Too Soon RoY Choices

Now that the draft is over and we know where most of the rookies are sitting, what’s your top 5 choices (as of now) for Rookie of the Year?
I base my rankings off two things. Opportunity (will they get big minutes or will they ride the pine?) and NBA ready skills (are they a work in project or do they have a skill that translates right now like shooting or rebounding). A bit hard to make picks this year as a lot of the guys didn’t go to ideal settings and there just isn’t a lot of talent that jumps off the board. But here’s my top 5:

1. Hayes: As of now, he’ll probably be the starting PG with Rose off the bench (I think he likes that role). Further down the line, they’ll probably trade Rose to a contender, which will only help him get minutes in Detroit. His opportunity could be limited if Detroit goes out and signs a guy like VanVleet, which is very possible. Being the lead guard on a team with not a lot of options is a great way to become RoY.

2. Wiseman: I would have had him further down if Klay didn’t get hurt as GS would be pushing for the playoffs. But now I think the team is going to be similar to last year and Wiseman should get lots of burn like Paschall did last year. Currently, he’s the only true centre on the team too. Seems like a guy who will have a double double with some blocks.

3. Haliburton: Fell into a nice place where the Kings snagged him. Big enough to play beside Fox as well as take on the reins when Fox takes a break. Bogdanovic may be on the way out and the Hield scenario isn’t great there, so he could be their opening day shooting guard. With Fox pushing the floor, it should lead to lots of shot oppurtunities for Haliburton on the wing.

4. Quickley: Didn’t think I was going to put his name here. But NY drafted him in the first round and then dropped Payton today. New coach and GM have no affiliation with Ntilikina or DSJ, so it looks like Quickley could be the starter as of now. Barrett would probably do a lot of the ball handling, but Quickley could hit some easy 3s and defend (which will help him get minutes).

5. Anthony: I really liked that Orlando picked him up. I don’t think they are confident in Fultz being that lead guard all the time and the team definitely needs more guys that can create and score for themselves. That’s where Anthony comes in as he can do both of those things. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up starting over Fultz at some point.

My dark horse is Carey in Charlotte. All they have at centre is Zeller, and he’s no show stopper and has had some injury problems. Charlotte isn’t a good team, so we could see Carey have a year in Charlotte like Jahlil did in Philly.

I know it’s too early to be talking about this stuff with rosters not filled out yet, but I’m bored haha.