2021 NBA Draft profile: Tennessee guard/forward Keon Johnson

As the Indiana Pacers progress towards the 2021 NBA Draft, they will take a deep look at all of their options when they are set to make their selection. Tennessee’s Keon Johnson is one of the several prospects in the mix to land with the Pacers at the 13th overall pick.

Johnson spent one season at Tennessee where he flashed his freakish athleticism and NBA upside with the Volunteers. Could he be in play for the Pacers at 13th overall?

Keon Johnson is an intriguing option for the Indiana Pacers

The Pacers are in dire need of a wing or a guard in this draft that can develop into a starting-caliber player with star potential. Obviously, that is always the goal in the NBA Draft, and picking this late makes that task a little more challenging, but the 13th pick does have a pretty exciting history.

Mock drafts have typically placed Moses Moody or Josh Giddey with the Pacers at this spot and for good reason. Moody is the best wing available in most circumstances for Indiana and his potential on both ends is exactly what the Pacers are searching for in this class.

Giddey, a promising young point guard, is a player they could mold into the primary ball-handler of the future while using him off the bench early in his career. Now, let’s take a look at an athletic guard with wing potential in Keon Johnson.

Johnson is one of the best athletes in this class with insane explosiveness and leaping ability. He set the NBA Combine record with a 48-inch vertical leap that he put on display quite often at Tennessee. The Pacers tried to replicate that athleticism with Cassius Stanley in the second round last season but Keon Johnson is a much better prospect than Stanley was at this stage.

His athleticism is most effective on the defensive end where Johnson recovers and gets his body in position to make the stop. He does a great job of reacting and getting his hands up in the face of a shooter or blocking shots at the rim with his otherworldly bounce.

Johnson also uses his quickness to get back in position to take a charge or alter the path of the ball-handler. When things go well, Johnson comes up with blocks or steals that lead to transition buckets, another area in which he excels.

His speed in the open floor and ability to score at the cup makes him a very good transition creator and finisher. To make things a bit more exciting, Johnson is not afraid to go up for the monster slam and embarrass his would-be defender.

Keon Johnson is going to make a name for himself as a cutting wing player with defensive upside and a high motor. He may not be the most effective scorer in the draft – and his shot selection is quite upsetting at times – but Johnson is remarkable near the rim.

He will bring rebounding to the perimeter given his ability to rise up above other guys and his length has led to some tough boards in the past. The Pacers struggled with rebounds last season and could really use someone with a knack for crashing the glass from the wing. Relying solely on Domantas Sabonis to do all of the rebounding work will not get the job done.

Shooting is going to be the biggest crutch for Johnson moving forward. He converted just 27.1 percent of his three-point attempts at Tennessee and just 70.3 percent of his free throws. While he can score inside and a little from the midrange, his perimeter jumper just is not there.

Indiana will do plenty of work on the wings in this class and Keon Johnson has to be in the mix as things stand right now. His projections are all over the place, probably in part to his lack of shooting upside from the perimeter. Can he still land in the lottery?