#2 Cameron Thomas – Guard – LSU
You can never have too many offensive threats and shooters in this league, which is why Cameron Thomas is a first-round prospect this year. Thomas only spent one year at LSU, but he was one of the best freshmen in the country this year, as he averaged 23.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and shot 40.6% from the floor, 32.5% from three-point range.
Cam Thomas is a straight up “bucket” and what I mean by that is this guy can really score against anyone. If you give Thomas the ball, he is going to find a way to score and he is instant offense, which is why the Grizzlies would be smart to draft him.
They do have a ton of talent at the shooting guard position with Dillon Brooks, Grayson Allen, Desmond Bane and De’Anthony Melton, but Memphis does need someone who can create instant offense for themselves, which is exactly the kind of player Cameron Thomas is.
When you watch Thomas play, there is really no one key comparison that comes to mind, but he has a little bit of everything to his game. He has the athleticism and versatility of a player like Anfernee Simons, he has the pure scoring abilities and mid-range game for a guard like Lou Williams, and he also plays with that “green light” mentality like Malik Monk when he was coming out of Kentucky.
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His ball-handling skills and decision-making with the ball in his hands needs to be worked on at the next level, but primarily being off-the-ball at shooting guard, he will not be tasked with having to bring the ball up the court and make plays every single possession. What this means though is that he will need to become more of a shooting threat, especially from three-point range.
Perhaps one of the best offensive players in this year’s draft, Cameron Thomas is a guy that can be counted on for instant offense at the NBA level, regardless of who is guarding him. The Grizzlies need an x-factor on offense and taking Thomas with the 17th pick would be a very smart move for this organization.
