I've done a few more evaluations of the following players:
Bismack Biyombo just looks like a defensive freak of nature right now, at only 18 years old. He goes after every shot around him and his ability to make defensive plays is in the top three in this draft; he's also a very good rebounder. He produces at a high level overseas too, so I think his ability to rebound and block shots is very sustainable--I don't think he has much bust potential defensively at all, and that just ups the intrigue as teams try to build around elite defensive anchors. However, at 6'9" 240 he doesn't have quite the ideal build to play taller PFs or Cs in this league, but I think he can produce like Serge Ibaka on this end of the floor. On the offensive side he's just a wreck right now; he has zero shooting ability and zero ballhandling ability, and while he might never become good on this end, he should be quite better in the NBA because he's shown a large ability to draw fouls. His game is all athleticism at this stage of the game, but he has enough skill/productivity so that he probably won't go the way of say, Hasheem Thabeet or Saer Sene (both of whom are taller but also more unskilled). Given his lack of great height and lack of skills offensively (which the team that drafts him will need to account him), I'm not seeing super star player, but the upside could be a defensive version of Serge Ibaka (I'm not sure if he can be as good as Ibaka overall, and Ibaka is underrated). In a weak draft of defensive players he'd probably go in the mid lottery regardless of the fact that he came so late in the draft.
Euro counterpart Giorgi Shermadini also looks like a very bad offensive player with zero handles/court vision at this stage, but over time he can actually make a surprise impact on this end in the NBA--he's a respectable enough shooter and can draw fouls quite well. He's also good at making defensive plays, but has a nagging tendency to get into foul trouble. For someone his height and weight (7'1" 248), he's also a super bad rebounder. He actually has little bust potential, but he only has one surefire thing that will translate to the NBA--contesting shots, although I do think he can be an OK offensive contributor eventually (but it's just potential at this stage). Size never goes out of style in the NBA, but there have been many Euro mammoths that have flamed out, and Shermadini has enough flaws--having little rebounding, zero vision and foul problems--that he can easily irk many of his coaches which will prevent a lack of playing time. The upside, and it's a stretch, is probably Steven Hunter, and that's not saying much at all.
Shifting back to American players, Ben Hansbrough (Psycho T's bro) unfortunately looks like a significantly better college player than a NBA player. It's unfortunate, because he's got a large swath of skills offensively--he's a very good scorer and a good shooter, and his offense may actually look better in the NBA as he can draw fouls and shoot from deep quite consistently. On top of that, he's highly unselfish and has essentially pure PG skills, and his very good scoring/passing package at 6'3" 200 makes him look like an optimal PG in this league. The problem is he appears to be somewhat raw around the edges, and there's actually quite a bit of bust potential with him--his offensive construct should look better, but his lack of college competition might also hold him back. At the end, I think he'll split the difference and become a Beno Udrih-type offensively (as the upside). Defensively, like Udrih, he just lacks the athleticism to compete--he's bottom ten in making defensive plays and also struggles to board badly, and he might be investing his energy on the offensive side of the court as he rarely fouls. He'll need to be hidden on this end. Overall, his game is interesting on the offensive side of the court but there's some real skepticism--he'll probably be a 35-40s 2nd round flyer, as said, with a Beno Udrih type upside.
Nikola Vucevic is also a real mixed case, and I really think he's a way better player in college than in the NBA offensively. He can shoot the ball which is an asset at 6'10", but his offensive construct is incredibly mechanical which doesn't bode well for him at the league at all. Unlike most shooters, however, he also appears to be a excellent rebounder, which is a bit surprising. The shooting and rebounding with the height appear to be facade selling points for him; his offense should suffer drastically in the league and he has slight bust potential, so he might not reach his rebounding upside (he might merely be an slightly above average rebounder at the end). He doesn't have any truly severe weaknesses, but quite a bit of his game might not translate to the league, so he's probably a 45-60 pick in the 2nd. He's a zero upside player and he just might not be good enough for the league.
Ashton Gibbs follows the long line of undersized shooters attempting to make it to the league. Gibbs' game is utterly predictable--he can really really shoot the basketball, and all he does is shoot threes--and thus his offensive potential for the league is very high, since he knows his role and teams can always use certified three point shooting. At the same token, however, he might not be as good as advertised either--based on his body of work, there's some bust potential which might lower his shooting effectiveness in the league. He essentially won't contribute elsewhere--at 6'2" Gibbs passes the ball like a shooting guard, and he's massively overmatched as an athlete--he held the distinction of being the worst draftee in making defensive plays (out of 109 players), and he's also 3rd from the bottom in rebounding. Like Doron Lamb, his lack of contributions on the non-offensive side is really his bane and would put a severe cap in his minutes, and while his shooting appears very good there's some skepticism whether he can succeed in that role. He's a 1-D player with slight bust potential in that role, and the fact that he's undersized gives him a high chance to be undrafted when all's said and done.
Greg Smith out of Fresno State appears to be decent at making defensive plays, but he's a bit foul prone as well. He's also got surprisingly decent court vision for a 6'10" 250 C as well. But that's pretty much the extent of it, and even these skills might not translate because he's not significant bust potential, primarily stemming from his bad competition. Smith's offense is terrible and will look even worse in the NBA, as he has zero shooting ability and his offensive construct is a bit mechanical. He's also a very bad rebounder for a big man. He's a limited upside player, but he should've stayed in college in the off chance that he could improve his stock. He has no certified NBA skill and a slew of weaknesses in offense/rebounding, so he's very likely to be undrafted.
Finally, Isaiah Thomas can be a good scorer in this league (should be better than in college) because he diversifies his shot selection, but he's a very middling shooter and there's some bust potential based on his college body of work so he'll probably just be a typical scorer-type in the league. Thomas actually can pass the ball quite well, and he has decent PG skills, which helps given how small he is at 5'8". Thomas is just overmatched defensively and struggles to board, but more surprising is that with his speed he makes very few defensive plays, which is really unfortunate. He rarely fouls and appears to conserve his energy for offense. Personally, I hate sub-6 feet guards who can't shoot the ball well, so I have a hard time believing that Thomas can succeed in the league--he's a scorer/passer hybrid who does them well at the college level, but there's slight bust potential with respect to that, and on defense he's severely undersized, overmatched and there might be motivation problems as well. He's far from athletic par with Nate Robinson and doesn't even shoot the ball as well as Nate Rob--at the end, he'll probably be a 52-undrafted pick.
Bismack Biyombo just looks like a defensive freak of nature right now, at only 18 years old. He goes after every shot around him and his ability to make defensive plays is in the top three in this draft; he's also a very good rebounder. He produces at a high level overseas too, so I think his ability to rebound and block shots is very sustainable--I don't think he has much bust potential defensively at all, and that just ups the intrigue as teams try to build around elite defensive anchors. However, at 6'9" 240 he doesn't have quite the ideal build to play taller PFs or Cs in this league, but I think he can produce like Serge Ibaka on this end of the floor. On the offensive side he's just a wreck right now; he has zero shooting ability and zero ballhandling ability, and while he might never become good on this end, he should be quite better in the NBA because he's shown a large ability to draw fouls. His game is all athleticism at this stage of the game, but he has enough skill/productivity so that he probably won't go the way of say, Hasheem Thabeet or Saer Sene (both of whom are taller but also more unskilled). Given his lack of great height and lack of skills offensively (which the team that drafts him will need to account him), I'm not seeing super star player, but the upside could be a defensive version of Serge Ibaka (I'm not sure if he can be as good as Ibaka overall, and Ibaka is underrated). In a weak draft of defensive players he'd probably go in the mid lottery regardless of the fact that he came so late in the draft.
Euro counterpart Giorgi Shermadini also looks like a very bad offensive player with zero handles/court vision at this stage, but over time he can actually make a surprise impact on this end in the NBA--he's a respectable enough shooter and can draw fouls quite well. He's also good at making defensive plays, but has a nagging tendency to get into foul trouble. For someone his height and weight (7'1" 248), he's also a super bad rebounder. He actually has little bust potential, but he only has one surefire thing that will translate to the NBA--contesting shots, although I do think he can be an OK offensive contributor eventually (but it's just potential at this stage). Size never goes out of style in the NBA, but there have been many Euro mammoths that have flamed out, and Shermadini has enough flaws--having little rebounding, zero vision and foul problems--that he can easily irk many of his coaches which will prevent a lack of playing time. The upside, and it's a stretch, is probably Steven Hunter, and that's not saying much at all.
Shifting back to American players, Ben Hansbrough (Psycho T's bro) unfortunately looks like a significantly better college player than a NBA player. It's unfortunate, because he's got a large swath of skills offensively--he's a very good scorer and a good shooter, and his offense may actually look better in the NBA as he can draw fouls and shoot from deep quite consistently. On top of that, he's highly unselfish and has essentially pure PG skills, and his very good scoring/passing package at 6'3" 200 makes him look like an optimal PG in this league. The problem is he appears to be somewhat raw around the edges, and there's actually quite a bit of bust potential with him--his offensive construct should look better, but his lack of college competition might also hold him back. At the end, I think he'll split the difference and become a Beno Udrih-type offensively (as the upside). Defensively, like Udrih, he just lacks the athleticism to compete--he's bottom ten in making defensive plays and also struggles to board badly, and he might be investing his energy on the offensive side of the court as he rarely fouls. He'll need to be hidden on this end. Overall, his game is interesting on the offensive side of the court but there's some real skepticism--he'll probably be a 35-40s 2nd round flyer, as said, with a Beno Udrih type upside.
Nikola Vucevic is also a real mixed case, and I really think he's a way better player in college than in the NBA offensively. He can shoot the ball which is an asset at 6'10", but his offensive construct is incredibly mechanical which doesn't bode well for him at the league at all. Unlike most shooters, however, he also appears to be a excellent rebounder, which is a bit surprising. The shooting and rebounding with the height appear to be facade selling points for him; his offense should suffer drastically in the league and he has slight bust potential, so he might not reach his rebounding upside (he might merely be an slightly above average rebounder at the end). He doesn't have any truly severe weaknesses, but quite a bit of his game might not translate to the league, so he's probably a 45-60 pick in the 2nd. He's a zero upside player and he just might not be good enough for the league.
Ashton Gibbs follows the long line of undersized shooters attempting to make it to the league. Gibbs' game is utterly predictable--he can really really shoot the basketball, and all he does is shoot threes--and thus his offensive potential for the league is very high, since he knows his role and teams can always use certified three point shooting. At the same token, however, he might not be as good as advertised either--based on his body of work, there's some bust potential which might lower his shooting effectiveness in the league. He essentially won't contribute elsewhere--at 6'2" Gibbs passes the ball like a shooting guard, and he's massively overmatched as an athlete--he held the distinction of being the worst draftee in making defensive plays (out of 109 players), and he's also 3rd from the bottom in rebounding. Like Doron Lamb, his lack of contributions on the non-offensive side is really his bane and would put a severe cap in his minutes, and while his shooting appears very good there's some skepticism whether he can succeed in that role. He's a 1-D player with slight bust potential in that role, and the fact that he's undersized gives him a high chance to be undrafted when all's said and done.
Greg Smith out of Fresno State appears to be decent at making defensive plays, but he's a bit foul prone as well. He's also got surprisingly decent court vision for a 6'10" 250 C as well. But that's pretty much the extent of it, and even these skills might not translate because he's not significant bust potential, primarily stemming from his bad competition. Smith's offense is terrible and will look even worse in the NBA, as he has zero shooting ability and his offensive construct is a bit mechanical. He's also a very bad rebounder for a big man. He's a limited upside player, but he should've stayed in college in the off chance that he could improve his stock. He has no certified NBA skill and a slew of weaknesses in offense/rebounding, so he's very likely to be undrafted.
Finally, Isaiah Thomas can be a good scorer in this league (should be better than in college) because he diversifies his shot selection, but he's a very middling shooter and there's some bust potential based on his college body of work so he'll probably just be a typical scorer-type in the league. Thomas actually can pass the ball quite well, and he has decent PG skills, which helps given how small he is at 5'8". Thomas is just overmatched defensively and struggles to board, but more surprising is that with his speed he makes very few defensive plays, which is really unfortunate. He rarely fouls and appears to conserve his energy for offense. Personally, I hate sub-6 feet guards who can't shoot the ball well, so I have a hard time believing that Thomas can succeed in the league--he's a scorer/passer hybrid who does them well at the college level, but there's slight bust potential with respect to that, and on defense he's severely undersized, overmatched and there might be motivation problems as well. He's far from athletic par with Nate Robinson and doesn't even shoot the ball as well as Nate Rob--at the end, he'll probably be a 52-undrafted pick.
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