The Prospect Post: Henry Ellenson and Diamond Stone

Ellenson represents everything new and innovative about the direction the NBA game has been going for about the past six or seven years. He is a true stretch four with a great basketball IQ. Stone represents what teams used to covet in big men 10 or 20 years ago. He is a ferocious finisher and he is a load inside.

Henry Ellenson (PF)
Ellenson is projected by most outlets to go a few spots ahead of Stone in the draft, and while I think NBA teams will eventually back off the idea of taking a stretch four in the top-5, he will most likely go in the top-10. That isn't to say a stretch four in the Serge Ibaka or Chris Bosh mold, i.e. a two-way player, wouldn't easily go in the top-five of this draft, but Ellenson is more of a Ryan Anderson-esque stretch, where his shooting is the only reason he is even considered a prospect.

Now, comparing him to Anderson sells short some of the other things he is good at (all on the offensive end), but if his jump shot was a work in progress, he would be a mid-second-round pick, at best. Ellenson really moves well for a player his size, which may come as a surprise when you first watch him play. Lets face it, white big men don't have a reputation for being fleet of foot. Ellenson bucks that trend, however, as he runs the floor extremely well and is also good at making quick maneuvers in the halfcourt.

Another aspect of his game that comes as a surprise, given the stretch label, is his ability to put the ball on the deck, even taking it coast to coast at times. A lot of his drives in the halfcourt will be thwarted by NBA defenses, but it is something he is comfortable doing, which makes his shot fakes deadly. Not only can he get to the rim from beyond the arc off a pump fake if need be, he is also exceptional in the mid-range, which is probably a more realistic option in the NBA if he shakes his defender with a pump fake from three-point range.

His last plus tool on the offensive end is his passing, especially relative to his position. He is great at setting up his teammates, and this brings us to perhaps the most fitting comparison: Josh McRoberts. Ellenson is not quite Chris Webber in terms of great passing big men, but he is the second-best passing big man in this draft behind Ben Simmons.

Ellenson is averaging 10 rebounds per game (in 32.3 minutes), but I hesitate to say he'll be more than a six or seven board-per-night guy in the NBA. Most of his competition this year has been cake, and he simply lacks the hops to be expected to win many 50/50 boards at the next level or the size to box out certain big men.

It's quite possible he won't offer enough production in the non-shooting categories to make rostering him in standard leagues worthwhile, but if Frank Kaminsky was worth a speculative pick this year, Ellenson should be worth one next year. Look for the Pistons to aggressively pursue him as a perfect four to pair with Andre Drummond.

Here are his highlights from a recent game against Xavier, one of the toughest teams he will face this season:

Here is a little bit of what I'm talking about:

It's certainly a good thing that he has the motor to be relentless on the offensive glass, but it would take a pretty laid-back player to not go after his own misses from within five feet, and it seems like at least 50 percent of his offensive rebounds were originally shot by Stone himself.

I have seen Stone make a hook shot in college, but I have also seen him almost airball one. He has also intercepted a pass in transition and taken the ball all the way to the hoop and scored, even implementing a euro-step, but that kind of freelancing won't be encouraged in the NBA.

This is not to say that raw big men selected after their freshman year in college can't develop into much better players, but Stone will need to have to really want to be able to score from at least 8-10 feet away from the hoop, because it will require a lot of time in the gym. He will also have to really want to be a good defender, because right now he does not project as such at the next level.

All the physical tools are present for Stone to become an above-average NBA center if he works hard at it, but without adding some other elements to his offensive game, and without turning himself into a quality rim-protector at the highest level, he will be destined to being nothing more than a backup center who changes teams several times before fizzling out of the league.

Consider this an "incomplete" grade. Writing off Stone at this point in his development would be beyond foolish. After all, he is averaging 13.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 21.5 minutes per game as an 18-year-old. Still, the weak competition he has faced and his extremely rare size/athleticism in college play big roles in those numbers.

The good news for Stone is this is a pretty weak draft class, and outside of Simmons, Brandon Ingram and Dragan Bender one could argue pretty easily that it is worth making Stone the No. 4 frontcourt player off the board. Personally, I'd have at least Ivan Rabb and Ellenson over Stone, but I would probably have Stone ahead of Skal Labissiere, Jakob Poeltl, and when Stone gets compared to the latter two, he should grade out favorably, so going in the top-10 seems quite likely at this point.

He has more fantasy upside than Ellenson, as his upside is an 18-and-10 guy who shoots a great percentage from the floor with maybe 1.5 blocks per game mixed in. Ellenson has a better chance of being a rotation player, but Stone is the guy to gamble on.