Draft Profile: Tyler Lydon

Tyler Lydon: Forward, Syracuse – Turns 22 next April

Measurables: 6-9, 215 lbs., 7-0 wingspan

Strengths: Three-Point Shooting

Weaknesses: Quickness, Defense, Playmaking

Conclusion: Lydon’s biggest strengths at the college level were the following: three-point shooting, free-throw shooting, and rebounding due to solid size and length. Playing in the Syracuse zone, Lydon’s lack of lateral quickness was fairly well-hidden, and he could be in line to hear his name called in the first round. Given that his size and strength will no longer afford him advantages at the 4 in the NBA, his projected role is tough to predict. Stretch 4’s are becoming an endangered species in a league where wings continue to slide down the positional chart and operate as small-ball power forwards. It’s extremely unlikely that Lydon proves capable of covering perimeter players on a regular basis – and he’s also not going to protect the rim well enough to play the 5 – so he’ll probably need to be an amazing three-point shooter in order to stay on the floor for extended stretches.

Lydon isn’t a bad athlete though, and it’s not that hard to picture him as a sprier Mirza Teletovic. The question just becomes whether Tyler is truly worth spending a first round pick on. For a team that’s built to last on defense but maybe needs some more firepower on offense (perhaps Utah?), maybe the answer is yes, but personally I would look elsewhere. I still think Lydon is worth a selection in the mid-to-late second round, but I’d be very hesitant to take him in the first. In fact, I’d probably consider his teammate, Andrew White III, before Lydon in the mid-to-late second round.

Projection: No. 49 prospect on Ilia Shatashvili’s “Biggest” Big Board, No. 47 overall in his final mock (to be released later today)

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