Unlike Gani Lawal, I can evaluate Jonny Flynn a bit without having to worry about him withdrawing his name anymore.  It is somewhat astonishing that a player like Flynn could have increased his draft stock so dramatically in less than four months to be a lock-lottery selection, going potentially as high as fourth in the draft.  Before the Big East tournament Flynn was seen as a fringe 1st round pick. 

My main reason for analyzing Flynn now is because of the allegedly phenomenal workout he had with the Kings in Sacramento on Saturday (June 13th).  The media at said workout came away enamored with Brandon Jennings - whose team apparently beat Flynn’s in a scrimmage – but it was Flynn who impressed at least some Kings representatives the most as stated Sunday by Sam Amick of the Bee.

Essentially all of the potential No. 4 picks have now worked out with Geoff Petrie in Sacramento other than Ricky Rubio who Petrie scouted in Spain last month (and could visit Northern California this week).  These prospects include: Tyreke Evans, Jonny Flynn, James Harden, Jrue Holiday and Brandon Jennings.  (I’m not considering players like Thabeet or Hill anymore at No. 4 – and neither should you.  Also, Stephen Curry curiously hasn't scheduled a workout with the Kings.)  Technically, DeMar DeRozan will workout for the Kings on June 20th but that is unlikely to change much.  Of all these, the most likely now being Evans, Flynn, Holiday, Jennings and Rubio, it is anyone’s guess whom Petrie will select come draft night.  And again, that is why a closer look at Flynn is important with STR having predominantly focused on the other three.

Let’s begin with the pre-draft measurements taken last month in Chicago.  From a pool of 13 point guard prospects (Rodrigue Beaubois, Darren Collison, Toney Douglas, Tyreke Evans, Johnny Flynn, Jrue Holiday, Ty Lawson, Eric Maynor, Patrick Mills, A.J. Price, Jeff Teague and Greivis Vasquez – but no Beverley, Jennings, McClinton, Llull or Rubio.) this is how Flynn came out:

HT – 11th tallest; 6’0.75" w/ shoes (5’11.25" w/out shoes) – taller than Lawson, Mills; shorter than Collison and Teague
WT – 5th heaviest; 196 lbs. – comparable to Lawson (197); heavier than Mills
Wingspan – 7th largest; 6’4" – greater than Curry (6’3.5"), Collison (6’3"), less than Teague (6’7.5"), Holiday (6’7")
Reach – 11th best; 7’11.5" – greater than Mills, Lawson; less than Maynor, Curry, Collison
Body Fat – 7th best; 6.3 – Same as Holiday; Less than Lawson, Mills; Greater than Collison, Curry, Maynor, Teague
No Step Vert. – 1st; 33.0" – Best of all PG’s measured; Closest are Teague, Collison (each 30.5")
No Step Vert. Reach – 5th; 10’8.5" – Greater than Curry, Collison; Less than Holiday, Teague (each 10’9")
Max. Vert. – 1st; 40.0" – Best of all PG’s measured; Closest are Beaubois (39"), Teague, Lawson (each 36.5")
Max. Vert. Reach – 3rd; 11’3.5" – Less than Beaubois, Evans; Greater than Teague, Holiday, Curry
Bench – 6th; 10 – Same as Curry; Less than Lawson (14), Teague (13); Greater than Evans (7), Holiday (6)
Agility – 8th; 10.86; Better than Maynor, Holiday; Worse than Evans, Teague, Curry, Lawson, Mills
Sprint – 11th; 3.23; Better than Curry; Comparable to Holiday (3.21)

Average Ranking for Flynn – 5.85 of 13

Average PG at 5’11.25" w/out shoes – 185 lbs. (11 lbs. less than Flynn); 6’2.5" avg. wingspan (1.5" less than Flynn); 7’11.1" avg. standing reach (.4" less than Flynn)

Physically Comparable NBA Point Guards –

Raymond Felton – 6’0.25" HT; 199 lbs.; 6’4.25" Wingspan; 8’2" Reach; 33.5" Max. Vert.
Jameer Nelson – 6’0.25" HT; 199 lbs.; 6’2.5" Wingspan; 7’11" Reach; 33.5" Max Vert.
Aaron Brooks – 5’11.75" HT; 161 lbs.; 6’4" Wingspan; 7’10" Reach; 39.5 Max Vert.
Earl Watson – 6’1.25" HT; 184 lbs.; 6’6.75" Wingspan; 8’1" Reach; 37.5 Max Vert.

(Most comparable physically in this draft are probably Ty Lawson and Patrick Mills, but neither can jump like Flynn)

Flynn didn’t perform as well as one would probably think in the agility and speed categories calculated in Chicago.  His sprint time in particular was comparable to A.J. Price (3.22) who had about twice Flynn’s percentage of body fat (12.4%).  Perhaps he would qualify as more quick than fast?  Where Flynn really stood out, however, was in his leaping ability.  His 40" maximum vertical matched Derrick Rose’s last year and was almost as high as Brandon Roy and Mike Conley Jr. (40.5").  Flynn’s no step vertical was easily the best of the recorded PG’s as well. 

Overall in terms of comparisons, I’d argue that his physique most closely resembles both Raymond Felton and Jameer Nelson (who had 6.7% body fat in 2003 and was outperformed by Flynn on the bench press) but with even better hops than Aaron Brooks.  I’m going to avoid the physical comparison to Watson simply because the other associations are more intriguing from the Kings’ perspective.  Another common comparison has been to Damon Stoudamire.  Also, one must take into consideration that Flynn is leaving Syracuse after his second season, whereas Felton and Nelson each spent three years in college respectively (Brooks played all four years at Oregon).  Flynn is only 20 – a year younger than Donte Greene, and younger than Lawson, Curry, Teague and Mills.

If you followed Flynn at all the past two NCAA seasons you’d recognize his ability to penetrate and finish.  His overall FG% reflects that at 46% despite only shooting 32% from 3 this past season.  Summed up, Flynn has an explosive first step and is solid at changing gears, hesitating and getting to the free throw line where he is was a reliable 79% as a sophomore.  Flynn also possesses good lateral quickness with a low center of gravity to potentially become an excellent perimeter defender.  I say "potentially" because he still has quite a bit to improve on (as does Greene) still coming from Syracuse.

Flynn can dominate the ball at times offensively, as has been argued about Jennings also, and often gets into trouble trying to force passes while penetrating the lane out-of-control.  Other than that however, the main claims against Flynn are that he is an inconsistent perimeter shooter and that his size makes it difficult to fight through screens.  There’s not much Flynn can do about his size, but as far as shooting and making smart decisions as a passer, Flynn has proven coachable and has been praised for having a strong desire to work with his coaches and improve.  He has also been commended as a leader that will earn the respect of his teammates.

Personally, Flynn has grown on me since March when I wrote this.  Of course, that was when I thought he might be available at No. 23.  So much for that.  Still, this isn’t a callout for the Kings to select Flynn at No. 4 either.  From the data available I am confident Geoff Petrie will be able to make a highly knowledgeable decision as to which of these PG prospects will best help the franchise, whether that be Evans, Flynn, Holiday, Jennings or Rubio.

A few days before working out with the Kings on the 12th, Flynn was asked what type of situation he would consider "positive" when entering the NBA next season and he said, "There are a lot of them. You look at Sacramento, with Jason Thompson and Donte Greene, maybe it’s there. It looks like they might want a point guard who can push the ball and run the offense and score and defend. People say that’s a team that’s been losing, but I’m not afraid of all that. I’m a guy who likes to fix something, and take something that might be a little wrong right now and make it right. That’s appealing to me. So as long as I get into a situation that’s good, it doesn’t really concern me what the team is doing right now."

I like Flynn, and if he were to come to Sacramento there’d be plenty to help repair.

Related Links –

Chad Ford, ESPN – "Flynn’s Game Standing Tall"

Rusty Simmons, SF Chronicle – "Jennings, Flynn Audition for Warriors"

K.C. Johnson, Chicago Tribune – "Bulls like the Looks of Syracuse’s Jonny Flynn"

Flynn’s Facebook Page

Photo 1 via c2.api.ning.com
Photo 2 via www1.pictures.gi.zimbio.com