Under the radar/underrated players in this year's draft ...

[The Q]

Ok??? He's a different player and it was only his first season. He wasn't as efficient and didn't score as much as Kene at the college level.

Actually Felder was just as good of a player and MORE efficient than Keene.

Felder's PER as a senior was 29.1

Keene's was 25.9

Keene shot a bit better fromt he field, Felder from the FT line (which has historically been a better indication of shooting ability, including the from 3 than 3pt%). But Felder had more assists and less turnovers, plus more steals and blocks.

Plus Felder had a 44 inch vert. He's a heck of an athlete. Keene probably is too (i coudln't find his measurements) but Felder and Keene are really similar prospects and talents.

 

[The Q]

That's not really maxing out his value. How much value can you get for $6M+ in cap space? He's way underpaid, limiting that trade return.

You get draft picks to keep the stocks loaded, and it should guarantee that they can fit 2 max deals onto their cap this summer.

 

[The Q]

Under the radar for me:

1) Bam Adebayo. I think whoever gets him is going to get a really solid player. I think he'll be similar to a Clint Capela. He was mostly a finisher with UK, but with some development on the offensive end, he could turn into a beast.

2) Alec Peters. In a draft with a lot of stretch 4's, I think he's getting really overlooked. He looks like a Ryan Anderson clone to me. He's not the most athletic guy, but he's projected in the mid to late 2nd round and think he'll be a steal for teams. Fantastic scorer and solid rebounder. He's not going to be a star, but may have a solid role from an early point.

Peters would look really good playing Harrison Barnes for the warriors.

Just saying.

 

[CitySushi]

Peters would look really good playing Harrison Barnes for the warriors.

Just saying.

Sorry don't get the reference. I viewed Barnes with mixed feelings most of the time and more negatively than positively in his time as a Warrior. Are you saying he would do nicely or poorly in that spot?

 

[shopson67]

You get draft picks to keep the stocks loaded, and it should guarantee that they can fit 2 max deals onto their cap this summer.

How many more picks do the Celtics need lol? The Nets already filled that well.

 

[The Q]

Sorry don't get the reference. I viewed Barnes with mixed feelings most of the time and more negatively than positively in his time as a Warrior. Are you saying he would do nicely or poorly in that spot?

I'm saying he'd fit in well doing what Barnes did for GS.

Smaller 4, stand in the corner and hit open 3s.

 

[The Q]

How many more picks do the Celtics need lol? The Nets already filled that well.

You always need to have young cheap players.

It's weird seeing how Lebron's heat and cavs keep giving away 1sts while the Spurs almost never give away a first round pick.

 

[CitySushi]

I'm saying he'd fit in well doing what Barnes did for GS.

Smaller 4, stand in the corner and hit open 3s.

Harrison Barnes is mentioned in hushed tones around Warrior fans, especially after his shit performance in last year's finals.

But I agree. I think Peters will be a nice stretch 4 role player.

 

[shopson67]

You always need to have young cheap players.

It's weird seeing how Lebron's heat and cavs keep giving away 1sts while the Spurs almost never give away a first round pick.

There is a tipping point though. A solid mix of vets keeps the team on course.

 

[The Q]

There is a tipping point though. A solid mix of vets keeps the team on course.

True, but even with a soft cap you can't keep resigning everyone.

You will lose people. Refilling spots cheaply is basically a necessity.

 

[Great Dayne]

Actually Felder was just as good of a player and MORE efficient than Keene.

Felder's PER as a senior was 29.1

Keene's was 25.9

Keene shot a bit better fromt he field, Felder from the FT line (which has historically been a better indication of shooting ability, including the from 3 than 3pt%). But Felder had more assists and less turnovers, plus more steals and blocks.

Plus Felder had a 44 inch vert. He's a heck of an athlete. Keene probably is too (i coudln't find his measurements) but Felder and Keene are really similar prospects and talents.

Again, it's his first year and he was playing behind two PG allstars (one current and one former) He has no chance to make the court except a few minutes in garbage time. He averaged less than 10 minutes a game. Isaiah Thomas would be a better comparison since he actually had time to develop and get some legit minutes for a team.

FT shot is a better indication of being a better pure catch and shoot players and not off the dribble.

Not sure what his vert is either but I care more about production than measurables.

I think the biggest setback for Keene is his D. Not sure if he can do enough on defense to make it at the pro level. His highlights never show any defense and his numbers weren't impressive. For a small G he's already at a disadvantage so this will be a significant challenge for him.

 

[BallsOfFurry]

You always need to have young cheap players.

It's weird seeing how Lebron's heat and cavs keep giving away 1sts while the Spurs almost never give away a first round pick.

Clearly The Cavs are about winning while Lebron is there while The Spurs are Pop's team, they take the long view and build for sustainability. What Pop does is almost super natural in today's NBA.

 

[BallsOfFurry]

Under the radar for me:

1) Bam Adebayo. I think whoever gets him is going to get a really solid player. I think he'll be similar to a Clint Capela. He was mostly a finisher with UK, but with some development on the offensive end, he could turn into a beast.

2) Alec Peters. In a draft with a lot of stretch 4's, I think he's getting really overlooked. He looks like a Ryan Anderson clone to me. He's not the most athletic guy, but he's projected in the mid to late 2nd round and think he'll be a steal for teams. Fantastic scorer and solid rebounder. He's not going to be a star, but may have a solid role from an early point.

Bam could be a Ben Wallace type, but the risk I see is whether he can become a player who can pass and shoot. I think it's always going to be limiting in today's game if you have a Dwight Howard on the floor who can't play within the flow of a motion offense.

 

[CitySushi]

Bam could be a Ben Wallace type, but the risk I see is whether he can become a player who can pass and shoot. I think it's always going to be limiting in today's game if you have a Dwight Howard on the floor who can't play within the flow of a motion offense.

I think it honestly depends on the team and their offensive concepts. I made the comparison to Clint Capela. Capela has no outside game, but he thrives as a finisher. DeAndre Jordan is another all world athlete who can't produce his own offense, but within their system does well enough.

It will take a ton of work for him to be a player who you could trust with the ball in his hands, but I've seen him do a few things in the post that leads me to believe there's some potential upside there.

 

[BallsOfFurry]

I think it honestly depends on the team and their offensive concepts. I made the comparison to Clint Capela. Capela has no outside game, but he thrives as a finisher. DeAndre Jordan is another all world athlete who can't produce his own offense, but within their system does well enough.

It will take a ton of work for him to be a player who you could trust with the ball in his hands, but I've seen him do a few things in the post that leads me to believe there's some potential upside there.

He's a strong and athletic player, there's always potential with those traits.

 

[shopson67]

I think it honestly depends on the team and their offensive concepts. I made the comparison to Clint Capela. Capela has no outside game, but he thrives as a finisher. DeAndre Jordan is another all world athlete who can't produce his own offense, but within their system does well enough.

It will take a ton of work for him to be a player who you could trust with the ball in his hands, but I've seen him do a few things in the post that leads me to believe there's some potential upside there.

Comparisons are interesting, and defense is always valuable, but when that player is such a vacuum offensively (other than the lob and put-pack game, like Jordan) it limits the impact on the team IMO. I don't think Jordan will ever get a championship unless minimized in the game plan (maybe as a depth player late in his career).

 

[BallsOfFurry]

I looked back at recent drafts to study which players were underrated and what they might have in common.
I went back through 2008 but let's look more recently.
In the combined 2014 and 2013 drafts I found 6 players I consider very under drafted. Of those 4 are C/PFs, 5 are international players and 5 are very diversified in their abilities. Of the 4 C'PFs all are good passers as well as rebounders and good scorers. The other 2 are PG Dennis Schroder, who was taken at 22 and is probably the least under drafted of the 6. The other is The Greek freak Giannis who was drafted at 15, a huge bargain.
So these long skinny European centers who can shoot and pass should be looked at in the lower half of the 1st round along with all around SGs like Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard and Draymond Green who were all under valued when drafted.

 

[Sparhawk]

I can see a player like Josh Hart going to San Antonio and making an instant impact.

 

[The Q]

I can see a player like Josh Hart going to San Antonio and making an instant impact.

Hart is a classic SA type player.

He's also a good fit defensively with Murray, who is big enough to guard 2s.

 

[Sparhawk]

Given the new CBA rules, the draft has become more about age (draft as young as possible) and risk (finding the next unicorn). Every team thinks they can find the next Giannis, Draymond, or Kawhi lurking later in the draft. In reality, these are outliers.

I don't know if the NBA is approaching MLB territory in a risk-based approach to drafting high school players versus college players. If that happens and more teams in the lottery take bigger risks on younger, athletic freaks, that might allow the older, potentially more established players fall to already successful teams. These players might not have the ceiling as the younger players, but you already have 3-4 years worth of data to analyze. On top of that, you have the complexity of evaluating foreign talent in different leagues and different styles of play.

Should be interesting to see how this develops over the next 5-10 years.