Menu

Big Board of Top 115 NBA Draft Prospects, by Position, w/Analysis

Big Board of Top 115 NBA Draft Prospects, by Position, w/Analysis
Apr 27, 2008, 04:50 am
New Regularly Updated Positional Rankings: PGs, SGs, SFs, PFs, Cs


Advanced Draft History Section

Breaking Down the NBA Draft by Positions and Draft Class

Now that we have almost a complete picture of who is in and out of this year's draft, we can more accurately assess what lies ahead of us over the next 60 days leading up to June 26th. With that in mind, we've ranked the top 115 NBA prospects and sorted them by position, 20 points guards, 20 shooting guards, 20 small forwards, 30 power forwards, and 25 centers--reflecting the depth of each position in this class.

It's easy to estimate that the top three players from each position will land in the lottery and the top six will make up the first round, but history shows us that that's not always quite the case. How will this year's obscenely deep center class affect the way teams approach the draft on June 26th?

Methodology:- The averages stated below reflect the number of lottery and first round picks each position has produced over the last 10 years, compared with how things currently stand on our 2008 mock draft. This is just an initial projection obviously, as things will still change quite a bit after the NBA pre-draft camp and private workouts are conducted.

As always, when attempting to project a player’s position for the next level, we usually consider the position that player will likely defend on the floor, and try to stay within reason of what that player showed during their time in college.

Point Guards

10 Year Average: Lotto: 2.2, First Round: 5.7
2008 Projection: Lotto: 4, First Round: 5

Darren Collison’s surprising last-minute decision to return to school takes one likely first round point guard out of the picture here, but this is still a pretty decent class of playmakers, especially after last year’s dud of a group (so far). The top three players all look like solid starters at the very least, with Rose having franchise building potential and Bayless looking like a possible 20 point per game scorer down the road as well. Russell Westbrook may be considered more of a combo guard by some teams, but still looks like a solid late lotto to mid-first pick, while two other hybrid guards in Mario Chalmers and Lester Hudson will try to battle their way into the first round. Ty Lawson is holding on for dear life at this point, and could lead an exodus of players returning to school once the reality regarding the depth of this draft sets in. What’s interesting is that you won’t find a single senior in this group until all the way down at 14, Sean Singletary, who will probably be happy to get drafted at this point.


Points Guards
Ranking Name Age Height Team
1 Derrick Rose 19 years old 6' 3”
Memphis

2
Jerryd Bayless
19 years old
6' 3”
Arizona

3
D.J. Augustin
20 years old
5' 11”
Texas
4 Russell Westbrook
19 years old
6' 3”
UCLA
5 Ty Lawson
20 years old
5' 11”
North Carolina
6 Mario Chalmers
21 years old
6' 2”
Kansas
7 Lester Hudson
23 years old
6' 3”
Tenn. Martin
8 Jamont Gordon
21 years old
6' 3”
Mississippi St.
9 Rodrigue Beaubois
20 years old
6' 2”
Cholet
10 Jeremy Pargo
22 years old
6' 2”
Gonzaga
11 Goran Dragic
21 years old
6' 4”
Union Olimpija Ljubljana
12 Anton Ponkrashov
22 years old
6' 7”
Khimki
13 Mantas Kalnietis
21 years old
6' 5”
Zalgiris Kaunas
14 Sean Singletary
22 years old
6' 0”
Virginia
15 Jamar Butler
22 years old
6' 2”
Ohio State
16 Mike Green
22 years old
6' 1”
Butler
17 George Tsintsadze
22 years old
6' 4”
Rock Tartu
18 Bo McCalebb
22 years old
6' 0”
New Orleans
19 Brian Roberts
22 years old
6' 2”
Dayton
20 Stefhon Hannah ? Years old
6' 1”
Missouri





Shooting Guards

10 Year Average: Lotto: 2.6, First Round: 6.6
2008 Projection: Lotto: 2, First Round: 4

The shooting guard spot offers up a lot more question marks than answers at this point, continuing a trend we’ve seen over the past few years of extremely weak crops of 2-guards at the top end of recent drafts. Last year’s draft might not produce a single substantial starter at this position, and 2006 was fairly underwhelming as well beyond Brandon Roy. The 2005 first round’s best shooting guard? Probably Rashad McCants, which isn’t saying too much…Two freshmen shooting guards this year look certain to be selected in the top 10, but no one is quite sure if they’ll indeed end up spending most of their minutes at that position, which is part of the problem. There is a lot more age and experience after that, and we should actually see a nice group of role players and specialists emerge from this crop. Things are pretty wide open in the 3-7 slots of the rankings, and thus we might see all of the players here participate at the Orlando Pre-Draft camp, with there being plenty of room to move up into the first round based on team needs alone if someone is able to string together a strong showing.



Shooting Guards
Ranking Name Age Height Team
1 O.J. Mayo
20 years old
6' 5”
USC
2 Eric Gordon
19 years old
6' 3”
Indiana
3 Chris Douglas-Roberts
21 years old
6' 7”
Memphis
4 Courtney Lee
22 years old
6' 5”
Western Kentucky
5 Shan Foster
21 years old
6' 6”
Vanderbilt
6 J.R. Giddens
23 years old
6' 5”
New Mexico
7 Wayne Ellington
20 years old
6' 5”
North Carolina
8 Kyle Weaver
22 years old
6' 6”
Washington State
9 Sonny Weems
21 years old
6' 6”
Arkansas
10 Antonio Anderson
22 years old
6' 6”
Memphis
11 Richard Roby
22 years old
6' 5”
Colorado
12 Jerel McNeal
20 years old
6' 3”
Marquette
13 DeMarcus Nelson
22 years old
6' 4”
Duke
14 Reggie Williams ? Years old
6' 5”

VMI
15 Bryce Taylor
21 years old
6' 5”
Oregon
16 Joe Crawford
21 years old
6' 4”
Kentucky
17 Mark Tyndale
22 years old
6' 5”
Temple
18 Chris Lofton
22 years old
6' 2”
Tennessee
19 Robert Vaden
23 years old
6' 5”
UAB
20 Marcelus Kemp
23 years old
6' 5”
Nevada





Small Forwards

10 Year Average: Lotto: 2.8, First Round: 5.7
2008 Projection: Lotto: 3, First Round: 7

This appears to be a solid class of small forwards, particularly when you consider the size and versatility most of the prospects here bring to the table, which is what many teams covet from that position. There is a good mix of outside shooters (Budinger, Rush), athletes (Batum, Walker), and potential (Greene, Alexander), as well as various combinations. The two top international prospects in this draft come from here, although they probably couldn’t be any different from each other. Things get dicey pretty quickly towards the end of this list.


Small Forwards
Ranking Name Age Height Team
1 Danilo Gallinari
19 years old
6' 9”
Armani Jeans Milano
2 Donte Greene
20 years old
6' 10”
Syracuse
3 Chase Budinger
20 years old
6' 7”
Arizona
4 Nicolas Batum
19 years old
6' 8”
Le Mans Sarthe Basket
5 Joe Alexander
21 years old
6' 8”
West Virginia
6 Brandon Rush
22 years old
6' 7”
Kansas
7 Omri Casspi
19 years old
6' 8”
Maccabi Tel Aviv
8 Bill Walker
20 years old
6' 6”
Kansas State
9 Pat Calathes
22 years old
6' 10”
Saint Joseph's
10 Danny Green
20 years old
6' 6”
North Carolina
11 Gary Forbes
23 years old
6' 7”
Massachusetts
12 Keith Brumbaugh
22 years old
6' 8”
Oklahoma State
13 Joe Ingles
20 years old
6' 8”
South Dragons (NBL)
14 Malik Hairston
21 years old
6' 6”
Oregon
15 Lee Cummard 23 Years old
6' 7”

BYU
16 Manuchar Markoishvili
21 years old
6' 6”
BC Kyiv
17 Marcus Dove
22 years old
6' 9”
Oklahoma State
18 Quan Prowell
23 years old
6' 8”
Auburn
19 Gavin Grant
23 years old
6' 8”
N.C. State
20 Deron Washington 22 years old6' 7”
Virginia Tech





Power Forwards

10 Year Average: Lotto: 3.7, First Round: 6.6
2008 Projection: Lotto: 3, First Round: 6

Potential is the operative word here, with three freshman at the top, then one sophomore, followed by an 18 year old international player. Uncertainty is definitely another theme here as well. Michael Beasley looks like a franchise-changing talent on first glance, as long as he is able to stay grounded and not resort back to the way he often played in high school. Anthony Randolph is one of the bigger wildcards in this draft, as his physical tools and talent are off the charts, but there are also many questions about how ready he is to handle things on and off the court. It’s not easy to find much of a consensus around Kevin Love at this point either. Darrell Arthur is largely an enigma himself, while Serge Ibaka is probably 2-3 years away from stepping on an NBA floor, and might very well still pull out of the draft altogether in June. J.J. Hickson? Davon Jefferson? Good luck finding two scouts with the same opinions here either. The point here is, there is a lot still to be decided about how these players rank, and it’s not out of the question that someone ends up with a huge bust very early or a huge steal drafting late.



Power Forwards
Ranking Name Age Height Team
1 Michael Beasley 19 years old6' 9”
Kansas State
2 Kevin Love
19 years old
6' 9”
UCLA
3 Anthony Randolph
18 years old
6' 11”
LSU
4 Darrell Arthur
20 years old
6' 9”
Kansas
5 Serge Ibaka
18 years old
6' 10”
CB L'Hospitalet
6 Richard Hendrix
21 years old
6' 8”
Alabama
7 J.J. Hickson
19 years old
6' 9”
N.C. State
8 Ryan Anderson
19 years old
6' 10”
California
9 Davon Jefferson
21 years old
6' 8”
USC
10 D.J. White
21 years old
6' 9”
Indiana
11 Joey Dorsey
24 years old
6' 9”
Memphis
12 James Gist
21 years old
6' 8”
Maryland
13 Maarty Leunen
22 years old
6' 9”
Oregon
14 Josh Duncan
21 years old
6' 9”
Xavier
15 Derrick Caracter
19 years old
6' 9”
Louisville
16 Novica Velickovic
21 years old
6' 9”
KK Partizan Belgrade
17 Tadija Dragicevic
22 years old
6' 9”
BC Red Star Belgrade
18 Luc Richard Mbah A Moute
21 years old
6' 7”
UCLA
19 Robert Dozier
22 years old
6' 10”
Memphis
20 James Mays
22 years old
6' 9”
Clemson
21 Darnell Jackson
22 years old
6' 8”
Kansas
22 Kentrell Gransberry
22 years old
6' 9”
South Florida
23 Will Daniels
22 years old
6' 8”
Rhode Island
24 Othello Hunter
21 years old
6' 8”
Ohio State
25 Darian Townes
23 years old
6' 10”
Arkansas
26 Frank Elegar
21 years old
6' 9”
Drexel
27 Leo Lyons
20 years old
6' 9”
Missouri
28 Patrick Ewing Jr
23 years old
6' 9”
Georgetown
29 Charles Rhodes
22 years old
6' 8”
Mississippi St.
30 Kyle Hines
21 years old
6' 6”
UNC Greensboro





Centers

10 Year Average: Lotto: 2.8, First Round: 4.3
2008 Projection: Lotto: 2, First Round: 9

Fewer centers get drafted in the first round each year compared with any other position on average, but if early indications mean anything, things are going to be very different this time around. No less than 9 centers are currently projected to be drafted in the first round, which would be an all-time high over the last 10 years. Over the last five years in fact, no more than four centers were ever drafted in the first round in a single year, which has led many coaches and organizations to redefine the way they think about the center position. What is odd about the 2008 center crop is that there isn’t anything even remotely resembling a “sure thing” outside of the consensus #1 player Brook Lopez—we instead find a group of incredibly young, raw, immature, inexperienced players, often showing great physical tools and talent, but also with considerable flaws. Again, you’d be hard pressed to find two teams out of the 30 out there that would rank the top 17 centers on our board in the exact same order—beauty is in the eye of the beholder as they say. Almost anyone can slip into the top-20, and a significant portion of them will slide into the second round, just because of the sheer numbers involved. Luckily, most of the underclassmen/internationals are still holding onto their collegiate eligibility/draft cards. It will be fascinating to see how many will end up playing at the Orlando pre-draft camp, and workouts should play a pretty strong role in how things play out. When it's all said and done, this might be a great year for a team drafting in the bottom half of the first round to swing for the fences and take a chance on the project big guy they like the most, since it could really pay off for them down the road. As we all know, 7-footers don't grow on trees these days.




Centers
Ranking Name Age Height Team
1 Brook Lopez
20 years old
7' 0”
Stanford
2 DeAndre Jordan
19 years old
7' 0”
Texas A&M
3 JaVale McGee
20 years old
7' 0”
Nevada
4 Roy Hibbert
21 years old
7' 2”
Georgetown
5 Kosta Koufos
19 years old
7' 1”
Ohio State
6 Marreese Speights
20 years old
6' 10”
Florida
7 Alexis Ajinca
19 years old
7' 1”
Hyeres-Toulon
8 Ante Tomic
21 years old
7' 2”
KK Zagreb

9 Robin Lopez
20 years old
7' 0”
Stanford
10 Jason Thompson
21 years old
6' 11”
Rider
11 DeVon Hardin
21 years old
6' 11”
California
12 Nathan Jawai
21 years old
6' 10”
Cairns Taipans
13 Nikola Pekovic
22 years old
6' 11”
KK Partizan Belgrade
14 Omer Asik
21 years old
6' 11”
Fenerbahce Ulker
15 Trent Plaisted
21 years old
6' 11”
BYU
16 Semih Erden
21 years old
7' 1”
Fenerbahce Ulker
17 John Riek
18 years old
7' 2”
Winchendon
18 Peja Samardziski
22 years old
7' 0”
KK FMP Zeleznik
19 David Padgett
23 years old
6' 11”
Louisville
20 Sasha Kaun
22 years old
6' 11”
Kansas
21 Aleks Maric
23 years old
6' 11”
Nebraska
22 Longar Longar
25 years old
6' 11”
Oklahoma
23 C.J. Giles
22 years old
6' 10”
Oregon State
24 Giorgi Shermadini
19 years old
7' 1”
Maccabi Tblisi
25 Brian Butch
23 years old
6' 11”
Wisconsin

Recent articles

1.3 Points
1.3 Rebounds
0.7 Assists
-0.2 PER
-->
11.0 Points
5.0 Rebounds
4.4 Assists
16.1 PER
-->
0.0 Points
0.0 Rebounds
0.0 Assists
0.0 PER
-->
22.5 Points
4.5 Rebounds
5.3 Assists
27.0 PER
-->
10.4 Points
3.3 Rebounds
2.5 Assists
14.9 PER
-->
4.3 Points
0.7 Rebounds
3.7 Assists
6.8 PER
-->
8.0 Points
1.9 Rebounds
3.3 Assists
13.0 PER
-->
4.0 Points
3.0 Rebounds
0.0 Assists
13.3 PER
-->
0.0 Points
0.0 Rebounds
0.0 Assists
0.0 PER
-->
5.8 Points
1.8 Rebounds
1.3 Assists
5.7 PER
-->
10.7 Points
2.1 Rebounds
2.3 Assists
15.8 PER
-->
6.5 Points
1.4 Rebounds
3.6 Assists
8.7 PER
-->
4.8 Points
1.3 Rebounds
1.4 Assists
11.8 PER
-->
2.4 Points
1.4 Rebounds
1.0 Assists
10.5 PER
-->
3.8 Points
1.5 Rebounds
3.0 Assists
9.6 PER
-->
11.5 Points
1.6 Rebounds
2.8 Assists
12.6 PER
-->
12.5 Points
2.9 Rebounds
6.8 Assists
17.0 PER
-->
8.6 Points
4.2 Rebounds
5.2 Assists
9.7 PER
-->
8.0 Points
2.1 Rebounds
3.6 Assists
15.5 PER
-->
9.9 Points
1.7 Rebounds
3.0 Assists
14.9 PER
-->
14.0 Points
5.0 Rebounds
3.0 Assists
10.9 PER
-->
5.8 Points
2.8 Rebounds
4.6 Assists
8.3 PER
-->
11.9 Points
3.3 Rebounds
1.0 Assists
25.2 PER
-->
7.6 Points
2.3 Rebounds
0.6 Assists
12.3 PER
-->
11.7 Points
2.0 Rebounds
2.2 Assists
11.3 PER
-->
19.0 Points
4.3 Rebounds
2.0 Assists
16.2 PER
-->
3.0 Points
0.0 Rebounds
0.0 Assists
18.7 PER
-->
5.9 Points
1.7 Rebounds
1.0 Assists
11.5 PER
-->
11.0 Points
6.0 Rebounds
3.5 Assists
18.9 PER
-->
6.7 Points
1.8 Rebounds
0.7 Assists
9.9 PER
-->
9.1 Points
3.1 Rebounds
2.8 Assists
14.5 PER
-->
8.9 Points
3.4 Rebounds
2.9 Assists
25.0 PER
-->
4.8 Points
1.0 Rebounds
1.6 Assists
0.4 PER
-->
0.0 Points
0.0 Rebounds
0.0 Assists
0.0 PER
-->
14.6 Points
3.7 Rebounds
3.4 Assists
13.2 PER
-->
11.7 Points
4.3 Rebounds
3.7 Assists
11.9 PER
-->
1.0 Points
0.0 Rebounds
1.0 Assists
4.9 PER
-->
5.7 Points
1.7 Rebounds
1.2 Assists
10.2 PER
-->
2.2 Points
4.9 Rebounds
2.3 Assists
13.3 PER
-->
13.0 Points
4.0 Rebounds
4.0 Assists
12.2 PER
-->
19.6 Points
4.9 Rebounds
1.6 Assists
20.0 PER
-->
13.0 Points
2.7 Rebounds
1.3 Assists
16.6 PER
-->
7.0 Points
2.9 Rebounds
1.2 Assists
13.4 PER
-->
18.6 Points
4.4 Rebounds
1.4 Assists
19.0 PER
-->
7.5 Points
4.9 Rebounds
1.0 Assists
14.9 PER
-->
2.7 Points
2.3 Rebounds
1.7 Assists
9.8 PER
-->
4.0 Points
2.5 Rebounds
2.0 Assists
6.4 PER
-->
3.0 Points
1.7 Rebounds
0.0 Assists
4.0 PER
-->
7.0 Points
4.5 Rebounds
2.2 Assists
12.4 PER
-->
2.7 Points
1.5 Rebounds
1.3 Assists
-0.7 PER
-->
2.7 Points
2.8 Rebounds
0.6 Assists
11.7 PER
-->
0.0 Points
1.0 Rebounds
0.5 Assists
0.7 PER
-->
8.0 Points
5.0 Rebounds
1.0 Assists
1.1 PER
-->
15.9 Points
6.7 Rebounds
2.9 Assists
15.0 PER
-->
4.3 Points
2.1 Rebounds
3.0 Assists
10.5 PER
-->
13.5 Points
4.2 Rebounds
3.0 Assists
12.0 PER
-->
6.4 Points
4.5 Rebounds
1.3 Assists
14.8 PER
-->
8.5 Points
5.5 Rebounds
4.5 Assists
5.1 PER
-->
6.4 Points
6.5 Rebounds
1.0 Assists
18.9 PER
-->
3.8 Points
1.9 Rebounds
0.4 Assists
10.2 PER
-->
17.0 Points
3.0 Rebounds
1.5 Assists
13.2 PER
-->
5.3 Points
3.8 Rebounds
2.2 Assists
5.1 PER
-->
11.0 Points
6.0 Rebounds
1.0 Assists
15.7 PER
-->
4.2 Points
3.5 Rebounds
0.4 Assists
11.6 PER
-->
9.0 Points
6.2 Rebounds
2.2 Assists
18.8 PER
-->
0.0 Points
0.0 Rebounds
0.0 Assists
0.0 PER
-->
9.9 Points
5.6 Rebounds
1.5 Assists
20.1 PER
-->
22.4 Points
12.6 Rebounds
4.4 Assists
30.1 PER
-->
7.1 Points
3.9 Rebounds
1.7 Assists
24.3 PER
-->
12.2 Points
8.9 Rebounds
3.5 Assists
18.3 PER
-->
2.5 Points
3.5 Rebounds
1.0 Assists
9.4 PER
-->
13.7 Points
6.3 Rebounds
2.0 Assists
16.1 PER
-->
14.2 Points
11.7 Rebounds
2.9 Assists
21.7 PER
-->
8.5 Points
6.0 Rebounds
0.0 Assists
7.8 PER
-->
1.0 Points
3.0 Rebounds
2.0 Assists
15.4 PER
-->
11.0 Points
6.3 Rebounds
1.7 Assists
19.6 PER
-->
1.7 Points
2.3 Rebounds
0.7 Assists
0.1 PER
-->
4.6 Points
2.6 Rebounds
0.7 Assists
13.1 PER
-->
3.6 Points
1.5 Rebounds
0.5 Assists
7.6 PER
-->
0.0 Points
0.0 Rebounds
0.0 Assists
0.0 PER
-->
16.0 Points
8.3 Rebounds
2.0 Assists
30.2 PER
-->
7.3 Points
5.3 Rebounds
1.5 Assists
20.2 PER
-->
6.1 Points
4.7 Rebounds
1.5 Assists
5.3 PER
-->
6.9 Points
7.8 Rebounds
0.5 Assists
19.6 PER
-->
9.8 Points
3.6 Rebounds
1.1 Assists
18.2 PER
-->
8.6 Points
3.7 Rebounds
0.9 Assists
17.1 PER
-->
18.6 Points
11.6 Rebounds
1.0 Assists
25.5 PER
-->
11.0 Points
7.2 Rebounds
1.8 Assists
21.0 PER
-->
15.9 Points
8.1 Rebounds
3.9 Assists
23.9 PER
-->
6.0 Points
4.0 Rebounds
0.5 Assists
14.4 PER
-->
9.3 Points
6.2 Rebounds
0.7 Assists
20.1 PER
-->
5.3 Points
3.7 Rebounds
1.5 Assists
19.1 PER
-->
12.4 Points
5.3 Rebounds
1.7 Assists
14.8 PER
-->
4.1 Points
4.6 Rebounds
0.8 Assists
16.1 PER
-->
4.1 Points
2.7 Rebounds
0.3 Assists
18.7 PER
-->
5.2 Points
3.6 Rebounds
0.5 Assists
13.7 PER
-->
16.0 Points
8.3 Rebounds
1.7 Assists
32.9 PER
-->
11.5 Points
5.4 Rebounds
0.9 Assists
28.7 PER
-->
0.0 Points
0.0 Rebounds
0.0 Assists
0.0 PER
-->
9.3 Points
5.7 Rebounds
2.5 Assists
15.2 PER
-->
1.1 Points
0.3 Rebounds
0.3 Assists
6.6 PER
-->
0.0 Points
0.0 Rebounds
0.0 Assists
0.0 PER
-->
7.6 Points
5.5 Rebounds
0.3 Assists
16.0 PER
-->
5.2 Points
3.0 Rebounds
0.8 Assists
17.3 PER
-->
4.5 Points
1.8 Rebounds
0.9 Assists
6.5 PER
-->
0.0 Points
0.0 Rebounds
0.0 Assists
0.0 PER
-->
10.7 Points
7.3 Rebounds
2.6 Assists
15.4 PER
-->
1.3 Points
1.0 Rebounds
0.7 Assists
-1.1 PER
-->
1.2 Points
1.3 Rebounds
0.1 Assists
14.0 PER
-->
8.0 Points
4.0 Rebounds
0.0 Assists
20.8 PER
-->
9.2 Points
7.4 Rebounds
1.1 Assists
15.5 PER
-->
0.9 Points
1.1 Rebounds
0.1 Assists
12.3 PER
-->
1.6 Points
2.0 Rebounds
0.3 Assists
5.5 PER
-->
0.0 Points
0.0 Rebounds
0.0 Assists
-13.1 PER
-->
11.3 Points
9.0 Rebounds
1.7 Assists
15.9 PER
-->
12.4 Points
5.3 Rebounds
1.3 Assists
24.2 PER
-->
8.8 Points
5.8 Rebounds
0.9 Assists
23.1 PER
-->

Twitter @DraftExpress

DraftExpress Shop