Milwaukee Bucks 2020 NBA Draft: Cassius Winston offers playmaking help

Milwaukee Bucks 2020 NBA Draft: Looking at Cassius Winston’s weaknesses

While Winston has fashioned a ready-made skill set that theoretically makes him an immediate contributor at the next level, he is not without his flaws as well.

It’s very easy to look Winston’s age (22 years old) and his development trajectory and label him as more of a finished product than a prospect who possesses upside. That’s certainly affected Winston’s draft stock to the point where he’s largely viewed as a fringe first rounder at best.

Not only is Winston’s age and development big factors to consider, so are his size and athletic limitations. While Winston has solid physical tools like a reported 6’5″ wingspan, the Michigan native is undersized a 6’0″ and is far from a speedy or explosive player and does have some durability concerns as well, the latter of which could stem from his high-usage role.

For all those reasons, how Winston overcomes his physical and athletic deficiencies in the NBA stand among the biggest questions he has to answer, even as he has the requisite skills to lessen those concerns. How will his penetration abilities be affected by going up against NBA-caliber defenders and athletes? The same questions exist for how he’ll respond to potentially being targeted in high-pressure situations like during the playoffs or big regular season matchups.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with selecting with someone who has routinely proven himself as much as Winston and offers up a high floor, regardless of the questions that surround him. But it’s also fair to state that he comes with a defined ceiling for the reasons listed above.