Knicks Draft Profile: Washington State forward CJ Elleby
CJ Elleby: Weaknesses
Putting it mildly, Elleby is a fairly suspect decision-maker as a lead ball-handler in the pick-and-roll. Overall, Elleby totaled more turnovers (69) than assists (60), and his points per possession (0.725) in the pick-and-roll leaves much to be desired. Elleby has the ability to make cross-court passes and advanced reads, but he doesn’t execute either on a consistent basis.
Additionally, if you’re looking to take a flyer on a second-round prospect because of their athleticism, Elleby is probably not your guy. He has decent size but lacks the explosion and quickness needed to break defenders off the dribble at the next level. Elleby possesses some Manu-esque craftiness with his euro step, but it’s hard to see him making Sportscenter highlights anytime soon. Honestly, when he runs, it sometimes looks like he has cinderblocks in his sneakers, but he does get from point A to point B.
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Using Adam Spinella’s scouting report and Hoops Math’s data, Elleby only shot 25.3% of his field-goal attempts at the rim. Furthermore, he only converted 57.9% of these attempts, which ranked below fellow forwards such as Devin Vassell, Okoro, Tyler Bey, and Saddiq Bey.
At times you can expect a young scorer with such a high usage-rate to have bad shot-selection. And while this is true for Elleby, he’s going to have to make significant improvements in order to carve out a role in the NBA. Without dynamic athleticism or dead-eye shooting, Elleby’s skills as a secondary or tertiary scoring option will be limited.