Today's workout pits two popular late-round forward prospects against each other in GG Jackson and Noah Clowney. It's an interesting matchup for a number of reasons.

First, they are two of the youngest players in the draft and they built very similarly. Clowney did not get measured at the Combine so his numbers are unofficial, but both players are about 6'9/6'10 with 7'-ish wingspans.

Second, they've been matching up against each other for years. They are natives of South Carolina who played against each other in high school as well as college in the SEC. They're very familiar with each other's game and should know how to exploit the other's weaknesses.

Finally, it's an age-old matchup of offense vs. defense. While they're built similarly, their games are on opposite ends of the spectrum. GG Jackson is about scoring and little else. His draft stock is all about his ability to create his own shot and his potential to be a scoring wing in the mold of ā€“ dare I say it? ā€“ Carmelo Anthony. Clowney, on the other hand, is all about the dirty work. He's the classic glue guy who does all the little things that lead to winning, like defending multiple positions and eating up rebounds. Think Herb Jones or Kevon Looney.

GG Jackson

You may be saying to yourself, "Wait a minute, you compared GG Jackson to Carmelo Anthony...why are we talking about him as a potential late round pick?"

Glad you asked. Any evaluation of GG has to start with his age. He was the top high school recruit for the class of '23 before reclassifying up a year and enrolling at South Carolina. If he were born two weeks later he wouldn't be eligible for this draft.

On the one hand his age is relevant because it suggests that he has a lot of untapped potential. On the other, it has to be mentioned because he displayed a great deal of immaturity last season. He openly pouted when his teammates took shots at the end of games and even went on social media to complain about his usage. For a team that prioritizes culture as much as the Pacers, that is going to be a serious mark against GG.

The other, more important, reason that GG is not being talked about as a top prospect in the draft is that he was extremely inefficient.

Even so, it's easy to think that he's being undervalued. As you can infer from his high usage rate, South Carolina was a bad team and they relied on the youngest freshman in the country to carry the team offensively. As a result, his shot quality was poor and it would be reasonable to think that he'll be more efficient playing in a better defined role.

Although the poor shot quality tanked his efficiency numbers, it actually helps him in a roundabout way. When you watch his tape, GG makes all kinds of tough shots. It's why I compared him to Melo earlier. He has the size, footwork, and touch to simply score over people from all three levels.

Moreover, he's a good ball handler for his size. He shot 60% at the rim despite 62.7% of his looks being unassisted, which suggests that he has the ability to take defenders off the dribble and finish at the bucket.

I was going to clip a bunch of examples of his offensive upside but just watch the entire first section of Adam Spinella's video and try not to get carried away envisioning what he could become.

If you made it to the defense portion of the video, you know it's not pretty. He was completely unengaged on that side of the ball. With his combination of size and fluidity, it's possible that he could turn into a passable defender. But, like everything with GG, it comes down to mentality. If he has the will to lock in and dedicate himself to improving, he could be one of the best players in this draft. If not, he'll max out as a good stats, bad team type of player.

Noah Clowney

Clowney has nowhere near the upside of GG, but he still represents one of the most coveted archetypes in the league. He's a high effort big with 3-and-D potential.

His best trait is his motor. He's one of those energizer bunny types who pursues every rebound, loose ball, and always sprints in transition. He'll compete until the whistle and contest whatever he can at the rim. Sometimes that leads to impressive blocks, other times that leads to him getting dunked on. Either way, he's not going to make it easy on the other team.

Defensively he has good length and mobility. That combined with his effort makes him a plus defender. While he's shown the ability to slide around on the perimeter, I wouldn't call it a strength just yet. He got beat by faster players a decent amount and will have to work on sitting lower in his stance.

Offensively, he scored mostly off of hustle plays and cuts. He shot well enough around the rim to see upside as a roller, which would be a nice role for him since he doesn't possess self creation ability.

He also has some upside as a three point shooter. Though he shot a paltry 28%, his mechanics are fluid. He took over three three-pointers a game, which suggests that he's comfortable spotting up. As I mention in just about every forward profile, Clowney's fit on the Pacers hinges largely on whether or not he becomes consistent from deep. If he does, he becomes someone who can play next to Turner and help with defense and rebounding. If not, he'll struggle to get minutes in a crowded big man rotation.

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