NBA Draft 2019: 5 potential second-round steals

3. Jontay Porter, Center, Missouri

The Step Back Big Board Ranking: 16

Porter was ranked number four on our big board before re-tearing his ACL that he injured before the season. He is deservedly probably going to go in the second round of the 2019 NBA Draft, because his health is a very tenuous situation. But if healthy? He could end up being one of the best players coming from this draft class.

The case for Porter is easy. He is the best passing big man in the draft class, and is probably the best shooting big in the class as well, depending on your feelings on Bol Bol. He also is an incredibly intelligent team defender, and projects to be a useful two-way big despite lacking ideal athleticism even prior to the injury. There’s reason to believe that Porter’s injury woes won’t impact his skill set in the way that ACL injuries impacted players like Zach LaVine and Derrick Rose, because his positives were so skill-based anyway, and his game translates incredibly well to the NBA even if you aren’t an elite athlete.

Porter will take investment to get healthy enough to play, but he’s probably worth that shot if he can land on a team with multiple picks that can afford to carve out that time for him. He would be a great fit for Atlanta, who has six picks in this draft, or the Los Angeles Clippers, who have multiple second-rounders and are great at mining for these types of players later on in the draft. If anyone is going to be the Draymond Green of this class as a second-rounder that becomes an All-Star, it’s a healthy Jontay.