NBA Draft Dark Horses

Woodard I can see, I really don’t know about Perry though.

I like Woodard, but not in the lottery. He is still on the raw side offensively. His shot came around to the “keep you honest” level, but it will have to take it up another notch to be in a rotation. He reminds me a bit of Miles Bridges in that he is far more explosive athletically than you would think when he is just going up and down the court. In the blink of an eye, he can turn it on, and you wonder if he is the best athlete on the floor. The athleticism and big wingspan is a plus for his defensive profile. He plays really hard, get all the hustle plays that should help him endear him to coaches to help him stick around long enough to polish up his ball handling and shooting.

One of the problems for many of the guys in this draft class is that they are not going to have an offseason with their drafted team. This will only be further troubling if the G-League season is cancelled (Marc Berman reported about the chance last week), and young players cannot get some minutes and coaching during the season. I think teams will want to know the status of the G-League prior to the draft, and that will impact placement more than in recent years. Legit prospects who are overseas, and will stay there for 2020-21, will end up being more attractive. Filip Petrusev is a legit prospect. He has a lot of similarities to Nik Vucevic when he was at USC as a skillsy center with soft touch and a great feel for the game. He left Gonzaga for the Adriatic League, and may very well be on the move to a bigger European team because 20-year olds going for 18-7 per tend to get gobbled up. I think he is the most obvious one. Even with his slow start, Leandro Bolmaro might be another. I wonder if the agents of Theo Maledon and Pokusevski will make the same case that 2020-21 will be a weird season, our guy has a team where he can play (Pokusevski might not actually be able to play for Olympiacos on quality but he could be there), stay off your payroll, and hopefully when the pandemic ends join up next summer in Vegas to kick things off with a real offseason. Frankly, I think agents of American prospects should be doing the same thing to help their guys ensure a first round pick.

Theres so many guys. I wanna mention Paul Reed out of Depaul. 6’9 skinny big man that projects best as a Center but currently fits in as a PF due to his weight. Who knows though he had tons of time to hit the weights during this pandemic f he comes in at 230 he could shock some people.

The guy has all defensive team potential and projects as a Chris Boucher guy. Only thing with Boucher is he entered the league at 25 years old to me drafting Reed is like getting a player with that same skillset but tons of untapped potential. Not only that but Boucher couldve started on plenty of teams this season and had a similar role as a guy like Christian Wood for the Pistons.

I think Wood would be a perfect fit for teams in the 15-25 range. Dallas needs to add athleticism and defense plus another big that can play with or sub Porzingis. Minnesota could use him playing next to Towns to do the dirty work and assume defensive responsibilities. The Heat love drafting guys with tireless work ethics and he fits perfectly in that culture. the Jazz really could use a PF as well and he fits the culture there well.

Another guy I really like is Tyler Bey. I think he fits in well with that Shawn Marion type role. great athlete, can space the floor and rebound at a high level.

I could name several players to be dark horses. But I had 2 players come immediately to mind 1st. Neither have the “upside” anyone’s looking for, because you know about what you’re going to get. But, they could contribute right away on an NBA team. I’m talking about Cassius Winston and Mamadi Diakite. I’ll go with Winston though as the dark horse here.
Cassius Winston’s game reminds me so much of Monte Morris. His intellect of the game is undeniable and the use of the pick and roll is too. He finds ways to win big games. His game should translate easily to the NBA, as he can pass very well and be a good floor leader. His shooting range isn’t shabby either.
-Not the sexiest pick here, but imo if I’m a winning team that needs a floor leader I’d take Winston over Tyrell Terry as an example who seems to be a player ranked around his draft range. Winston’s going mid 2nd round in most drafts.