Duke’s Justise Winslow expects to make immediate impact in NBA

Justise Winslow wasn’t exclusively about basketball his one academic year at Duke.

“I like art – it’s something I’ve gotten into in the last year,” Winslow said at the NBA Draft Combine. “I watched a lot of documentaries. Hopefully one day I’ll be knowledgeable enough to invest in it.”

Certainly he figures to be rich enough. Winslow, a 6-foot-6, 225-pound guard-forward, was among the most coveted players at the Combine. Projections have him going somewhere between fifth and tenth in the June 25 draft which, under the rookie pay scale, would pay him between $4 million and $6 million guaranteed.

Winslow didn’t enter college last fall as an obvious candidate to turn pro after one season, like his Duke teammate, center Jahlil Okafor. But he improved steadily, averaging 12.6 points and shooting 48 percent from the field and 41 percent from 3-point range.

Okafor is a likely top-two pick because he has one special skill – exceptional low-post scoring in the mold of Charlotte Hornets center Al Jefferson. Winslow is more versatile – a strong defender who could play either small forward or shooting guard at the NBA level with some point guard-like playmaking skills.

He described himself Friday as “a great defender with the ability to score” and that’s not unlike how NBA scouts view him.

Winslow doesn’t lack for confidence.

“Size, athleticism, someone who can immediately come in and have an impact,” Winslow said of what he’ll offer an NBA team.

“I definitely have the talent to be a lock-down defender. But offensively, also, I have the ability to have positive impact – as a spot-up shooter, off ball screens and posting up. I think I have a lot that can help an NBA organization.”

Okafor, Kentucky big man Karl-Anthony Towns and point guard Emanuel Mudiay – all projected top-five picks – skipped the Combine entirely. Winslow and Ohio State guard D’Angelo Russell were the top prospects to make themselves available for measurements and physicals in Chicago.

For Winslow that was primarily about networking. He interviewed with 14 NBA teams in Chicago, including the Hornets. He’d be a good choice in Charlotte, considering the Hornets’ need for better perimeter shooting.

The draft order won’t be settled until the draft lottery Tuesday night. Based on the odds -- the Hornets have only a 6 percent chance of jumping up to a top-three pick -- they will most likely have the ninth pick in the June 25 draft.

Winslow said he enjoyed his meeting with Hornets front-office personnel.

“It was cool. Kind of my college team because they’re so close (geographically) to Duke,” Winslow said. “I know Gerald (Henderson, who also played for Duke). They seem like a fun group. Really just had fun talking personal stuff and basketball, too.”

Having interviewed with half the league, Winslow said most teams were more interested in sizing him up as a person rather than intense basketball talk. They were looking into his personality, how he’d interact with potential bosses and teammates.

“There were a lot of questions about my relationship with Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) and how I got better through the year,” Winslow said.

It’s common in the lead-up to NBA drafts that prospects are compared to current NBA stars. Of late Winslow has been compared to Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden. He finds that flattering, but not necessarily precise.

“Being left-handed maybe, being from Houston,” Winslow said of what he has in common with Harden. “But you can grab something from anybody, whether it be Chris Paul’s ball handling or Dwyane Wade posting up. Just grab tidbits from different guys to keep making yourself better.”

This story was originally published May 16, 2015 at 1:06 PM with the headline "Duke’s Justise Winslow expects to make immediate impact in NBA."