2023 NBA Mock Draft 4.0: Arkansas guards, SEC prominent in lottery

Son of former NBA All-Star Juwan Howard, Jett Howard has thrived under his father’s tutelage at Michigan. He’s a dynamite shooter with size at 6-foot-9. It’s not hard to see the appeal. Howard is a natural offensive complement to a player like Damian Lillard.

Howard moves fluidly without the ball and is more than a simple spot-up shooter — he can attack closeouts, work out of DHOs, or fly around screens and bury the defense with a pull-up jumper or feather-soft floater. His flashes of on-ball creation are tantalizing, even if his lack of explosive athleticism could limit him to purely complementary playmaking at the NBA level.

Defensively, Howard has a ways to go but there’s reason to believe in his progression on that end. He competes his tail off and, eventually, his high basketball I.Q. should translate to better positioning and fewer mistakes. He has the size to combat multiple positions, but his limited lateral quickness is a hindrance teams will have to account for.

The Blazers are still trying to win as long as Lillard is with the team. He appears committed to riding out his career in Portland for now, so getting a win-now piece like Howard makes sense. He’s going to extend defenses with his shooting and bring positive decision-making to Portland’s offense.