Cory Jefferson is morphing into a viable pick-and-pop option

Cory Jefferson was the final pick of the 2014 NBA Draft — Mr. Irrelevant, so they say. Now 25-years-old, the slender power forward is working tirelessly to attract the eyes of NBA scouts as a member of the Austin Spurs in the NBA D-League.

Lately, Jefferson has even been showing off a new weapon: a legitimate 3-point stroke.

Jefferson is 6-foot-9 and listed at 218 pounds, though they might have weighed him with 10 pound weights in each pocket because he doesn’t look much more than 200. What he lacks in bulk, however, he more than makes up for with his pogo stick athleticism. Coming into the league as a rookie, he was viewed as an ideal roll man in the NBA’s set of choice.

After playing 50 games in his rookie year with the Brooklyn Nets, Jefferson was waived and though he quickly latched on with the Phoenix Suns, they sent him packing mid-season last year. Now, he’s putting in the hours for Austin and his performance is proving those tough days are paying off.

The NBA is currently enamored with the 3-point shot. Blame Stephen Curry, blame Moreyball, but it’s clear the 3 is here to stay and is being sought out more than ever. While the D-League season is only 12 games in, Jefferson is showing teams in the market for a pick-and-pop 4 should be looking his way.

So far this season, Jefferson has made 12-of-22 (54.5 percent) shots from 3-point range and the majority of those have come out of the pick-and-roll.

His footwork on the perimeter has improved significantly as well. This is vital to his 3-point success thus far because he’s able to be in position and square up towards the basket as soon as he catches incoming passes.

In the clip above he’s able to come off his screen quickly, set his feet and get up a confident shot without any hesitation. He has plenty of time to get this shot off — a luxury he won’t have in the NBA — but he’s able to release quickly if needed as well.

Take a look at this one, where his catch and shoot release is not only quick but effortless:

Jefferson carries the ball low in the pocket off the catch and he needs to remedy that issue, yet it’s a relatively easy fix at this point in his development.

Recently, Spurs head coach Ken McDonald inserted Jefferson into their starting lineup and he’s responded with 18.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game while shooting a blistering 68.7 percent (11-of-16) from 3-point land. Clearly those numbers — especially the 3-point percentage — won’t hold long term, but he’s almost 55 percent from the perimeter through the first 12 games of the season as well.

Jefferson has yet to reach his full potential as a player, but has definite upside as a late bloomer who has the skill set to contribute in today’s NBA. Even though some players start to fall in love with the 3 once they realize its attainable, Jefferson has taken only quality shots from distance (2.7 attempts over last six games) and it’s proving wise.

The NBA is less than three weeks from 10-day contract season and Jefferson’s name is going to be a hot topic, mainly due to this added offensive weapon. He’s not going to step in and provide Ryan Anderson type 3-point numbers, but teams looking for spacing off their bench could easily utilize a young, inexpensive asset like Jefferson moving forward.

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