Jean Montero, a 6’2” scoring machine from the Dominican Republic who played the last couple seasons for Gran Canaria in Spain and will be the face of the new Overtime Elite league which will feature highly regarded high school and international prospects.

 

To be totally honest, Montero doesn’t pass the eye test as he’s not a great athlete that wows you with his explosiveness or highlight reel dunks.

But what he lacks in ideal physical tools he makes up for it with his knack for putting the ball in the basket. He’s an impressive scorer that plays with great pace and is a creative shotmaker that cuts through defenses like a knife in warm butter.

 

I first saw Montero play in Chicago during the 2022 NBA All Star weekend at the Basketball without Borders camp and in my opinion he was the best player on the floor in a camp that featured Josh Giddey who ended up being the 6th pick in the 2021 NBA draft. 

 

In Chicago, Montero was able to get to the rim whenever he wanted due to his combination of craftiness, shifty ball handling, quick first step and soft touch around the rim.  

 

One of Montero’s best scoring attributes is his pull up jumper. I know the mid range shot is frowned upon and is considered an inefficient shot based on analytics, but I think it’s a good weapon to have especially if a player can score at the rim and from deep.  Throughout his career, Montero has been able to score from 3 levels with his pull up jumper accounting for a good percentage of his buckets. 

 

Last season nearly 44% of his possession in the half court were pull up jumpers off the dribble. On paper he wasn’t efficient and only shot 28% on pull ups, but I believe it’s something he’ll be more efficient at as he continues to develop his game. 

 

Montero is a promising outside shooter from deep that connected on 38.5% of his catch and shoot opportunities while playing for Grand Canaria’s B team last season. When left unguarded he knocked down a shade over 46% of his catch and shoot jumpers.

 

Since a large percentage of his jump shots were taken off the dribble, it impacted his percentage as he only shot 30% from 3 in Spain's 2nd division last season. 

 

However, the season before he shot 43% from beyond the arc, so those numbers on top of his good catch & shoot numbers gives you a decent a sample size of efficient shooting that shows his upside as a floor spacer.

 

Montero has the potential to be dynamic in the open floor, considering his penchant collecting steals and creating his own personal fast breaks with his defense. Nearly 20% of his possessions last season came in transition where he shot a respectable 55% from the floor. 

 

His percentage jumped to 60.5% from the field when he was the lead ball handler which was on 73% of his transition possessions. 

 

Montero turned the ball over on 18.5% of his transition possessions and for some odd reason only made 1 of 6 attempts from the left wing, but overall I’m high on his aptitude for scoring buckets in the open floor.

 

Over the past few years Montero’s scoring production in 2 different continents has made him a household name for draft junkies and scouts. But I personally believe his reputation as a scorer and shot creator has overshadowed his passing and court vision. 

 

I personally love confident passers that aren’t afraid to take risks. There’s game managers and there are playmakers. I think Montero can develop into an NBA level playmaker in the very near future and he’s shown flashes that he can make advanced reads.

 

He does a good job of locating teammates who are streaking to the basket, especially when he’s breaking defenses down with dribble penetration and hitting cutters as the defenses rotates to stop his drives. He’s also shown he’s capable of firing cross skip passes from different angles through the teeth of the defense to cutting teammates for easy buckets. 

 

His scoring opens up passing opportunities which should in return creates open looks for shooters.

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Overall, I believe Montero could be a mid first round to late lottery pick in the 2022 NBA draft. However, I do have some questions about the Overtime Elite league and if it will help or hurt his draft stock. 

 

Rafael Barlowe - October 19, 2021

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