Kevin Pelton's sophomore rankings: D'Angelo and Larry Nance Jr in top-10

[petergr]

Kevin Pelton is doing his annual rankings of the rookies, sophomores, juniors etc based on future potential.

1) KAT
2) Porzi
3) Jokic
4) Turner
5) D'Angello

Booker is at 8, Larry Nance is at 8. Okafor and Mudiay are out of top-10.

Prior to the draft, he had KAT as 1 and D'lo & Porzi tied at 2. He was also high on Turner. Don't remember the projection on Jokic. He was quite low on Okafor and Mudiay prior to the draft.

So, Lakers draft looking very good. It will be perfect if Russel can jump into the top-3.

[Mike@LG]

[petergr]

I have always been a fan of Kevin Pelton since his basket ball prospectus days. He is by far the best among all writers at draft projections.
Some of his really successful hits in projecting really high upside compared to their draft position were :
1) Paul Milsap
2) Dramond Green
3) Jay Crawder
4) Steph Curry
5) Ty Lawson
6) Clint Capella

He also projected quite a few busts very well:
1) Evan Turner
2) Wesley Johnson
3) Acie Law
4) Rodney Stuckey
5) Austin Rivers
6) Anthony Benett

He had some misses like Nick Calathes, Adam Morisson...but has been stellar over the years.

[petergr]

[Mike@LG]

[saetarubia]

Thanks. I see DLo ending up 2nd or 3rd eventually.
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Showtime 2.0

[petergr]

http://bbs.clutchfans.net/index.php?threads/warp-ranking-for-2013-draft-by-kevin-pelton.240191/

This thread has some discussion on how his past projections have fared over the years.

[pjiddy]

[dcarter4kobe]

Pelton has always been a pretty logical guy for the most part IMO.
_________________
"He's a Zen master, so he can speak to you, and he doesn't need a microphone; you can hear him in your head, 'Ron, don't shoot, don't shoot.' Whatever, pow, three. I love the Zen, though."

[yinoma2001]

Nice.
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From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals

[petergr]

The chad ford guy in the same article....is almost commical

PELTON: D'Angelo Russell rounds out my top five. The No. 2 overall pick has made incremental progress in his second season, improving his assist rate from 4.2 per 36 minutes to 6.0, increasing his usage rate to 27.4 percent of the Lakers' plays (up from 24.2 percent) while maintaining his efficiency and improving on the defensive glass.

While Russell still has a long way to go in his development as a playmaker and defender, a look around the league shows the opposite story at point guard as at center: Russell is perhaps the league's best full-time point guard younger than age 25, which augurs well for his long-term development.

You've consistently favored Emmanuel Mudiay over Russell. Is that still the case?

FORD: No. Mudiay is still struggling and Russell is looking better. But neither is at No. 5 for me.

I know the advanced stats have not been kind to Devin Booker, but I still think he should make the top five on potential. He's a 20-year-old who is averaging better than 20 PPG, has the potential to be an elite shooter and shows an overall great feel for the game.

Booker is averaging 27.6 PPG in January and shooting 50 percent from 3. I know it's a small sample size and he has been streaky. I also know he hasn't brought a lot else to the table statistically. But I still see major upside from him and would bet he starts to figure out more ways to contribute down the road.

PELTON: I don't totally disagree on Booker. I think there's a gap between Booker and Russell, but I still have him sixth. Although Booker's defensive stats are unlikely to improve much, I do think he'll become a much more efficient offensive player than he is now when put in a more appropriate role alongside better shot creators.

Booker and former Kentucky teammate Trey Lyles are the two other one-and-done prospects currently performing around replacement level or better. The others in the group, including Mudiay and No. 3 pick Jahlil Okafor, are so far from replacement level right now that I'm not convinced they're going to get there.

As a result, I'm rounding out my top 10 with three lower-upside prospects who are contributing far more to their teams right now.

[justsomelakerfan]

[petergr]

FORD: Mudiay continues to be awful and I think it's only a matter of time before Jamal Murray replaces him. But there are still enough glimpses of a good player there that I can't write Mudiay off yet.

As for Okafor, I wonder how all of us got it so wrong on him during most of the year before the draft. There was a time early in the draft process when he was the consensus No. 1 guy. Now it's clear Okafor isn't as good as NBA scouts and I thought he was in November and December of his freshman season at Duke.

But I don't think Okafor is as bad as he looks many nights in Philly either. He needs a change of scenery badly and all indications are that the Sixers are going to give it to him -- probably in the next month. On a different team in a different situation, I think Okafor can be a quality starter in the NBA someday.

[dcarter4kobe]

[petergr]

[justsomelakerfan]

[Treble Clef]

[Omar Little]

[Treble Clef]

[jonnybravo]

[LakerSD]

Hope it works out that way or close to it.

[greenfrog]

There doesn't seem to be any easy way to filter this, and Pelton's term "full time" is hard to pin, but here it is: link

In terms of TS%, I never would have expected him to be that close with Payton.

[saetarubia]

[44TheLogo]

[petergr]