NBA Mock Draft: DeAndre Ayton joins the Hawks

If there’s anything to take away from Jayson Tatum’s immediate NBA success, it’s that players who can thrive at multiple positions and in many offensive and defensive situations can be impactful, even early in their careers.

Now, Tatum is shooting 47 percent from three with a plus-17.3 net rating on a potential championship contender. There was no way to predict that level of success when Tatum was drafted in June, and there’s no way to say it will continue. However, Tatum’s success makes you feel a whole lot better about someone like Michael Porter Jr.

Despite an injury in the season opener, the freshman remains an elite shooting and scoring prospect. He possesses a smoothness with the ball that allows him to handle the ball to start or finish a possession, gashing a spread-out defense or probing from the point of attack. As a complementary skill, his shooting projects to be above-average to elite.

The versatility extends to defense, where Porter may one day defend both twos, threes and fours. For now, his length is a weapon on that end that will allow him to create turnovers and smother ball-handlers. It’s easier to dream up perfect scenarios for Porter because he’s not playing and making mistakes, but he is still as perfectly prototypical a modern offensive wing as the NCAA has to offer in 2018.