BIGGEST REACHES AND STEALS OF THE DRAFT

UPSYDE SPORTS PRESENTS:

BIGGEST REACHES AND STEALS IN THE DRAFT:

Obviously, this is one of those "way too soon" articles that you look back on a year, two years, or 5 years later and are like, wow, at least those takes where hot. Some of these selections are based on personal preferences during my watching of film and the others are based on small sample sizes during Summer League and other performances.

BIGGEST REACHES:

JOSH GIDDEY - There were several GMs gushing about this guy. He's got a 6' 8" frame, elite passing ability, and has youth on his side. My concerns are that he will have trouble figuring out his position. Theo Maledon had a pretty strong summer league performance and started most of last year. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is at full health and is a lock in the starting-5. You also have an abundance of forwards - Dort, Mann, Poku, Bazley, Roby, Williams, JRE - the list goes on. Most of this team has this feeling of true position-less basketball and that could hurt Giddey. He probably got forced up in the draft higher than he needed to because of several teams in the late lottery vying for him, yet I think he is going to struggle early in his career. With guys like Bouknight, Kuminga, Wagner, Moody and Sengun all on the board here, it was sort of a shocker and I think a reach.

JOSH PRIMO - This was a pretty obvious selection for me. I think due to his talent level at such a young age, he was overrated here. Primo was not on my people's boards as a lottery pick, nor was he even a first round pick on some boards. During his time at Summer League, he showed a lot of his inexperience - as he shot poorly and often, turned over the ball quite a bit, and offered very little else in the way of counting stats. Some bright spots were the blocks, his willingness to take the foul, and he was trying to get his teammates involved. Overall, I think he's going to get very little playing time this season with Lonnie Walker and Derrick White healthy, but I say this is a reach with guys like Duarte, Moody, and Keon all still on the board.

SANTI ALDAMA - I know what you're thinking... who!? Aldama was actually a beast at Layola, but he was not highly touted as a prospect. The feeling I get from this pick is that they were expected Day'Ron Sharpe to be available to them at 30. The Jazz recently let go of Favors and Bradley, so they are thin at the center. Azubuike is still pretty raw and Whiteside is on the downslope of his career, yet they are likely both going to get the Lion's Share of the bench minutes for the bigs. I'm not a huge fan of drafting players in the first round to send them to the G-League for a year, but that's likely what we'll get as Jazz still are considered a "win-now" Championship-caliber team.

BIGGEST STEALS:

CAMERON THOMAS - This guy is a scoring machine. He gets the luxury of learning from two of the best offensive guards of All-Time in Harden and Irving and he seems to be producing right away. Depending on his trajectory, they might give him a bigger role if they are able to consolidate some of their contracts to bring in another star player. The Nets are all-in on the championship, and getting an NBA-ready guard late in the first round is a premium most teams were not able to add. The value of when they drafted him is incredible, as he has already shown some of his upside by leading the entire Summer League in points. He is also efficient from the line, a solid defender, and his low amount of personal fouls should all him to be a low-risk option for this aspirations Nets team.

SHARIFE COOPER - I had him going as high as 20 to Atlanta. I had no idea that he would fall low enough for them to get him in the late 40s. His major flaw is his lack out outside shooting, but he was able to show his ability to score and pass the ball well. I won't sugar coat it, he still needs to work on his shot. He needs to get better at decision making. That being said, he outperformed Ayo Dosunmu, Jaden Springer, Davion Mitchell, Tre Mann, and several veteran players. While he may not be a top-20 player, he is proving why he should've probably been drafted in the first round.

ALPEREN SENGUN - I had him going as high as 9 to the Kings in several mock draft, and I still stand behind that for the most part. You could make the case that his real upside after seeing him play in summer league is as high as 6 to OKC. If you told me 5 years from now he was one of the 5 best players in this draft, I would not be surprised. He did everything a big was supposed to - scored, rebounded, averaged almost three assists per game, and averaged three blocks per game. His game is reminiscent of a Marc Gasol-type, but the Jokic player type seems to be the new prototype big. Houston traded up to get him, and even at 16 he was a major steal.

- Adam Safianow - NBA Analyst - Upsyde Sports [Copyright 2021]

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