With the draft just a few minutes away lets get to it. Here are some of the players that may or may not get drafted tonight that I think are going to make it in the NBA.

 

Aaron Craft

ESPN has Aaron Craft listed as the last ranked point guard. While I don’t think he is a point guard, I think he could get better at the position to help his stock but the thing that puts him on this list for me is his drive. He is one of those guys that is constantly around the ball and making plays when the game is on the line. He finds ways to win games even when it seems unlikely. This kid is going to be around several years down the road. His aggression will give him plenty of opportunity in the NBA for years to come.

Rodney Hood

At the very least Hood is going to be a guy off the bench that can come in and get hot. He also has a 6’9 frame that feels a bit bigger than his actual frame, but he isn’t as small as some people might think. He is athletic and should be able to be a nice 6th man off the bench for a contender.

Doug McDermott

If you are Dougy, you should do nothing but watch film from Adam Morrison and how he fizzled out. McDermott should at the very least be the heat check guy off the bench for a playoff team. Best case scenario he is a rich mans JJ Redick.

Cleanthony Early

Raise your hand if you wish your team had Kawhi Leonard. Maybe his ceiling is a poor man’s Kawhi, but that’s better than the rich man version of just about everyone else. He is an athletic freak that just needs to hone in on his basketball IQ and fine tune some of his skills. Early is going to go late in this draft and will end up making some team very very happy.

Shabazz Napier  

Shabazz is 100% going to make it in the NBA. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind he will be in this league in 2024. He is just one of those guys that has “it”. He is determined and always finds a way to overcome the most difficult of tasks. He will work as hard as it takes to make it and there is no failing for this Kemba Walker protege.

Marcus Smart

Where is all the point guard talk coming from? Marcus Smart has never played point guard in his life unless you consider playing “It’s my team, I’m going to be the one handling the rock and I won’t be passing this time down” a type of point guard. Sure he could form into a guy that is talented enough to run with the second team as the point guard but let’s stop fooling ourselves, he is a 2 guard. He might eventually be a great 2 guard. He has the drive to be good and I think he will figure it out… as long as people stop filling his head with point guard talk.

Dante Exum

I have almost nothing to go off of but word of mouth with this kid but his size is really enticing. While I have no idea if he is actually athletic or if he is just playing next to some geezers in Australia, but he could be one of those oversized guys that can handle the ball and play three positions. I don’t know if he is future MVP material or even the second best player on a championship team, but he should make for a good piece on a good team.

Andrew Wiggins

The Cavs are going to take him #1 because he fits their team better, meaning he is passive and doesn’t need to play with the ball in his hands. In other words they are talking themselves into taking a guy #1 despite pointing out all the reasons you should not take him #1. Since when is calling a guy passive and admitting he doesn’t need to play with the ball in his hands a good thing? Imagine if people boasted Lebron as a guy that didn’t need to have the ball in his hands before they took him #1. Do they still do it? The Cavs always make the wrong choices and it’s a damn shame but Dan Gilbert should just sell already and stop stringing his fans along.

Julius Randle

This kid just has the motor to be a 10 time All-Star. Think about if Paul Millsap had a bigger drive and a better publicist. Randle is just too determined to not be able to figure it out. The worst case scenario here is you get a guy that is going to give more effort than anyone else in this draft.

Joel Embiid

Sure there are a ton of question marks on the medical charts, but his potential is just too high not to include him. This isn’t Hasheem Thabeet, this is a guy that flows like a gazelle up and down the court albeit “when healthy”. Embiid has the potential to be much closer to Hakeem than Hasheem’s name is.

Jabari Parker

Here is the guy we will all look back on as the guy that should have gone #1. This kid is going to be a stud. Sure Wiggins fits better on the current Cavs team, but if you are picking #1 and your excuse for taking Wiggins is that he is passive on the offensive end and doesn’t need the ball in his hands… then why the fuck are you taking him #1? Parker is going to be a perennial All-Star and future Hall of Famer similar to the likes of Paul Pierce provided he can get his act together on the defensive end.

mlz

Thursday, June 26, 2014