The Dallas Mavericks only had one draft pick on draft night and it came in the second round and they spent it on drafting my guy from Purdue, AJ Hammons. I believe that Dallas got a true steal in the NBA Draft. AJ Hammons has lottery type of talent and stayed at Purdue for all four years. In his senior year at Purdue, Hammons put up 19 points per game, grabbed 8.2 rebounds, and swatted 2.5 shots per game. He stands at 7 ‘0, 280 pounds, Hammons will easily be able to play against NBA centers right away. He has a very strong back to the basket game but isn’t afraid to face up and shoot a mid range shot or throw it down on someone either. The one weakness you hear about him is his motor but what I saw out of AJ in his last two years at Purdue was a guy who was locked in and had a very high motor. In my opinion, he should of been drafted over a lot of the centers in the second round and I was shocked when the Golden State Warriors drafted Damion Jones from Vanderbilt, 30th overall in the 1st round. Here are both Hammons’ stats and Jones’ stats when they both went up against each other when Purdue played Vanderbilt this past college season.

Hammons: 21 points, 10 rebounds, 7 blocks, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls on 9-of-16 shooting

Jones: 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 5 fouls on 3-of-7 shooting

So what does he bring to the Mavericks? Well in my opinion the Mavericks got themselves a hungry big man who can do a little bit of everything for them. Offensively, he’s not a pure post scorer in the mold of a Jahlil Okafor, but he does have some old school flashes.  Hammons will show mobility and has great hands to be an effective pick and roll finisher, something Dallas could really obviously use. Hammons has a great mid range jump shot, which became a very reliable weapon over time, with his range that expands out beyond the college three. Defensively, Hammons was able to block a lot of shots throughout his time as a Boilermaker. He ended his college career with the second most blocks in program history, he led the Big Ten in blocks per game three times over the course of his four years at Purdue. AJ got better and better on defense during his time at Purdue and also showed great helpside defense through his time playing college ball.

Getting drafted to an organization like Dallas is a great fit for him. They are filled with veteran players and I am hoping they resign Dirk Nowitzki because I think he would be a great mentor for AJ on and off the court. AJ is a big time player with an NBA ready body and skill set, shot blocking, great rebounder and a nice touch from the outside. The criticism against his motor I think will be turned off pretty quickly after he shows what he has improved on over his four years at Purdue and keeps getting better as a player.

Congrats to AJ for getting drafted! I can’t wait to see you improve and get better in the NBA! Boiler Up!