Five NBA Draft sleepers to watch

[Big Bid'Ness]

Fromrobasketballtalk

Admit it, this is one of your favorite parts of the NBA draft — picking out the guy nobody is watching because you think he’s got that special something. You want to find the next Isaiah Thomas. You know he can help your team. And you pull for him because you want to be right, even if he turns out to just be guy number eight on the bench. He’s your guy.

Here are five guys that might be your guy. Five sleepers. Five guys out of the lottery and down the draft board who could contribute, now or in a few years.

Scott Machado (6’2” point guard, Iona): In an up-tempo offense (or as a change-of-pace guy off the bench) he can do damage. He plays fast and fans will love him. The Brazilian is a pure point guard with fantastic court vision, some scouts say second best in this draft (behind Kendall Marshall of North Carolina). He knows how to make plays, especially in transition. He’s not a great athlete by NBA standards but he scored at a pretty good clip in college (13.6 points per game on 49.5 percent shooting). Put him in the right situation and he can thrive.

Terrence Ross (6’7” shooting guard/small forward, Washington): A sleeper because nobody watched the dreadful Pac-12 last year. He’s an excellent athlete who lives and dies by the jump shot (40 percent of his shots last season were threes) but if you close out he can blow by you. He can finish at the rim. He needs some handles, he needs some midrange game, but he has the athletic tools and could put it together. He could be at least solid and maybe special in a few years.

Darius Johnson-Odom (6’2” shooting guard, Marquette): He can flat out shoot the rock, and at the end of the day that is still the name of the game. He showed pretty well at the Nets combine workout, according to reports. He’s undersized for the two in the NBA (and he’s not a point guard) but he is strong and defends hard. He’ll be a catch-and-shoot guy in the league, but he can do a lot of damage that way.

Royce White (6’8” power forward, Iowa State): On paper he seems perfect. He has an NBA power forward’s body plus has excellent handles and passing skills. In college he played a point-forward where he led the team in points, assists and rebounds. He can score inside or out. But there are red flags — first his shot is very inconsistent. Plus, there are off-the-court legal issues, and on top of that he also has an anxiety disorder with a fear of flying. Lots of risk, could be high reward.

Tony Wroten (6’6” combo guard, Washington): Yes, another guy from the Huskies. He comes with more risk than Ross because his problem is style of play — he tends to just be out of control. He certainly has an NBA body — he’s got good size for a guard and is very athletic. He can drive the lane and finish through contact (but only with his left hand, he needs to get a right fast). He’s a good passer. But he takes bad shots and his jump shot is not at all reliable right now. He’s a project. But he has the tools to be a quality guard in this league if he can learn to make better decisions and get a steady jumper.

 

[jonathanlambert33]

Not really sure if Wroten is a sleeper.