LSU Basketball's Javonte Smart, Darius Days Competing in Pre Draft G-League Elite Camp
For four former LSU Tigers, the next few weeks will provide critical intel to NBA organizations about their draft stock for the July 29 draft. It's already been out for a number of weeks but guard Cam Thomas and forward Trendon Watford will be at the NBA Combine, which tips off June 22-25.
There's another showcase for college prospects that is already underway in Chicago as the G League Elite Camp got started on Sunday with both Javonte Smart and Darius Days in attendance. It's very similar to the NBA Combine as Smart and Days will go through scrimmages, workouts and measurements for NBA clubs and continue to earn feedback on their stock.
Smart and Days are not found in many mock draft boards as it was expected that both would likely find their way to Summer League contracts after the draft to try and play their way on an NBA team. However, the early reports out of the G League Elite Camp are overwhelmingly positive for the former Tigers.
The junior guard Smart scored 11 points in the first scrimmage and drew praise from national NBA draft analysts Mike Schmitz and Jonathan Givony.
Givony pointed to the aggressiveness Smart showed early in the scrimmage, a trait that's been a key part of his game since his high school days. Always viewed as more of a scoring guard who could get to the rim over his time at LSU, Smart really improved as a long distance shooter and playmaker in his final season with the program.
Days on the other hand dropped 10 points and grabbed six rebounds, showing off his three point range by connecting on 2-of-3 from long distance. A junior like Smart, Days was the only one of the four who declared for the draft but left his eligibility open to return to the LSU program.
This week will go a long way in making that decision as he gauges interest from interested teams. Days has all the makings of fitting into an NBA roster if he can continue to shoot the ball with consistency. He's always outworking other players on the floor for rebounds and is a decent enough interior defender after reshaping his body last summer to make it difficult on opposing players.
Ultimately the feedback he receives will dictate whether or not he stays in the draft, a decision that must be made by July 7. Days would obviously provide a huge boost to an LSU roster in need of returning veteran talent who's played in a ton of big games over his career in the SEC.
