Sleeper Sells

The second round of the NBA draft is where teams go to bargain hunt. Take Chandler Parsons for a recent example. The Houston Rockets’ starting small forward was plucked from the rough with the 38th pick in the 2011 draft, setting Houston up with tremendous value for the past three seasons. The much smaller, non-guaranteed contracts are vital for filling out rosters thanks to the latest incarnation of the CBA. Let’s take a look at which of this year’s players are most likely to please both the financial and basketball departments.

Any first round talent that slips into the second round due to age, injury, or similar flags:

First and foremost from this category is Michigan big man Mitch McGary. Likely a lottery pick in last year’s (awful) draft had he entered, McGary missed all of last season recovering from back surgery and then dropped out for testing positive for that darn cannabis rather than face the NCAA’s draconian penalties. Likewise, UNC refugee PJ Hairston is a great gamble for any team needing a good shooting guard (so, every team more or less). His character’s red flags are as numerous as a Chinese nationalism rally, but the talent is too good to pass up. Versatile Colorado guard Spencer Dinwiddie could also surprise people, dwelling in second-round purgatory status thanks to an ACL injury. Former McDonald’s All-American and measuring tape-busting Isaiah Austin from Baylor should be a pleasant low-risk/high-reward pick after the Center’s draft stock plummeted thanks to the news that he’s blind in one eye.

Old guys: Upperclassmen deemed to have low ceilings or are still raw and haven’t figured out how to realize their potential yet.

The second round is full of these types. Baylor power forward Cory Jefferson is a solid get for any team needing a rotation big to provide rebounding and energy. The big man provides upper-tier athleticism with a surprisingly soft touch. In a similar vein is Tennessee F/C Jarnell Stokes, a bruising, undersized center that excels in basketball’s most translatable skill: rebounding. Stanford power forward Dwight Powell brings NBA-ready stretch 4 ability to any team, and Arizona combo guard Nick Johnson is too athletic and too potent a scorer to fall too far.

International guys:

The biggest crapshoot of the crapshoot endeavor that is the mock draft is mocking which foreign players are picked. A pillar of the second round, the international prospects are particularly en vogue with teams with notable foreign scouting (Spurs, Thunder, etc.) and with teams high in the luxury tax looking to stash a player away in Europe to avoid the contract’s hit on their salary cap. Serbian guards Bogdan Bogdanovic and Vasilije Micic are both talented enough to warrant a first-round selection but could slip into the second where they are more palatable. The Swiss shot blocker Clint Capela could be a worthy gamble or draft-and-stash candidate for teams willing to wait on a project. Italian G/F Alessandro Gentile could shoot his way onto a roster as well.

Projects and other players with untapped potential:

You never know when a guard or athletic wing will go from looking mediocre in college to translating better in the NBA. Arizona St. point guard Jahii Carson could be a steal for a team trying to duplicate the find of Isaiah Thomas with his lightning quickness and eye-opening athleticism. DeAndre Daniels of UConn has a championship ring, but scouts are still wary of this wing’s boom-or-bust nature. Xavier point guard Semaj Christon is a big guard that could hustle his way into being a major sleeper if his skills get a boost by NBA coaching.

Thanks to the depth of this draft, this list could keep going; the second round abounds with sleepers. Early second-rounders will be even more valuable as trade assets than usual, and I would not be surprised to see some late first-rounders traded off for second-rounders for this draft is that deep. Savvy general managers would do well to sell late firsts to teams desperate for a draft pick like the Knicks thanks to the quantity of first-round quality in the second round. It’s anybody’s guess where people will go in the second round, but whether it’s an old college name like DeAndre Kane or some mysterious European that emerges from the stands on draft day, the potential to see these guys play some minutes for your favorite team is a bit higher than in drafts past.