2016 Houston Rockets Draft Prospect Series: Paul Zipser

The 2016 NBA Draft will take place on Thursday June 23rd with the Houston Rockets selecting 37th and 43rd. While the Rockets are without a first round pick given GM Daryl Morey’s tendency to orchestrate trades it would be unwise to count him out of making a deal to move up. With that Space City Scoop is featuring a Draft Prospect Series covering 60 of the top ranked prospects. Next up is Paul Zipser

Draft Prospect:

Specifics:

Height: 6’8 “
Weight: 222 lbs
Country: Germany, Heidelberg
Position: Small Forward
Age: 22
Wingspan: 6’11.5″
College or Pro League: Bayern Muenchen – International
Stat line: 59 Games, 6.9 Points Per Game, 3.6 Rebounds Per Game, 1.4 Assists Per Game

Current Rank:

Please note, the rankings below come from the most up to date versions as the time of writing. That said not all the mock drafts provide second round ranks or updates often only extend to the end of the first round.

Therefore, if you check a ranking and note the number has changed it’s likely due to updates and a shift in the rankings.

Draft Express: 32

NBA Scott Howard Cooper: 38

The Skills:

As the Euro Camp Zipser made an impression to all in attendance. He excelled in both day and night portions of the day. Draft Express highlights his stand out performance:

Zipser attacked the paint relentlessly off the dribble both off closeouts and isolation situations, showing an excellent first step and the ability to finish explosively above the rim. On the perimeter, he knocked down numerous open 3-point shots, mainly of the catch and shoot variety, but also showed the ability to hit a pull-up jumper in the mid-range area, which isn’t normally a major strength of his game.

Defensively, he guarded multiple positions in his no-nonense fashion, mostly operating at the power forward position, using his strong frame, but showing nice versatility switching onto players big and small all over the floor.
Zipser made a strong case for himself to be considered the best prospect at this camp, and is at the very least the most “ready” to play the role he would be asked to in the NBA, as a 3’n’D combo forward.

He looked excellent from a physical perspective, with good size, long arms, big hands and a strong body, which should allow him to play the power forward position without any real issues. His stroke is reliable when given time and space, and he is a versatile defender who is attentive and fundamentally sound.

Weaknesses:

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Although he impressed in Euro Camp questions remain regarding how much offense he can create for his teammates given this was a 2 day camp and he was limited to 18 minutes a game with his Euro team due to the talent on it.

Furthermore the team played the small forward almost exclusively at the power forward which leads to questions regarding how well he can guard his own position.

His propensity to be streaky shooting was another area the scouts were likely dialed in to watch during his individual workouts with teams.

This will be magnified in the NBA because of his slow release so he’ll need to work on those mechanics and a quicker release especially if he is to be guarded by other quick small forwards.

Honors and Awards:

As per Wikipedia:

The Fit:

Zipser will likely be selected prior to the Rockets first pick. With Trevor Ariza seemingly being a cookie cutter type to fit D’Antoni’s system having someone like Zipser to come off the bench would be ideal.

If he falls to the Rockets they should give serious consideration to the German.

Next: Draft Prospect Guerschon Yabusele

Next: Draft Prospect Chinanu Onuaku

Next: Draft Prospect Demetrius Jackson

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