2020 NBA Draft Profile: Josh Green

For the next several weeks on every Thursday, Denver Stiffs writers will be putting together a combination of individual player profiles, lists, big boards, mock drafts, and other NBA Draft related content to help Nuggets fans become familiar with the 2020 draft class. With the class being fairly light on high end talent, players could have wide ranges based on team needs, and a player the Nuggets may think is a top 5 player in the class could spiral out of the lottery fairly quickly. That means Nuggets fans have to be prepared for every scenario, meaning we at Denver Stiffs are getting an early start on draft content.

The first prospect breakdown was for a local talent, Tyler Bey, which you can read by clicking here.

Today’s breakdown is of the athletic swingman from Australia, Josh Green.

Josh Green – University of Arizona

Vitals

Age: 19

Height: 6-foot-6-inches

Weight: 210 lbs

Wingspan: 6-foot-10-inches

Strengths

Athletic Profile

With his size and strength, Green has the build to be a switchable defender in the NBA. He fits the mold for a NBA 3&D option, with a long wingspan, barrel chest, and solid base that can be used to defend on post-ups while using his agility to keep up with guards on the perimeter. He can fight through screens, close out on shooters, and offer some rim protection as a help defender.

He uses his athleticism to finish around the rim, and likes to get out in transition after a defensive stop to attack the basket for higher probability attempts. He’s fast, able to get down the court in a hurry, and take advantage of mismatches.

Basketball IQ

Green comes from a basketball family, with both parents having played and an older brother who plays for UNLV. He played with the Australian team as a teenager, and has been playing against high level competition for a few years. That experience shows up in his ability to attack the offensive glass, make quick decisions passing the ball, and be aggressive on defense.

He sticks to his role on offense, with most of his shot attempts from the perimeter coming as a set shooter. He wasn’t used as a ballhandler often, with teammate Nico Mannion fully capable of handling that load on his own, and didn’t get many plays called for him. He stuck to slashing into creases in the defense and getting stops — fine qualities for a 3&D wing.

Weaknesses

Refined offensive skills

Perhaps the reason why Green wasn’t asked to dribble much is because he wasn’t particularly skilled at doing so in traffic. He didn’t get chances to run pick and roll or dribble hand-off plays at Arizona, which makes it hard to forecast how well he’ll do at those elements in the NBA. He resorts to floaters too often, something that would definitely frustrate Nuggets fans.

According to Spencer Pearlman of The Stepien, Green has two left-handed finishes over the past two competitive seasons he’s played. That’s really bad. A glaring weakness like that is something that will be easy for teams to scout and gameplan against.

While he’s comfortable as a set shooter, he’s not much of a shooter off motion. He’s going to need to put in a lot of work to be confident rotating into space and taking a quick set shot to counter a defense that is in rotation to choke off a drive or collapse on a double team.

Verdict

I’m not sold on Green when the Nuggets could pick up someone like Desmond Bane, Aaron Nesmith, Jahmi’us Ramsey, or Saddiq Bey. The Nuggets need to pick up more shooting in the draft, and find a player that can contribute to the offense off the bench from Day One. Green might be better suited to be paired with a team that is willing to develop his skills for two years before putting him in a rotation. The physical tools are appealing, but the production on the court for a team with title aspirations like the Nuggets doesn’t seem like a fit. If they’re looking for someone to fill his role, just go sign Andre Roberson in free agency and hope he has recovered from his knee injury.