2011 NBA DRAFT REVIEW: Part V-SECOND ROUND OR SECOND RATE?

Felipe M




Before we take a look at the first fifteen 2nd round picks, we look back at the last few drafts to see how those draft classes have produced gems in the very treacherous 2nd Round of the NBA DRAFT:

• 2010: Out of 30 players selected, I do not see one player who is in an NBA roster.  I don't even see one player that might have played a minute last season!
• 2009: At least five 2nd rounders can say that they are on an NBA team with the best of the bunch being DeJuan Blair and Marcus Thornton.  Blair averages about 21 minutes/game, while Thornton has been successful with limited time as a feature player, he is already playing for his second team and the latest club, the Sacramento Kings, seem to have a short leash on him with the drafting of Jimmer Fredette.  
• 2008: At least 7 players are still with an NBA team, but a lot of these players are solid, but unspectacular, with guard Goran Dragic possessing the most upside of this class.  
• 2007: A lot of players should be seasoned by now.  Assuming the players selected were mostly freshmen and had decided to stay in college, a lot of these players would be finishing their rookie seasons in the NBA or be 5th year seniors in college.  Still, I count 5 players still with NBA clubs and clearly the best player, a foreign player, is Marc Gasol with the best American player drafted in Ramon Sessions who is already playing for his 3rd NBA team and has only averaged 25 mins/game. 

The point is that very few 2nd round picks make a big impact in the NBA and most of the players end up being role players at best.  So fast-forward to the present-- many NBA fans have been anticipating Tyler Honeycutt's long-term potential as many had predicted for the UCLA standout to be selected in the 1st round.  Based on recent history, Honeycutt has a steep uphill climb ahead of him as the 2nd round has not developed talent that can produce like a 1st round pick.  And now picks 31-45:

31.  Bojan Bogdanovic from Croatia is a 6'7" player who has potential to be an impressive offensive player in the NBA though lack of size is a concern according to the ESPN panel.

32.  Justin Harper, out of Richmond, as stated in another article will probably be the next Ryan Anderson for the Magic--a player with a nice mid-range game who is also a defensive liability.  

33.  Kyle Singler from Duke is finally picked and according to former Duke player, Jay Bilas, "he's a complete player" and only needs to work on his "shooting rate."  Jay Bias (sic) was certainly on his game on NBA Draft night.  Singler will be lucky if he comes close to being the next Josh McRoberts, but does remind me a bit of Mike Dunleavy Jr.  Regardless, Duke players, more often than not, always struggle to transition from the college to the NBA game and Singler will not be an exception to that rule.

34.  Shelvin Mack from Butler who Jay Bias (sic) described as simply "a winner" was supposed to go the Wizards.  If that's the case, he will be logging a lot of bench time.  Mack plays fearless, but at times looked overmatched against better teams with better athletic players.

35.  Tyler Honeycutt (UCLA) was finally picked.  A disappointing night, his NBA future looks bleak.  If he does go down into NBA oblivion, he will go down with a fight as he definitely has the tools to be known commodity.  Is a great passer despite proving to be too sloppy with the ball in college.  A very good athlete, he needs to hit the gym and get stronger.  

36.  Jordan Williams from Maryland is 6'9" and 245 lbs so he's a big guy and was an established rebounder in college.  However, despite his size, he struggles on offense, especially against bigger and taller players.  Worse, Jay Bias (sic) compared him to Michael Sweetney.  Yikes!

37.  Trey Thompkins out of Georgia has similar size as Williams, but actually has a more polished offensive game as he's comfortable in the post and as a spot-up shooter.  However, he's not very athletic and he's another player who NBA scouts grew highly concerned over his conditioning.  It's only the rest of your life you have to worry about, so why work on your conditioning, right?

38.  Chandler Parsons from Florida is the SEC player of the year.  The 6'9" forward loves to shoot the rock, but has been known to be physically and mentally weak.  Usually players with that profile get eaten up in the NBA.  Best of luck!

39.  Jeremy Tyler was a highly regarded high school player that told the NCAA to go fly a kite and went overseas (most recently in Tokyo) as he took the Brandon Jennings paradigm into making it in the NBA.  At 6'10", 262 lbs., he definitely has the size to be a successful big man.  However, ESPN foreign expert, Fran Fraschilla did state that his "skill level is low."  On the bright side, he was coached by former NBA coach, Bob Hill.  So, yeah!

40.  Jon Leuer out of Wisconsin was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks so he doesn't have to travel far to be with his NBA team.  Like many big men coming out of this draft, NBA teams are looking for centers who can stretch the floor with their ability to shoot.  As the scouting report was given on draft night, Leuer reminded me more and more of former NBA big man, Matt Bullard.  Hooray?

41.  Darius Morris (Michigan)--hey, a Laker sighting!  A point guard with size, Morris does not have a good 3-point shot, but has good "court-vision."  I predict that Morris, if he makes the team, will see very few minutes on the court.

42.  Davis Bertans out of Latvia was convinced to enter the NBA draft as it was reported that the San Antonio Spurs all, but guaranteed that he would be selected by the club.  Fran Fraschilla says that Bertans is a "great shooter," but also stated that it would be at least 2 years before he makes it with his NBA team.  

43.  Malcolm Lee (UCLA) goes to the Bulls; another athletic guard who is already considered a good defender, but needs to continue to work on his shot.  

44.  Charles Jenkins out of Hofstra finally gets selected as it was predicted that he had a chance to sneak into the first round.  A combo/hybrid point/shooting guard, he will go to a team that already has two polished players like that in the Golden St. Warriors.  I predict a lot of sporadic time in his future.  

45.  The last player that will be covered is Josh Harrellson from Kentucky going to the Knicks who is a Brad Miller-type of player who can dish and shoot the ball and at 6'10", 275 lbs, perhaps even clog the middle for the Knicks.  Jay Bias (sic) was not too thrilled with this pick as his analysis included a joke about Harrellson bringing back into fashion the jean shorts look.  That's why Bilas gets paid the bick bucks.  

And so concludes our coverage of the NBA Draft.  ESPN made it seem that a lot of these players were NBA ready, but a lot of these players have low potential and are, for the most part, one-dimensional as many NBA teams were looking for athletic swing-men who showed that they could play good defense, especially at the perimeter, where premiere players like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade make a living shredding defenses apart.  Already looking forward to the 2012 draft and hoping that the NBA lockout gets resolved quickly.