Mar 28, 2013
The 2013 draft isn’t considered too deep this year, filled with quality forwards, bigs and a few stellar guards. The players are conventional for their positions and aren’t going to burst out as stars in their first year and the ROTY award will be a race with different candidates through the months. So, that must mean most of the players are steadily at the same level, well kind of but they’re different positions so this is why I’ll try to pick the cream of each crop. The best players of each position coming into the league this 2013.
Point Guard: Marcus Smart|Oklahoma St.
Marcus is 6-4 and coming out of Oklahoma St. after his first year is over, either making his way to the most rational guess of Orlando, Charlotte, New Orleans or Washington. Marcus will probably be the pick for Orlando for the reason that they need a solid back-up point guard coming off for Jameer. Charlotte has enough PG’s as is and Marcus is too small to really be a threat defensively at 2 and would be picked apart by veteran SG’s. If New Orleans can make it before Orlando then you may see him putting on the Pelican’s jersey next year. Back to Marcus’ prospect report; he’s confident, a good team player, shoots very well but get’s a bit streaky, offensively minded but has quick hands on the defensive end for consistent steals. The only problem Marcus has is that he’s not the best passer in this draft, his game is Shooting Guard but he has the size of a Point Guard which makes it more difficult to incorporate Smart into a team’s roster. If incorporated, Marcus has potential to be the face of a dying franchise, he’s strong and can shoot off-balanced, ball handling to get to the rim and overall toughness. If passing is improved by Marcus Smart, there’s going to be a force within the lucky team drafting him.
Shooting Guard: Ben McLemore|Kansas
Ben McLemore, with the height of 6-5, strong shooting capabilities mixed with a spectacular athleticism, the Kansas University Freshman is projected to be the #1 pick to the lottery winner (unless it’s Orlando,) with a body of a natural shooting guard. Ben has a great shot with a very long wingspan to shoot over defending players; he has a developing court vision, much potential in years to come and an excellent passer. However, his ball handling is one of his lower qualities with turnovers being a problem against defensive SG’s, which marks whether he can handle guards such as Avery Bradley, Thabo or even a long Iman Shumpert. McLemore can get a bit emotional and plays with aggression at times which can cost him valuable minutes if he starts fouling. Overall athletic but needs to work on dribbling through summer camp, projected to be drafted by Charlotte but the draft lottery hasn’t happened so it’s not imminent.
Shooting Forward: Shabazz Muhammed|UCLA
Shabazz Muhammed is a freak of nature (In a good way,) towering at the height of 6-6 with a wide, wide wingspan of a Power Forward. A shooting monster in the making, quick with a deadly off the dribble shot selection and passes great for a forward. Shabazz is a mature player who knows the game and has a very high basketball-IQ, his body surpasses any other SF in the draft but may be overlooked by the presence of Otto Porter. Muhammed is projected to be drafted in the top 10 but I predict after draft combines, Shabazz is going to spring pretty high to the top 5, which is not very far off considering the hype Shabazz had (The next KD,) went up in smoke after an NCAA investigation on the Bishop Gorman alumni, soon after Shabazz was reinstated, he was slow at the start but he’s developing into a great all-around player. Shabazz is averaging 17ppg for the Bruins and grabs a few boards at 5rpg, Shabazz has great length to snag balls over larger players and that can make Shabazz a crazy player to defend and go up against. Shabazz had started out inconsistent in his first couple of weeks but blossomed into an efficient scorer who looks NBA ready and a potential key piece to a future championship team.
Power Forward: Nerlens Noel|Kentucky
Nerlens Noel, a Kentucky product, at the size of 6-11 (could be like 2 inches from his haircut,) is a perfect Power Forward, with many strengths, just enough to knock Cody Zeller out of the spot. Nerlens is an athletic and defensive minded PF, easily one of the best shot-blockers in this draft; with the potential to be one of the better in the league. Noel has a long wingspan stretching out to 7-4 which will add depth to teams who need rebounders, and defense. I see Nerlens as a solid back-up center, somewhat of a Marcin Gortat or Larry Sanders, because the offensive game is a bit off and could use a lot of work. Noel can rise over defenders for an easy put-back on second chance opportunities and the vertical also helps his shot-blocking that’s accompanied by excellent timing. Nerlens biggest weakness is his offense and scoring ability with an inconsistent shot that ranges from an over-powered hook or an open-look dunk that may not work in deeper front-courts of the NBA. If Nerlens works more on his offensive he can be a very good player, I’d like to see a midrange jumper develop so he can play a bit like Kevin Garnett (without the dirtiness) Projected around the top 5 to be a big for New Orleans, Nerlens will really have to improve his offense to take on bigger centers but overall a good player with size.
Center: Alex Len|Maryland
Alex Len, a behemoth, sizing up at 7-1 is a consistent player with an above average grasp in all of the game’s components. Len is a very long, and decently strong player with an impressive post game of a PF. Lens is athletic and has good footwork, mixing that with a good formed shot and you have a hard player to defend. Alex is a bit smaller than most of the bigger centers in the NBA but sort of makes up for it with good post-up moves, the only reason it may be a problem is when you start to get beat on the glass by players like Tyson Chandler or Dwight Howard. Alex Len has a good shooting range and can go a bit further than mid-range; he has a soft touch in the post and can make him deadly if a consistent hook shot is developed. Defensively above average with great timing to block any incoming shots and has a high IQ to not be faked most of the times. Alex has a weak free throw percentage but has the potential to fix that within a year or two of NBA training. Len is projected to be a top 10 draftee and that’s pretty accurate unless New Orleans takes a gamble at him but the chances of that are very slim.
So that’s really it and I also expect all 5 of these players to be in the Rookie vs. Sophomore game, if not starting because they all have good qualities at their position. However, I don’t think next year’s rookies have a chance at the sophomores of 2014 who include Bradley Beal, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard and more. It’s the way it’s going to be with a not very deep draft but there are bound to be some surprises this year and hopefully a star is born.
-LefttoWrite
