NBA Draft 2019: Assessing Scouting Reports on Top Stars from Experts' Mock Draft

With the NBA regular season reaching its climax, 16 teams will be preparing for the playoffs and a chance to compete for the championship in a matter of days.

While the playoffs will produce the most memorable moments of the season, each team's scouting staff is working hard to prepare for the draft in June.

It's still somewhat early in the process, but it seems clear this year's draft will be among the most exciting in recent memory.

Not only is power forward Zion Williamson of Duke the headline player of the forthcoming draft, but it also seems quite likely that his teammates, R.J. Barrett and Cam Reddish, are going to hear NBA Commissioner Adam Silver call their names early in the first round.

In this piece, we examine some of the most notable players in the draft while looking at the composite experts' draft, compiled by Hoopshype.com. Draft experts from The Athletic, SI.com, NBADraft.com, ESPN and Bleacher Report are used to come up with the consensus.

Top 20 Players

1. Zion Williamson, Duke, power forward 
2. Ja Morant, Murray State, point guard
3. RJ Barrett, Duke, small forward 
4. Cameron Reddish, Duke, small forward
5. De'Andre Hunter, Virginia, small forward/power forward 
6. Jarrett Culver, Texas Tech, shooting guard
7. Darius Garland, Vanderbilt, point guard
8. Coby White, North Carolina, point guard/shooting guard
9. Jaxson Hayes, Texas, center
10. Rui Hachimura, Gonzaga, power forward
11. Romeo Langford, Indiana, shooting guard
12. Sekou Doumbouya, France, power forward
13. Keldon Johnson, Kentucky, small forward
14. Kevin Porter, USC, shooting guard
15. Nassir Little, North Carolina, small forward
16. Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Virginia Tech, small forward
17. Kezie Okpala, Stanford, small forward
18. Bol Bol, Oregon, center
19. P.J. Washington, Kentucky, power forward/center
20. Jontay Porter, Missouri, power forward/center

Zion Williamson 

The most explosive player in college basketball has been compared to Charles Barkley and Larry Johnson, but there is a dynamic aspect to Williamson's game that could make him a generational type of player.

While many forget he is just an 18-year-old who has played just one year of college basketball and has the potential to improve quite a bit, the 6'7", 285-pounder is already an accomplished star who can intimidate others.

He has elite upper- and lower-body strength that allows him to dominate in the paint. He came back from a late-season injury to average 26 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while shooting 61.5 percent from the field. 

Williamson has impressed LeBron James with his ability and his potential. 

"What strikes me? His agility and his quickness," James said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. "For his size, how strong he is, to be able to move like the way he moves, he's very impressive. I mean, everybody can see the athleticism. That's obviously, that's ridiculous. But the speed and the quickness that he moves [with] at that size is very impressive."

Ja Morant

Ja Morant is a brilliant athlete who has the ability to elevate in an instant, seemingly while going at full speed. Even though he is on the thin side at 6'3" and 175 pounds, he can finish through contact in impressive fashion. 

The 19-year-old was brilliant in the postseason, and he is one of a small group of players who have had triple-doubles in NCAA tournament action. Some of the others include Draymond Green, Dwyane Wade, Andre Miller, Shaquille O’Neal.

Morant averaged 24.5 points per game in 2018-19 while shooting 49.9 percent from the field. He can create instant offense with his ability to get up and down the floor, find his teammates or create his own shot. 

The teenager is confident in his own ability, but he knows there is room to improve.

"I feel like I'm a good shooter. But sometimes in a game, when I settle, that's when I miss a shot instead of just playing in rhythm," Morant said, per Anthony Oliveri of ESPN Magazine. "Most of the shots I miss are forced.

Per the same article, he added: "Some of my defensive mistakes are because of fatigue from playing a lot of minutes. I have to get more locked in and get some breaks on the offensive end to catch my breath."

R.J. Barrett

In any other season, Barrett might have been the premier player in college basketball, but that title clearly belongs to Williamson.

That doesn't mean the Canadian is not going to have a brilliant career at the next level, though. He is a strong finisher at 6'7" and 202 pounds, and he can create offense with his speed and ability to do damage down low. 

The 18-year-old is stronger than he looks, and he is a wonderful transition player. He is not the ideal outside shooter at this point in his career, but there's no reason that area of his game won't develop.

Nevertheless, Barrett still averaged 22.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game and appears to have a chance to become a star at the next level.