The Maryland Terrapins entered last season as one of a few teams in the mix to win the national championship, due in large part to the amount of NBA talent on their team. While they fell short of expectations, they still have a lot to offer the NBA Draft. Their leading scorer, Melo Trimble, is returning for his junior year, but he will be drafted once he does come out. Rasheed Sulaimon is the odd man out, a one-time projected lottery pick, although it’s likely he won’t be drafted.
The entirety of the frontcourt, however, is in this year’s draft pool. Forwards Robert Carter and Jake Layman are in the mix to be drafted in the late first or early second round. And center Diamond Stone will most likely be the first Terrapin off the board.
Who is Diamond Stone? Will he be a good NBA player, or simply a fun target for NBA pun-games? And who takes him in the upcoming draft?
Best Name in the Draft?
Normally Diamond Stone would be a runaway winner for best name in the draft. There is a weird relationship between his two names – a diamond is technically a stone – and it also sounds cool. In addition, both the first and last names lend themselves well to future nicknames – Diamond Ring (if he wins a lot of titles), Stone Cold (if he is an elite rim protector or enforcer), or perhaps even Grave Stone.
But this year provides a handful of challengers to the title. Foremost among these is Dragan Bender, a presumed top-5 pick in the draft. Bender as a last name draws allusions to Futurama, or to the very act of bending. And paired with “Dragan” is simply awesome, because the guy’s name is basically “dragon”. That’s incredibly cool.
Denzel Valentine and Thon Maker have solid last names, but can’t bring the entire package. Yogi Ferrell and Nigel Hayes bring it on the first name front. Jason Blossomgame is rising quickly up draft boards and “best name” charts. And who doesn’t like saying “Luwawu” five times fast?
In a close contest, Dragan Bender has to win out. Whatever nickname sticks to Bender will be related to dragons, which means it will be great (anyone who saw the movie Eragon knows the singular exception). And the marketing options for “Dragan” beat that of “Diamond” especially with current Game-of-Thrones tie-ins. Best name goes to Dragan Bender.
What’s His Game?
Diamond Stone is a big man in the mold of centers in the 90s – he is most comfortable with his back to the basket, working his defender in with power dribbles and quick moves. While there is certainly a role for that sort of player, the market is shrinking as the league goes small.
But even as it shifts the league has dominant big men such as DeMarcus Cousins, and Stone has the body to handle him. He stands at only 6’10”, but makes up for that with a 7’3” wingspan and a 250+ lb frame. He can affect shots through both blocks and anticipation, although as an off-ball defender his attention can wane.
Stone is also solid in his shooting percentages. He shot just under 57 percent from the field, and another 76 percent from the line. Centers usually shoot poorly coming into the league – and some never develop that skill – but Stone shoots from the stripe as well as or better than any center prospect in recent draft history.
Stone struggles primarily in rebounding, both offensive and defensive. His rebounding rate was the worst among all centers measured in the draft, coming out to only 5.4 rebounds per game. Gary Payton II, a point guard, came out of college with a better rebound rate than Stone.
There is potential for Stone to improve his range and his touch, making him a more valuable offensive asset. But it’s also likely he is unable to pick up NBA defenses and isn’t ready until the start of the next seasons.
In all, Diamond Stone is a solid prospect with offensive allure. His defense was inconsistent and his rebounding rate even more so. Whether he overcomes the bad and becomes a star-level player is unlikely, but possible. But a future starter? Stone could be rock-solid in that role.
Who Will Draft Him?
Diamond Stone is 34th overall in my personal rankings, 8th among centers. Zachary Reynolds has Stone at 36th, similar to Chad Ford’s ranking of 32. Although early mock drafts had Stone as a fringe lottery pick – Orlando, Chicago, and Washington are all in need of backup centers – he has dropped back more recently.
Draft Express has Diamond Stone going #30 overall to the Golden State Warriors as a replacement for Festus Ezeli, who could leave in free agency. Reynolds doesn’t have Stone coming off the board until pick #44, to the Atlanta Hawks.
Stone has athleticism and pedigree, two important factors to NBA teams. It seems likely that teams will bite on his upside before looking at the ninth or tenth international prospect. It would surprise me if he falls all the way to Atlanta at 44.
Boston at 23 is probably the earliest he could go, as the Celtics could be bolstering their frontcourt ahead of free agency decisions with a number of their bigs. Toronto at 27 and San Antonio at 29 both could have their backup center leave in free agency, but the Spurs most likely have a hidden international prospect lined up to be the next star at center. The Raptors already have an offense-first, middling rebounder starting at center for them. But both are possibilities.
The top of the second round is flush with teams that could use center help. Boston has two picks at the top of the round. The Lakers, Bucks, Rockets, and Pelicans could all be in the market for rotation centers as well.
My guess at this point is that the Celtics take Stone with either the 31st or 35th pick, right in line with many of the analyst rankings.
Now that a prediction has been made, Stone will either rock onto stage with the tenth pick, or get stonewalled and end up undrafted. Nothing close to my prediction.
In total, Stone is a solid player with upside and plenty of athleticism, but he didn’t show the skills that translate the most to the next level in rebounding and effort. That will worry some scouts, and most likely hurt his draft stock. If a team can look past that, they might just have the next great center on their team.
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