2012 NBA Draft: John Jenkins.

(This is the second part of a series highlighting potential targets for the Grizzlies at pick #25 in the 2012 NBA Draft. The other part of the series can be found here: Marquis Teague.)

We have a slight problem.

I was really excited about this space over the next few weeks and breaking down 10-12 prospects, pretty much the potential guys that may interest Memphis in the draft.

My favorite prospect has been Marquis Teague and the first mock draft I read had the Grizzlies taking him, so I wrote about him. I never questioned it because all of these mock drafts seem to change drastically between the sites… except in this case. The three mock draft sites I read and trust all had the Grizzlies taking Teague. No fun.

So, in the event that he’s gone before #25, the Grizzlies need to have a contingency plan in place. If Teague is gone, then the Grizzlies should take John Jenkins of Vanderbilt.

Jenkins was a junior that is a world-class jump shooter and produced every year in college against some pretty competitive SEC teams. In my opinion, he’s like a rich man’s Daequan Cook, and Cook is the designated shooter for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

If Jenkins could model his game based on Cook, then he will be a very good pro player and he would fill a need if he did land in Memphis.

The Grizzlies were near the bottom of the league in three-pointers made again this season as O.J. Mayo shot a high percentage, but Mike Conley Jr. and Rudy Gay’s averages went down as a unit. Quincy Pondexter gave the Grizzlies a lift, and a line-up with Pondexter and Jenkins in it would really be able to stretch the floor and let Memphis’ post players to roam free.

Jenkins also utilizes screen very well as he struggles to create his own shot sometimes, giving him something in common with most guys on the existing Grizzlies roster.

Jenkins is slated to go late in the first round, so it’s entirely possible that the Grizzlies could draft him there, depending on what they do about the back-up point guard position.

Personally, if Teague and Jenkins were both on the board at #25, I’d want Memphis to pull the trigger on Teague, as I believe that he has starting point guard ability down the line and could take Mike Conley’s place, where Jenkins will probably always be a role player.

That said, Jenkins would make the Grizzlies more interesting quicker than Teague as he would replace Mayo’s bench scoring and upgrade their three point shooting in a major way as he would automatically become the best three-point shooter on the team. It’s unclear how good he would be defensively in the NBA, but you can hide one squeaky wheel as long as you have a good defensive scheme.