets heavy-footed. Doesn’t take good angles on closeouts and is a blow-by magnet because of his lack of foot speed. Duke seemed to have a lot of communication issues with him involved in exchanges. He lost his assignment a bit too regularly. Missed tags on pick-and-rolls. Ball watches and gets back-cut more often than you’d like to see. Doesn’t seem aware about what’s happening around him off the ball and doesn’t seem all that engaged.

Given that stiffness, he’s also not that creative of a ballhandler. Doesn’t separate through shake or change of pace. Can’t collapse a defense right now. His handle is fine in a straight line, but he can’t go anywhere unless he’s going through people. While his handle isn’t completely a problem, I do think his footwork is bad when trying to load up as a finisher. Takes extra steps when he’s trying to load up to drive and ends up allowing his opponent to recover. He’s not an effective playmaker or passer for his teammates right now. Everything is an escape-pass right now because no one has to help guard him.

The fit in Atlanta

It’s no secret that the Hawks need better defenders to improve on their 26th-ranked defense this season, but this pick doesn’t accomplish that. Instead, the Hawks went with the best player available after Griffin dropped a bit in the draft.

Griffin is arguably the best shooter in this draft class. Per Synergy, he finished above the 90th percentile in cutting, catch-and-shoot, off-the-dribble shooting and isolation scoring.

Griffin is just 18 years old and very much a project at this stage, so it shouldn’t be expected that he’ll crack the rotation from Day 1 as of right now, but the Hawks get one of the highest-upside players in the draft. — Kirschner


Summary

Griffin’s game comes down to how much you buy him as a shot creator. If you think he’s such a good shooter and jump-shot creator that he can average an efficient 20 points per game almost purely living on 3-pointers and pull-ups, then you should have him in the top five.

As a scorer, I would argue that he has the most upside in the draft outside of the top four guys because of that value as a shooter. I completely buy him as a 40 percent shooter from 3 if you get him a steady stream of kickouts.

If you start to throw in his potential athletic gains as he gets further from injury, then it’s easy to see how you could have him that high. But if you don’t buy him as being able to get enough separation because his stiffness and athleticism limits how fluid and functional he can be, then there is some real downside because of how poor he is on defense.

When he’s not scoring, he can be invisible because he’s not making an impact as a defender, transition driver or passer. There were far too many moments where he was a passenger for Duke. This is a risk/reward pick.

The Athletic

[jayu70]

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[myrak433]

I think i read somewhere the Spurs are high on AJ.
Could this pick be part of the package for DEJOUNTE MURRAY

[atlantabbq99]

The pick is just ok...

I would have taken Walker Kessler, then Malaki Branham, then AJ Griffin

I have Branham as the best shooter in the draft but I have AJ close behind him. Branham looks like another Jordan Poole, especially with his ball handling and quickness. GSW tend to draft players that can shoot and move well. Branham moves very well, AJ doesn't.

The only good thing about AJ is that he is built like a TE. I think he is listed at 230lbs. Has no problem in putting on pure muscle, but I do worry that will hurt his quickness, so a plus for that is that he can maybe play small ball PF like PJ Tucker.

AJ doesn't look as good as Gary Trent Jr., but hopefully he can develop into the same level player as Trent is now.

[CP War Hawks]

This is a great value pick, best shooter in the draft. We need to send his knees to Miami to get some HGH injections directly into them... He moves laterally on defense worse than Gallo if you can imagine.

However, he's 18 and has plenty of time to get healthy. Scary thing if he has another bad knee injury, it could be over for him.

[HMFFL]

I think i read somewhere the Spurs are high on AJ.
Could this pick be part of the package for DEJOUNTE MURRAY

Not a chance!

Sent from my SM-N975U using RealGM mobile app

[Jamaaliver]

I hope he's healthy enough to participate in Summer League this year.

Otherwise, no reason to even watch.

(Anyone else getting Marvin Williams vibes?)

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[Jamaaliver]

2022 NBA Draft scouting report: AJ Griffin



[S]hooting is the skill that separates Griffin from almost every other player in the class. He converted nearly 45% of his 159 attempts from the perimeter during his single season at Duke. The motion is pristine even if the release point is a little lower than you’d like considering his frame. There is really no reason he won’t be able to spend significant time at the next level spotting up in the weak side corner and doing all of the things he will need to do to be successful in that role.

Some have voiced concern that Griffin may not be dynamic enough attacking close outs but his best current NBA skill is likely his ability to use a dribble or two to relocate still behind the three-point line as to generate a high percentage shot.

When fully chased off the line, he is currently a bit of a straight line driver with a limited handle and a deliberate decision making process.

Defensively, he has a lot of improvement that is needed. And the more limited his future offensive role will be the more important it will be for him to significantly advance on that end of the court.

It’s hard to know how much of his defensive limitations map back to the injuries. But he’s currently an unimpressive lateral athlete that significantly struggles to keep ball handlers in front.

Possessing a naturally low and wide stance, he, in a way, looks ready to sit and slide as a defender. But his first step in either direction is slow and long. His stance may be too wide at this point or he may just be playing more flatfooted than it appears.

Griffin demonstrates that he knows how to put his body and strength to work in the post, where he holds up much more successfully as a defender. For this reason, he may project more as a power forward at the NBA level and may pair best playing with another forward that profiles defending on ball reliably.

He can get lost at times defending off ball, losing cutters and not tracking screens coming in his direction. He will need to demonstrate an ability to be trusted as a team defender as to get a real opportunity at the next level. But the caveat here is the same as it is in all other areas. He’s so young and inexperienced.

Peachtree Hoops

[DirtybirdGA]

My red flag is it's someone who'll repeat what Jalen was doing last season, unless a couple of our current 2's leave,

[tbhawksfan1]

Great value pick based on where he was rated to go. A bit of inconsistency in all those scouting reports. I'll be interested to see what position he plays

[Jamaaliver]

A bit of inconsistency in all those scouting reports. I'll be interested to see what position he plays

No kidding. I didn't expect him to be available to us, so I didn't research him much beforehand. From the scouting reports above, all I can ascertain is that he's a phenomenal shooter, is injury prone and has the body of an Adonis. (Dude is jacked!)

beyond that...

Spoiler:

[CP War Hawks]

Griffin is a 2-3 in my mind. He's listed at 6-6 220 at 18 years old. I think alot of his mobility issues is with his fast growth rate. He essentially has the body of Jimmy Butler at 18.

The Hawks need to give him time to grow. So Nate is off the hook playing him this season for the most part. A coach like Atkinson would truly be beneficial for his development.

I'd probably comp him to Wesley Matthews. Stocky guard, not quick but sturdy and will develop into a two way player.

[tbhawksfan1]

Based on his highlights from last season, he isn't a fast twitch speed guy, but he does have some shake and bake with the ball in his hands. Also moves very well off ball

[Jamaaliver]

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[atlantabbq99]

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/draft/mock-draft/

Most mocks had AJ going in the top 10. One mock had him as high as #4.

AJ fell down alot to get to the Hawks.

Prospect falling in the draft have a good track record...

Paul Pierce
John Collins
Deandre Jordan
Rashard Lewis
Jrue Holiday

[Jamaaliver]

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