NBA Draft 2012: Pros and Cons of Picking Perry Jones III

Aside from Connecticut's Andre Drummond, there is no more polarizing figure in the 2012 NBA Draft than Perry Jones III.

The 6'11", 235-pound forward averaged better than 13 points and seven rebounds during each of his two seasons at Baylor and will more than likely wind up as a lottery pick in late June.

Yet, scouts and observers alike have their doubts about PJ3's future in The Association even though most agree that the sky is this kid's only limit as far as potential is concerned. Once considered a candidate to go first overall, Jones has since found himself on the fringe of the top-10 in more than a few mock drafts (not that those are necessarily indicative of anything, my own included).

So what is it that makes PJ3 so intriguing to some and so dangerous to others?

Pros

The gist of the pro-PJ3 argument goes something like this: he's 6'11", he's uber-athletic, he runs like a gazelle, he can shoot, he can dribble, he's a hard-working kid with a good head on his shoulders and he's unselfish.

Indeed, Jones is a versatile, do-it-all-type forward in the mold of Lamar Odom.

And no, not the Lamar Odom who left the Dallas Mavericks in disgrace.

Some, like ESPN's Chad Ford, have compared him to Paul George of the Indiana Pacers given his unusual size for a wing. George, by the way, looks like a budding star in Naptown with the potential to begin piling up All-Star appearances as soon as next season.

That's what Jones wants to be and will be if the team that selects him uses his talents properly. He was miscast as a center in college, if only because he was the tallest kid on his team.

Yet at this point in time, Jones is much better suited to play a face-up game both in terms of his skill set and his particular frame. Those occasional stretches of invisibility at Baylor might just as easily be explained as the byproducts of serving in the wrong role.

Put Jones in the proper position, and there may be no stopping him.

Cons

Finding that proper position for Jones is part of the problem though. He describes himself as more of a 3, though scouts have described him as more of a stretch 4, which is to say he's a tweener, albeit more in skill set than in size.

He's certainly big enough to play power forward, though he's thus far shown himself to be adverse to contact in the paint and otherwise.

As for a small forward, Jones' shooting stroke and handles, while solid for a player his size, are merely average for a player at his position.

His often passive play in college would seem to indicate that he lacks the passion and the desire to be the perennial All-Star that he claims he can, will and wants to be. Will a big paycheck change that?

Do teams want to find out?

Verdict

The questions surrounding PJ3's position and passion are certainly valid, but they become less and less of a concern the farther down the order he falls.

And frankly, the kid's still only 20 years old, which means he has plenty of room for growth and plenty of time in which to achieve said growth.

He may not be as close to a sure thing as Anthony Davis or Bradley Beal, or as physically and emotionally mature as Thomas Robinson, but Jones has the talent and the physical tools to be better than any of them in the end.

Best-case scenario? He's given the leeway to develop into the elite player that Lamar Odom had always been expected to be.

Worst-case scenario? He's either asked to do too much too soon, or is buried on the bench and winds up on the scrap heap as the next Anthony Randolph.

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