Justin Patton: The good, the bad and the ugly

The good: Potential

At just 20-years-old, Patton is the very rare redshirt freshman who declared for the draft. Despite good, not great, numbers his freshman year, he went just outside of the lottery. This was all because of his upside, which is the good with Patton.

If he’s able to turn his raw talent into skill and production, the Wolves may have ended up with one of the steals of the draft. Of course, if this does occur, it likely won’t happen until a few years down the road. However, big men with the potential ability to impact the floor on both ends don’t come around very often.

On offense, he has some work to do with shortening his shot and creating consistency with it. But that can be said for the majority of players coming out of college, especially seven-footers with one year of playing experience.

He’s also one of the more athletic and smooth athletes in this class. His great first-step and leaping ability will always keep defenders on their feet.

On defense, he’s able to use that same size and atheltic ability to disrupt shots. As he continues to improve his understanding of the way the game is played, they will become even more of a weapon.

In the end, his upside should create excitement for the fans. A frontcourt duo of Patton and Karl-Anthony Towns could produce some really nice mismatches and advantages for Minnesota.