The Charlotte Hornets have two picks in the upcoming draft, numbers 6 and 42. In recent times, the Hornets have used their second round picks to gather up players to put on a two-way deals before promoting them to the main roster at some point during or after their first season. That hasn’t really paid off meaningfully, and they started to find themselves with a dearth of talent at the bottom of the roster before last season’s trade deadline. The front office will hopefully have better luck uncovering a gem or two, and Jamal Shead could be one of those guys just like his former collegiate teammate Marcus Sasser was for the Pistons this season.
Measurements
Height: 6’0.25″
Wingspan: 6’3″
Standing reach: 8’0″
Weight: 200 pounds
No step vertical: 30″
Max vertical: 37″
Strengths
Defense, intensity, basketball IQ
Jamal Shead made a name for himself at the collegiate level with his defense. He has a whole highlight reel of just his defense on YouTube. He’s strong, physical, and tenacious when guarding the ball. He doesn’t passively stand between his man in the basket; he actively harasses and speeds up ball handlers. He generated 3 stocks (steals+blocks) per 36 minutes, had absurdly good defensive metrics, and was the tip of the spear for a Houston team that suffocated their opponents. He’s a bit on the small side, but we saw Dennis Smith Jr. thrive as a defensive point guard here with a very physical profile.
On offense, Shead is more of a pure point guard than a scorer. He averaged 7.3 assists to just 2.3 turnovers per 36 minutes leading one of the best teams in college basketball. He puts pressure on the paint to create space for kickouts and dump-offs, and he’s unselfish within the flow of the offense. He’d more than likely be a backup in the NBA, and he should be able to orchestrate the offense in a reserve role provided he’s just enough of a threat as a scorer.
He plays with a nonstop motor and gritty mentality that’s infectious. He was the heart and soul of a Houston team that was one of the best team’s in college basketball before Shead went down with an injury in their loss to Duke in the NCAA Tournament. He simply plays winning basketball, and he put that on display at the combine last month.
Just cleared from a knee injury, Houston's Jamal Shead brought his trademark high-level intensity at the NBA draft combine; harassing opponents, generating turnovers and moving the ball unselfishly, finishing with 14 points, 4 assists in 26 minutes. pic.twitter.com/9GenAQkPnn
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 15, 2024
Question Marks
Scoring ability, size, growth potential
The biggest flaw in Shead as a prospect is his ability to put the ball in the basket. He was a relatively low player at Houston yet still struggled to score efficiently. He hovered around 40% shooting from the field and 31% shooting from three for most of his collegiate career. He’s a good free throw shooter and has a decent floater around the basket, so there’s hope that the outside shot could come around at least. But even then, he’s not a super aggressive scorer regardless of the shooting prowess or lack thereof. He only averaged 12.9 points per game as a senior and his 25% usage is rather low for “the guy” on his college team.
Even with as much success as Shead had as a defender in college, teams will likely question how much of that will translate given his size. I saw a comparison to Jose Alvarado and Jevon Carter, who are both similarly sized and have carved out roles as a low usage defensive point guards. Shead can play that role, but the margin for error is small when you’re smaller than most of the players you’re guarding.
Overall Outlook
Jamal Shead doesn’t have a very high ceiling, but he brings to the table things the Hornets lack, especially in their back court. He plays with a nonstop motor and endless amounts of intensity, especially defensively. The Hornets don’t have long term depth behind oft-injured LaMelo Ball at point guard, and a defense-first stopper that can facilitate to more potent scoring options would be a good fit behind Ball off the bench. It worked decently well with Dennis Smith Jr. a couple of years ago, and Shead could be a younger version of that pairing.
