Tony Carr’s Best NBA Team Fits
Now that former Penn State basketball point guard Tony Carr has declared for the 2018 NBA Draft, it’s time to start looking at which teams might be the most interested in selecting the Philadelphia native this year.
The 6’5″, 205-pound floor general can score from anywhere, and his length and athleticism give Carr a lot of room to grow as a defender once he’s in the league. He won’t be taking 20 shots per game at this level, so his ability to pass the ball and rebound with his larger-than-average size gives Carr a leg up on other point guards in this draft like Villanova’s Jalen Brunson, UCLA’s Aaron Holiday, and France’s Elie Okobo — all three of whom are point guards listed close to Carr in many recent mock drafts.
Most of these mock drafts have Carr as a late first-round or early second-round prospect. Keeping that in mind, we took a look at where Carr might fit best.
Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks have three first-round picks in this draft and an early second-round pick, and they need all the help they can get. Beyond Dennis Schröder, the rest of Atlanta’s guards are filled with a bunch of no-name guys or role players that have yet to truly assert themselves in the rotation. Not to mention, Schröder struggles to defend the larger, stronger point guards he faces at just 6’1″.
Atlanta has a few budding stars already in the frontcourt with wingman Taurean Prince, power forwards John Collins and Mike Muscala, and center Dewayne Dedmon. With three of their four draft picks likely falling in the pick No. 20-35 range, the Hawks would be smart to add Carr to their developing young roster.
Golden State Warriors
This is a dream scenario for any prospect coming out of college, but imagine being able to learn offensively from Steph Curry and defensively from Klay Thompson. With Shaun Livingston starting to show his age and Pat McCaw unable to become a consistent ball-handler, the Warriors have a wide-open spot at the back-up point guard position.
Cue Tony Carr, a scorer Steve Kerr will love to work with and a lengthy defender who will bring improved perimeter defense over Curry when he’s on the floor for Golden State. A developing backcourt of Carr at the ‘1’ and McCaw at the ‘2’ might not end up becoming the next Splash Brothers duo, like Curry and Thompson, but the former Nittany Lion star would be a great fit for the Warriors.
Orlando Magic
This fit depends a lot on how the Magic decide to use their first pick, which is projected to end up as a top-5 selection. If Orlando skips over a point guard and goes with a center like Mo Bamba, it would still need to address the point guard spot with its second-round pick.
With a solid young cast of players including forwards Aaron Gordon, Bismarck Biyombo, Jonathan Isaac, and Mario Hezonja, Orlando desperately needs an upgrade in the backcourt. The point guard combination of D.J. Augustin and Shelvin Mack doesn’t sound like it’ll bring serious success anytime soon, and Carr should prove to be a better scorer than Mack and a better defender with Augustin almost from the start.
The Magic are built a lot like the Nittany Lions, too, as Isaac, Biyombo, and Gordon are no strangers to flying above the rim just like Josh Reaves, Lamar Stevens, and Mike Watkins did all season. Carr can be a legitimate contributor for this team immediately as a rookie, and could do a lot of damage in the weaker Eastern Conference.
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