Steals of the draft
Hassan Whiteside, by far is the biggest steal in the draft. Hasheem Thabeet last year was the 2nd pick overall, and Whiteside is already more advance than Thabeet is and is just as dominant defensively, and the Kings got him in 2nd round.
I heard whiteside is a little bit of a headcase though. hes gets upset when he gets pushed around in the paint, he commits stupid fouls, and he has a little bit of an atitude. in a few years he will have hopefully gained a bit more weight and grown out of his immature stage
JAMES ANDERSON was the biggest steal. He'll prove to be the best scoring SG in this draft. Just watch. The Bucks will be kicking themselves for letting him slide to the Spurs for Larry Sanders. They should've simply picked Anderson and picked Jarvis Varnado in the 2nd round since they liked Sanders so much lol....
Also, Lance Stephenson will prove to be a big steal too for Indiana.
I would agree anderson is a huge steal for the Spurs. But I disagree bout the bucks. Skiles is a defensive coach and landers can play some d. I mean he is big quick and jumps. When you watch him play..... Its dear esque. Hahaha jp. But I feel they now have a really good defensive front court going ahead with Bogut, Sanders Ilysova and Mbah a Moute of the bench.
But ya anderson is a steal, and maybe if he develops fully a steal could be paul george...
PhxSuns6, based on last season I would agree with you. However, I don't think we saw the real Ed Davis. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't he listed as a top 5 draftee before he was injured?
Now if you want a solid role player, watch Luke Harangody in Boston. I said all along that Harangody should have gone very early in the 2nd round. He dominated the Big East for 2 years and I predict he will become a valuable player off the bench, giving Boston a good 12-18 minutes per game.
downtown73, I would love to see Da Sean Butler come back from that serious injury. He is such a leader and character type of guy who knows how to make his teammates better.. However, when a player has major knee injury, you always have to ask if he can come back and be the same guy.
You are right that Ed Davis was a very high draftee before his injury. Now, if he does come back and play like the real ed davis, then maybe he can become a good pro. also, i agree 100% with you on luke harangody. I can see him going out there and providing good minutes for the celtics when perk (if hes still with them come the beginning of the year) needs some rest. remember he can score too, as he averaged 21.8 points per game and 9.1 boards. so yea i see harangody as a great potential steal.
i agree with the caracter pick. he'll be a definite steal, this guy has a little "lamar odom in big baby's body" type of talent. i think he will end up being one of the bigger contibutors this season(if he makes the lakers team) since the lakers are trying to trade odom.(allegedly)
Ed Davis stock was on the decline before his injury. He was talked about as a top 5 pick before the season and people realized that was absurd. Then he was discussed slightly more reasonably as a late lotto pick, and that's exactly what he was...a late lotto pick. Nobody had Ed Davis in the top 5 from the Kentucky game on forward.
PhxSuns6, I'm glad we agree on Harangody. I repeatedly said before the draft there is no way you can tell me there are 50 players in the draft who are better than Harangody. He has to be flat out the biggest steal on the draft going at number 52!
He will never be a star in the NBA like he was in college, but if you want guy coming off the bench whom you can count on to rebound and keep the defense honest, he's your man. And let's not forget that he's also a character guy, you'll never have a problem with him.
JNixon-Iggy9, thanks for the excellent feedback. I would agree with you, top 5 was way too high, but I think he was a mini-steal at number 13 because of the team who drafted him.
As you know, going to the wrong team can seriously hinder your career. In this case, I think Toronto is the perfect team and opportunity for Ed Davis to prove he can be a top flight player in the NBA.
Thanks for the kind words. After all of my years around the game of basketball, I understand it very well.
I don't have a strong opinion on Gani Lawal, however, he never impressed me. But as you should already know, any player you take at number 46 is always going to be a gamble of some kind. I guess you could say he too was a mini-steal.
I would be surprised if he plays very much next year. But down the road, who knows, he certainly has some nice potential as a future role player.
thank you
i also read though on his scouting report that he was probably the most NBA ready player of all the remaining players they could have chosen when they picked. Im hoping that he becomes at least a solid role player and maybe if he develops his offensive game a little more, a potential starter 3 or 4 years down the line.
Gani Lawal is a very good role-player at best. He finishes strong at the rim, is a very good rebounder and is a hard worker on both ends of the work fighting for position. He's not talented offensively and doesn't have a true jump shot to score consistently, but he can be a Ronny Turiaf-type off the bench.
Lance Stephenson- he is special, you don't become the leading scorer for I think in New York City history and be dubbed "Born Ready" for nothing he has got a lot of talent and it has been overlooked this year. Of course he needs to learn and work a lot on his game but he has ideal stature, great finisher, good penetrator, decent mid range game and is pretty unselfish, can be a 4-5 apg guy I think if he gets a solid amount of minutes his rookie year.
Devin Ebanks- was projected as a lottery pick before the season started and his stock dropped tremendously but you cannot deny he is a first round talent, he is a lockdown defender and he will become one in the NBA as well take my word for it,he has ideal size, great length and in the right place (Lakers) he can learn from the best and it will help with his work ethic and molding his game into being a solid player in the next couple years. If he is able to develop a consistent outside game while becoming a lockdown perimeter defender in the NBA expect him to be somewhat like a Ron Artest player, he also needs to add some muscle too otherwise he will get pushed around but he could easily put on some muscle.
Steals:
Ebanks - Great Defender, High Potential. He WOuldve Flourished In Another Team in college
His game is better in fast paced than the very slow pace wvu played in
,Whiteside - Wait 3-5 years. I see him maybe 12-9 and 2 blocks
,Stephenson - Really like him
Busts:
Ekpe Udoh, - WOuld have been okay at top 15 but number 6 is wayy to high for him
Hayward, - Nothing Special
I am a current Univ. of Cincinnati student and you Stephenson d*** riders clearly haven't seen the guy play much. I agree that Lance has the POTENTIAL to be a good NBA player, but that's about all he has going for him right now. He was miserable shooting the ball all season for the Bearcats. He only made 16 three-point field goals all season. He was 16 for 73 from 3 point range, putting him at a miserable 21% for the year, and that's shooting from a college 3-point line, not an NBA 3-point line. Plus, anyone that watched UC games this year saw that especially in the 2nd half of the season, teams were playing off of him when he had the ball, daring him to shoot. Plus, I've seen the dude in person numerous times, and he is 6'4 with shoes on. Nothing more, nothing less. He also shot 66% from the free throw line all year. Not good enough for an NBA 2-guard. He makes poor decisions with the basketball, frequently displaying subpar basketball instincts/IQ in his one season in the Big East. On top of all this, we all know about his alleged character concerns/attitude problems. That being said, I really hope Lance turns it on like we all know he is capable of, and becomes that aggressive, playmaking wing player that the Pacers desperately need. I wish him nothing but the best, and would love to see him prove me wrong, but after watching 90 percent of his games this past season, I have my doubts.
We know that there were quite a few players who slipped very far in the draft. But who will be absolute steals? You can say Devin Ebanks at 43, Gani Lawal at 46, maybe Hassan Whiteside to the Kings? You can also bet on getting at least 2 good pros from undrafted free agents. So as of now, who is gonna end up being a steal?