There are a few intriguing guys that might be there in the 2nd round.
Out of curiousity, why has Willie Warren dropped to the 2nd round on nbadraft.net? I know they're not the most accurate, but has something happened with him? He'd be great value in the second round, although I'm not sure how high his ceiling is. I doubt he'll be there in the second and if he is, it won't be for long.
Another guy that I'd take a look at is Alexey Shved. In truth he probably needs a few more years before he will contribute but he could be a good player. He is a very big combo guard at around 6'7'' so if he panned out, there would be match-up nightmares all over the floor if you paired him with 'Reke. He's a unique prospect and I wouldn't mind taking a flyer on him at all.
Harangody. I really don't know. Very productive player and not afraid to throw his body around. Good rebounder and scorer. Limited potential but you just get the feeling that at the very least, he will make an impact in limited minutes with his energy and enthusiasm. I don't know if we have enough space on the team for an undersized PF who doesn't play defense but I'm sure he will be a solid pick for some team.
Then you have Brackins. Has good potential and would be a very good pick in the 2nd. Worth taking a flyer on. Will he last that long?
Varnado is an obvious choice. Not sure if he'll even be good enough to get rotation minutes as the couple times I've seen him he hasn't looked good. Still, he blocks shots and makes a good attempt on defense. Seems like a high energy guy and would fit in well on this roster. A tad small at 6'9'' and certainly not a center. But a guy that could earn his minutes at PF if he worked hard. He's an obvious choice for a team that is sorely lacking in defenseive presence although he would most definitely not be the teams saviour. Probably won't last deep into the second, if at all.
Pittman and Reynolds might be worth a look although I don't think there's space for either. We have enough guards and Pittman might not be much more than Brockman. Dyson's game reminds me of Ray Allens, though I wouldn't bet on him reaching those heights. Good shooter with pure form. Could be a decent spark plug in the future. Not too enthusiastic about the guys in this last paragraph although that is subject to change.
Lets start with Warren. He played his way right out of the starting lineup at Oklahoma. Thats how badly he played. He had trouble creating his own shot and as a result took a lot of bad shots. He found out that life after Blake Griffin wasn't so easy. Especially when the defense of the other team was focused on him. I think theres a better than even chance he returns to school to try and regain what he lost. One of those things by the way was his shot. He was just terrible this year. With no shot, he's just an average player.
As much as I love the competitive spirit of Harangody, he's an overachiever surpreme. I wouldn't go so far as to say that he can't play in the NBA, but I do think he's limited by his lack of height and his lack of athleticism. He is very skilled in the post, but my gut tells me that he's a guy that will struggle to find minutes in the NBA.
Brackins is someone I wouldn't mind taking a flyer on. He made a mistake returning to school as far as draft status goes. I think he would have been a first round choice last year. But in a year where there are so many big men available, he's been pushed down the board into the second round. The irony is that by returning, he's developed into a better all around player. I think he's someone that can make a team and earn some minutes.
Pittman is someone that I just love to death and at the same time he scares me to death. His future is like a blank road map. I have no idea how he's going to turn out in the future. I have my hopes for him, but he wouldn't be my first choice in the second round for a center. I would lean toward either Parakhouski or Jordan before Pittman. Jordan being a legit 7 footer whose athletic with long arms. He also has some post skills to go along. Its been his aggressiveness that I've questioned. Parakhouski is a skilled lost post center whose very strong, has very good hands and a soft touch around the basket. He's been a pretty good defender in his conference, and an outstanding rebounder. If you were to ask me who is the better player, Pittman or Parakhouski, I would say Parakhouski hands down. The only rub comes from the fact that Pittman played in a better conference. But looking at the sucess of Northern Iowa and St. Mary's, maybe not.
I like Varnado a lot. Other than the fact that he's 6'9" and not 7'1", I think he's someone that will definitely make a team and contribute serious minutes. If not immediately, then in a year or two. I mean come on. He's the all time NCAA shotblocker. You don't earn that title by accident. He may never become a starter, but I think he can be a player that comes off the bench and give you some good interior defense. Especially weakside defense.
I'm not a big fan of Scottie Reynolds. Very streaky shooter. He's really a SG in a PG's body. He's not that athletic. He's not a particularly good passer or ballhandler, and he's an absolutely terrible defender. I would draft Jimmy Fredette before him. Fredette shares some of the same faults, but is a much better shooter. He's a little bigger and much stronger. And while I would labet Fredette as more of a shooting guard also, at least he does have some playmaking skills.
I think the second round is where you take a flyer on someone that you think might be a help in a couple of years. Maybe even develop in a good enough basketball player to be a part of the regular rotation.
Some guys that I like are:
Kenneth Faried: 6'8" SF/PF. Will probably play SF in the NBA. A freak athlete in the Gerold Wallace class. Has a long way to go to be able to play on the perimiter in the NBA, but he might be worth the effort. Very explosive athlete.
Da'Sean Butler: 6'7" SF. A good athlete and scorer. Played a little at the PF position in college, but has enough SF skills to play in the NBA.
Jarvis Varnado: 6'9" PF. Enough said about him.
Manny Harris: 6'5" SG. Very good scorer that can really light it up at times. A good athlete and decent ballhandler. He's no Evan Turner, but in some other years he would be a first round pick.
Jerome Jordan: 7' C. Has all the tools to be a decent to good center in the NBA. Great size and has a great wingspan. Great frame that could easily carry more muscle. Has some decent low post skills and a little jumper that he seldom uses. How good he can become is all up to him. He tends to have a laid back manner that sometimes carries on to the court. He played with aggression in the tourney. If he can continue that, I think he'll be a decent player.
Arinze Onuaku: 6'10" C/PF. I don't know if he'll make it back to play before the tourney is over or not. He was playing his best basketball when he was injured. I see him as more of PF in the NBA, but he's certainly strong enough to play the center position. He's a decent athlete, but doesn't appear to have great hops, or even a great wingspan. I'll be curious to see his results at the combine. He's a good rebounder and has some low post skill.
Art Parakhouski: 6'11" C. Appears to be a decent to good athlete for the center position. Might lack lateral quickness. Has a decent wingspan and is very strong. Is very skilled around the basket and is a decent shotblocker in his conference. He's an outstanding rebounder. He has good hands and a soft touch. He's also a physical player in the post.
Charles Garcia: 6'10" PF. You love him one minute and you hate him the next. Very skilled big man. He can score inside and outside. He's a very good passer and he can handle the ball well for a big man. He tends to get too full of himself with his passing at times and makes stupid turnovers. He's a good athlete and is at times, a good rebounder. Sort of like when he thinks about it. He's still looking up the word defense in the dictionary. The concept eludes him. This is a guy that has the potential to be a lottery pick, but his brain gets in the way.. He would be a risky pick in the first round, but someone you might take a flyer on in the second.
Derrick Charactor: 6'9" PF. This is an interesting guy thats been flying under the radar this year. Most have forgotten who he was. This is the guy that was ranked right behind Greg Oden coming out of highschool. This is the guy that played against Oden in the Nike highschool game and took him to the cleaners. Charactor was one of the most skilled big men coming out of highschool. Then he went to Louisville and got himself in trouble with Pittino, and eventually the law. He then put himself back together and transfered to UTEP. He had to sit out a year, and this year re-emerged as a very good player. He's been a model student and teammate by all accounts. He seems to overcome his weight problems. This is a guy that might be worth taking a gamble on. He's loaded with talent and is still shaking off the rust of not playing for a year. He's a very skilled big man..
Last but not least, Keith Benson: 6'11" C. I don't know if he's going to throw his hat into the ring or not. But he's another of those tall skinny shotblockers. He helped get Oakland into the tourney and played very well in Oaklands loss. Another long term project, but one that could pay dividends down the road.
