The Official Daily Thunder Big Board (Part II)
The No. 25 pick the Thunder is something easily forgotten about when you’re picking in the top three. But it honestly can be just as important. I’m too lazy to go back and spend three or four minutes on Wikipedia finding all the great NBA players picked outside of the lottery, but just trust me, there’s lots of good players there. You can’t necessarily expect to hit a home run at No. 25, but if you do your work, you can find a quality contributor and sometimes if you’re lucky, a real stud.
So we’re looking at the guys that are fringe lottery players and those just outside of it. There’s a bunch of players up for consideration here, so it’s pretty subjective. Once you start getting around your 20th and 30th best players, it’s kind of a crapshoot. So don’t hate us if you have Wayne Ellington as one of your five best players. We all see these guys differently. Also, keep in mind, a few players on this list are still in the “testing the waters” phase and haven’t signed an agent. (Taj Gibson, Gani Lawal, Austin Daye, Jeff Teague and Patty Mills among a few others. The deadline for withdraw is Monday)
(Remember, NOT a mock draft. Just a ranking of the prospects with an eye toward Thunder needs. Since there was so much variation in this list and really no way to come to a consensus, this list is separated between my 13-30 and Joe’s. Obviously though, my list is better and more correct. Just to help with seeing where we had differences, in parenthesis on my list is Joe’s ranking for that player and vice versa for his.)
Royce’s 13-30
13. Eric Maynor – 6’3″/ G/ Virginia Commonwealth (15) – highlights
I love four-year players. During time at college, they’re able to pick up on so much and come into the league with more intangibles than a 19-year-old with insane athleticism. When I look at Maynor, I see Chauncey Billups written all over him. He’s got an excellent mid-range jumper, he’s an absolute leader on the floor and has the quicks to get around anyone. He’s the type of guy that might not ever be a star, but he’s going to lead a team when he’s on the floor. He can even play off the ball a little and I think him coupled with Russell Westbrook could make a dynamic backcourt.
14. Jrue Holliday – 6’4″/ G/ UCLA (13) – highlights
I don’t see it. I’ve watched and watched, but I just don’t see a top five player here. Yes, he’s got a lot of skill, but he’s a guy that would’ve done himself a favor by going back for his sophomore season. His game is extremely raw and I see the comparison to Russell Westbrook in the sense that his athleticism may develop into skill quickly, but Westbrook played two years in college. Read more…
