Here’s my top 60 on the morning of the draft. The top 3 stand out above the rest. I believe all 3 will have a big impact. The next 5 are a mix of players who are likely solid pros and high upside players with a little more risk than the top 3. Next are 4 centers with upside and high potential for turning out ordinary or worse. After that there are a lot of decent prospects with red flags and question marks. I suspect many of them will go on to have long, productive NBA careers, but more will never make it.
As far as where the 2013 draft stands, I feel it is the best draft in the last 3 years, but that isn’t saying much. After going through the prospects I have cooled some on this draft but still feel it will be solid. The best comp I could find is the 2001 draft. That one had a lot of misses early on, no superstars, but a lot of the bigs drafted late were good bargain picks. I feel the bigs will also be the story of this draft.
Two players that I didn’t analyze but are included here are DJ Stephens and Glen Rice Jr. I have both as borderline first rounders. Rice improved his game in the D-League this past year. Stephens is a part-timer with Memphis who snuck under my radar. Stephens has some incredible per minute numbers. The borderline first rounder might be something of a stretch in his case, but he’s a talent worth taking a chance on.
1. Nerlens Noel, C Kentucky
2. Victor Oladipo, SG Indiana
3. Otto Porter, SF Georgetown
4. Trey Burke, PG Michigan
5. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SG Georgia
6. Anthony Bennett, F UNLV
7. Cody Zeller, PF Indiana
8. Michael Carter-Williams, PG Syracuse
9. Lucas Nogueira, C Estudiantes
10. Rudy Gobert, C Cholet
11. Alex Len, C Maryland
12. Steven Adams, C Pittsburgh
13. Ben McLemore, SG Kansas
14. CJ McCollum, G Lehigh
15. Shane Larkin, PG Miami
16. Jamaal Franklin, SG San Diego State
17. James Ennis, SF Long Beach State
18. Nate Wolters, G South Dakota State
19. Jeff Withey, C Kansas
20. Mike Muscala, C Bucknell
21. Giannis Adetokonbo, SF Filathlitikos
22. Kelly Olynyk, C Gonzaga
23. Pierre Jackson, PG Baylor
24. Maurice Kemp, SF East Carolina
25. Reggie Bullock, SF North Carolina
26. Glen Rice Jr, SF Rio Grande Valley Vipers
27. Robert Covington, F Tennessee State
28. Gorgui Dieng, C Louisville
29. Andre Roberson, F Colorado
30. Tony Mitchell, PF North Texas
31. Solomon Hill, SF Arizona
32. DJ Stephens, ? Memphis
33. BJ Young, G Arkansas
34. Archie Goodwin, SG Kentucky
35. Shabazz Muhammad, SF UCLA
36. Erick Green, G Virginia Tech
37. DJ Cooper, PG Ohio
38. Arselan Kazemi, PF Oregon
39. Mason Plumlee, C Duke
40. Dennis Schroeder, PG Braunschweig
41. Jake Cohen, PF Davidson
42. Alex Abrines, SG Barcelona
43. Dewayne Dedmon, C USC
44. Ray McCallum, G Detroit
45. Ed Daniel, PF Murray State
46. Lorenzo Brown, PG North Carolina State
47. Zeke Marshall, C Akron
48. Sergei Karasev, SF Triumph Moscow
49. Allen Crabbe, SG California
50. Marko Todorovic, C Barcelona
51. Leonard Washington, F Wyoming
52. Tim Hardaway Jr, SG Michigan
53. Taylor Smith, PF Stephen F Austin
54. DJ Seeley, G Cal-State Fullerton
55. Jack Cooley, PF Notre Dame
56. DeShaun Thomas, SF Ohio State
57. Trevor Mbakwe, PF Minnesota
58. Brandon Davies, PF BYU
59. Peyton Siva, PG Louisville
60. Ian Clark, G Belmont