Despite the lack of high-end talent in this draft class, the overall strategy revolving positions on draft night won’t be a surprise. Unless a post player is of transcendent talent or projects to be a franchise cornerstone, it’s hard to see him getting drafted until late in the first round. During the last two years,…
Every year, a couple of late-first or second-round NBA Draft picks outperform their selection spots. Syracuse wing Elijah Hughes has a chance to become one of those overachievers next season. Armed with ample skills and solid physical tools, he could even earn a role as a scoring threat. After posting 19.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and…
We all know the phrase: high risk, high reward. Like many aspects in real life, there are decisions that an NBA general manager can make to live on the wild side. They’ll swing for the fences on a prospect with tantalizing upside and clear, plausible downside. These prospects are polarizing and likely have a wide…
In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen and Bryan Toporek take a mulligan on the 2014 NBA draft class. Who goes No. 1 overall, Nikola Jokic or Joel Embiid? Where do the likes of Zach LaVine, Aaron Gordon and Marcus Smart wind up? How far does Andrew Wiggins fall? Which real-life second-round picks…
Statistics can be a useful tool to evaluate NBA Draft prospects if they’re used in the right context and supported by adequate eye-test footage. However, many casual fans, media and even executives can get fooled due to factors like small sample size, team context and player development potential. Not all college hoops stats are proportionate…
Over the last three weeks, I’ve watched about 15 NBL games in preparation for the 2020 NBA Draft. Two top prospects, LaMelo Ball and RJ Hampton, moved across the world to play there and prepare themselves for next year. While they spurned the typical college process, very little about their seasons and experiences were similar.…
Earlier this spring, I wrote a piece on Tyrese Maxey as a draft prospect, focusing on his lack of 3-point shooting as a reason for my pessimism when considering him as a future NBA player. The article was framed through the lens of my bias towards shooters. From there, several conversations about bias have come…
Fran Fraschilla has been a staple of ESPN’s basketball coverage at all levels for the past 18 years. What began as a “be the international draft guy” assignment for the former college coach has turned into a multi-faceted and modern approach to covering all things NBA draft. Fran sat down with TBW’s Ray LeBov to…
Looking to join Orlando Magic forward Johnathan Isaac and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Malik Beasley as the only “one-and-done” prospects in Florida State program history, Patrick Williams has the kind of raw athleticism and youth that could potentially make him one of the greatest Seminoles to ever reach the NBA. Coming out of West Charlotte High School,…
Front offices long to find sleepers in the NBA Draft. Teams often overlook them because said players lack ideal size, don’t play meaningful games against the right competition and/or have a limited offensive repertoire. Smart scouts and general managers look past ideals and notice key traits such as how athleticism, basketball IQ, tools and marked…
