Getty Florida's Tre Mann drives to the basket.
The Warriors are lucky enough to have two lottery picks in this year’s NBA draft: Nos. 7 and 14. This, however, has also brought up the expectation that Golden State ends up including one of the picks in a trade package.
In the event that they keep both picks for themselves, the Warriors could have a chance at selecting Tre Mann: a point guard projected to go in the latter half of the first round who studies and wants to emulate Stephen Curry’s game.
“I watch Tre Young, Damian Lillard, Stephen Curry, Bradley Beal, Devin Booker — guys like that where I feel like they’re crafty,” Mann told Pacers.com in a post-workout interview. “They create their own shots and just have the same type of game that I have.”
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Mann’s Background
Mann comes to the NBA draft following two seasons at Florida. In his sophomore year, Mann led the Gators in scoring and minutes at 16.0 points and 32.4 minutes. He became the team’s best scorer by shooting efficiently, 45.9% from the field and 40.2% on 3-pointers. The guard also rebounded well for his position with 5.6 rebounds per game. He also averaged 3.5 assists per game.
Mann is listed at 6-foot-5 and 190 pounds on the Florida Athletics website. But, at the NBA Draft Combine, Mann came in at 6-feet, 3.25-inches tall without shoes, 6-feet, 4.25-inches with shoes and 177 pounds.
Mann’s Game
The Gators’ athletics site describes Mann as a “combo guard with range and the ability to facilitate.” Mann’s ability to play lead guard and off-the-ball will help make him more valuable in the league. But despite the mix of skills the 20-year-old has to offer, the main appeal of Mann’s game is his scoring ability, especially given his shooting efficiency.
Josh Shrock of NBC Sports Bay Area highlighted the versatility that Mann has to offer as a scorer:
Mann is a crafty scorer who has a wide array of offensive moves that include a soft floater, a deadly step back and a pull-up jumper that is lethal. He has a great handle and is a threat to score on all three levels off the pick-and-roll.
Klay Thompson is expected to return next season, but Mann’s scoring ability could be of use, especially as Thompson readjusts to the game. If he were to play alongside Curry, Mann could take pressure off of him both as a playmaker and a scorer. If he were to come off the bench, then Mann has the potential to provide a good boost of scoring.
His 3-point shooting could also be a plus for a Warriors team who, given Thompson’s absence last season, lacked long-range shooting beyond what Curry had to offer.
Mann’s Limitations
Mann has a thinner frame, which could make it difficult for him to go up against bigger NBA guards. He also needs to learn to take better care of the ball. At Florida, he had averaged 2.8 turnovers, posting a near 1-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Mann is also more of a scoring guard than a playmaking guard.
Adam Kester of Daily Knicks noted that the former Florida guard has a “great feel” in pick-and-roll sets but still needs improvement:
While he’s comfortable out of the pick-and-roll, Mann is still going to have to increase his processing speed at the NBA level. He is a nice passer with motion around him, but he’s going to have to work on his playmaking awareness and improvisation.
Mann did average 1.4 steals in his second season at Florida, so he’s a willing defender. But defense is still an area he has to work on. Kevin O’Connor at The Ringer described Mann as a defender who is “sloppy on closeouts and falls out of his stance on the ball.”
At 20 years old, Mann isn’t the youngest amongst draft prospects, but he’s young enough where he still has time to further develop and improve his game.
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