Six for the Sixers: Doug McDermott

<![CDATA[Yesterday saw the beginning of my “Six for the Sixers” series, and if you’ve read previous columns on my opinions regarding Philadelphia 76ers draft options, you probably saw this one coming sooner or later. Let’s not go crazy, though. This gentleman is another one of those guys where the SECOND potential top-10 pick should be used. If GM Sam Hinkie used a top-3 pick on this guy, we all may have to reconsider his position as GM.

That being said, let’s continue with the fifth man on my list for potential new Sixers for the 2014-2015 season.

5. Doug McDermott, 6’8″ 223, SF/PF, Creighton University

If you read the first line of this, you’ll understand why I like Creighton’s Doug McDermott. The dude just gets buckets. Many teams are devoid of that one guy who can space the floor because he’s such a threat on the perimeter with his mid-range game and his range from deep. McDermott can do that for the Sixers in ways that one former Creighton product — Kyle Korver — did.

That’s where the Kyle Korver/Doug McDermott comparisons need to stop. Korver wasn’t nearly as dimensional with how he gets buckets as McDermott is. Obviously, they both fill up the stat sheet from beyond the three-point arc. It was Korver’s bread and butter — as evidenced from his NBA record 127 games with at least one made three-pointer. McDermott doesn’t rely exclusively on the three-ball. In four years at Creighton, McDermott only averaged 4.2 three-point shots a game compared to 10.3 two-point shots. He’s the NCAA’s fifth leading scorer in history. It’s not easy to do that by chucking up nothing but three-pointers. (It helps, but it’s not easy.)

With the right point guard (see, Carter-Williams, Michael) to put McDermott in positions for open looks, the Sixers will be able to take great advantage of his high catch and shoot ability (44% FG), his shooting off screens (54% FG), and (shockingly enough) his off the dribble shooting (50% FG). Some of the best ways for McDermott to score come in transition because he has a quick trigger while continuing to have a natural shooting stroke.

In an ESPN interview by Elizabeth Merrill, former Sixer Hersey Hawkins said this about McDermott’s ability to score in bunches:

“He’s the not quickest guy, and a lot of times a bigger or taller guy is guarding him. He just has the ability to find little angles to get shots off. He gets done and it’s like, ‘Oh, he had 31 tonight,’ and there was nothing spectacular. It’s just him going about his business and being methodical about how he approaches the game.”

It’s true. McDermott will never be the fastest guy on the floor on any given night — unless five Gheorge Muresan’s take the floor. Saying that McDermott is a below average athlete would probably be a compliment, but that’s what he is. I’m sure there are many of you out there that can take him in a foot race, and that’s where he’d struggle on the NBA level. The league is so quick now when it comes to wingers. The LeBron’s and the Paul George’s and the Kevin Durant’s of the league are going to leave McDermott stone-footed. With McDermott, you’re not going to get someone that’s an elite-level defender. You’ll get someone that’s marginal at best. On the flip side, what you will get is a guy that can spread the floor with his ability to “tickle the twine” as Bill Raftery would say.

That’s what you’re getting if you draft McDermott. What’s wrong with that, exactly? I get the lack of athleticism turns people off because you won’t get any highlight crossovers or dunks, but is that really a problem? McDermott does make up for a lack of athleticism — which will be discussed later — with the ability to use multiple tools to get space like step backs and pump fakes on close outs. If you’ve been paying attention to “McBuckets” as I have, you’ll note something. He has incorporated that Dirk Nowitzki one-legged jump shot into his arsenal.

McDermott isn’t terrible on the block in the low post. (I mean, he’s bad, but he wouldn’t be the worst in the league by any stretch.) With the right matchup, McDermott can utilize his face up jumpers, head fakes, or that new weapon in his satchel. McDermott does rebound well for someone of his limited athleticism, but he’ll never lead the league (or a game for that matter) in rebounds. That’s not what you’d be drafting McDermott for. You’re drafting him for his natural shooting stroke and his basketball IQ — which is also impressive.

McDermott isn’t a great 1-on-1 defender as a result of his not having quickness or explosiveness, but he is a good TEAM defender. When he’s put in the right position, he can at least get in the way. McDermott will at least do his damnedest to hinder an offensive player from getting to the rim. That’s realistically all we can ask of him. It’s that lack of explosiveness that could also cause some problems finishing at the rim in the NBA. McDermott’s not much of a dunker, and he doesn’t get too much lift off the ground. You’ll see a lot more lay-ups and finger rolls than you will tomahawks and windmills.

Being a tweener in this league is not easy for most, and McDermott is definitely going to struggle. He’s not quick enough to play the 3, and he’s not strong enough to play the 4. For the Sixers to draft him, they have to build an overall team defensive concept to mask when McDermott is on the floor. If they get Andrew Wiggins with the top-3 pick and combine him with Carter-Williams and Noel as a last resort defensively, they can do it. Theoretically, Wiggins and/or Carter-Williams would be the defensive specialist and McDermott would simply be that guy in the pick up game that just gets put on the other team’s least offensive threat.

There is a spot for McDermott on this Sixers team given his abilities to fill up the points section of the stat sheet. Is he a top-3 pick? Absolutely not. With the right pairing and team concept, McDermott should be effective for this team for a lot of years.

Check out Doug McDermott’s NBA Scouting Video care of Draft Express.