Michael Gbinije is going to be picked in the NBA Draft — it’s just a matter of where. There’s a chance he slips toward the back end of the second round, but it likely wouldn’t be a product of his performance at the pre-draft combine.

Gbinije entered the draft process with a polished repertoire after starring at Syracuse in an unexpected Final Four run. But his game doesn’t quite fit the bill of a sure-fire NBA player yet. The lack of sample size at positions he would likely play in the league, the eye test working against him and his lack of experience as a wing defender may do more harm than good next Thursday.

Here’s more on why a team is better off waiting until the tail end of the draft to take the former SU point guard rather than spending a fringe first round or early second-round pick on him.

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Sample size

Gbinije really only has one season playing point guard under his belt, if that’s the position an NBA team decides to use him at. And at the two-guard spot, Gbinije had little time that came down the stretch of the season with Frank Howard running the floor, but not much else than that.

Sure, he’s shown capabilities to play both. But just like teams may be hesitant to take a player such as Thon Maker due to lack of live game action, they could justifiably pass on Gbinije for doubts of whether he can truly play the one or two in the NBA.

He could always go back to playing small forward — he played the point for Syracuse out of necessity, after all — but then again it’s a position he hasn’t played primarily in over a year.

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MORE COVERAGE

• NBA Draft: The case for picking Michael Gbinije
• NBA Draft: The case for picking Malachi Richardson
• NBA Draft: The case against picking Malachi Richardson
• On the beat: NBA Draft preview and a look ahead to the 2016-17 Syracuse basketball season

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Eye test

While I do believe Gbinije’s experience helps more than it hurts given his projected landing spot, there’s nothing sexy about a 24-year-old in the NBA Draft. That’s just the way some teams will look at it.

And this may be picky, but for how much Gbinije seemed to improve as a 3-point shooter, he was far less effective from beyond the arc against better teams. He went a combined 1-for-14 from deep in the Sweet 16, Elite Eight and Final Four, along with a paltry 3-for-28 from deep in two other games against UNC, one against Louisville, one against Miami and another against Notre Dame. He shot better from long range against Duke, Virginia and Pittsburgh, but a more consistent stroke would do wonders for a player whose 3-point shooting really only came into its own this past season.

If the eye of teams picks up on that trend, compounded with a team’s possible preference to favor what a younger player has yet to do rather than what one like Gbinije has, he could start to fall deeper into the second round.

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Wing man

While Gbinije ran the fastest three-quarters-court sprint of any player at the combine, his lateral quickness wasn’t as eye-popping. He’ll need that more, as he’s likely to match up on the wing rather than on an opposing point guard.

He was one of the ACC’s best defensive players, leading the league with 1.92 steals per game, but in the NBA there won’t be a 2-3 zone to lurk at the top of and pick off passes with his long arms.

He’ll have to find another way to be disruptive on the defensive end, but for now the jury is still out.

Published on June 18, 2016 at 11:55 am