Nickeil Alexander-Walker - Backcourt Keita

All year his teammates have raved about Keita's poise and readiness. Figured he'd start playing when they stopped sending him to Iowa, and he's making the most of it. No weaknesses...he'snot bad at anyone thing, which is a critical skill all by itself in today's NBA https://t.co/Lz8U3dbgby

— Key Sang (@Phantele_) February 24, 2019

Today’s NBA prizes versatility as a skillset. Players are constantly asked to switch on offense and defense, play with and without the ball, be able to handle, rebound and shoot all at the same time. The crux of a fast, fluid lineup of interchangable players - the likes of which the Warriors, Raptors, and Bucks are built on - is that any one of them can fill any given role at any given time.

Strengths:

Nickeil Alexander-Walker comes with a crucial skill built in by default: he’s at least decent at everything. He can shoot. He can drive. He can handle. He can pass. He can switch. There’s no one single vice in his game for other teams to exploit. To beat him, you simply have to be flat out better than him. That’s incredibly valuable in todays NBA, where teams relentlessly isolate poor shooters and passers on offense and hunt for bad defenders off switches on defense.

Whatever team draft NAW will know they can put him on the floor and not have to worry about him being singled out as a liability. He will play under control and make good decisions, hit his shots, facilitate for his teammates, and generally glue whatever lineup he’s a part of together.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker is just weeks away from becoming an NBA player as we look back on his spectacular performance vs. Miami!

N.A.W had 2⃣1⃣ points, 🔟 boards and 8⃣ assists to get @HokiesMBB a W!#GoHokies (@TheReal_NAW) pic.twitter.com/tfGO5XRfpo

— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) June 11, 2019

He is essentially a backcourt version of Keita Bates-Diop. He has the same versatility, plays with the same poise, utilizes the same skillsets and knows the same tricks. And as a bonus, his name comes custom to be the third Hyphen Bro.

Concerns:

Given that Alexander-Walker doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses, one might wonder why he isn’t projected to go much higher. The answer is that, while he isn’t bad at any one thing, he also isn’t elite at any one thing.

NAW isn’t physically imposing. He lacks highlight burst and athleticism. And he doesn’t have any single standout skill. He’s not a lights out shooter, and although he can thread some pretty passes, he doesn’t have the ability to control a game from the point guard spot.

In summary:

So while Alexander-Walker will likely will be good at the NBA level, he also is unlikely to be a star. For many teams, that’s not a problem. Any roster that already has its stars in place would be overjoyed to add NAW.

For the Wolves, however, that second star is still missing, and Nickeil is unlikely to fill that role. He’s one of the safest picks in this draft. He’s also one that wouldn’t move the needle significantly for Minnesota.