Courtesy: CBSSports.com
The 2013 NBA Draft was very exciting, leaving fans on the edge of their seats as nobody knew who would be selected first overall. Although there was plenty of talent, there was no stand out superstar from this draft class. There is, however, a couple of rookies doomed to disappoint fans this season.
Otto Porter Jr. – SF Georgetown
The Washington Wizards selected SF Otto Porter Jr. with their number 3 overall pick. Washington has needed a small forward for some years now as Trevor Ariza and Martell Webster are just not going to cut it. That leaves us Otto Porter who is coming off his sophomore year averaging 16.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists on 48% shooting. These stats appear to be great on paper, but I’m not sure these will translate well into the NBA. To begin, most of his points come from catch and shoot situations. Porter is not an efficient player when driving to the rim or shooting off the dribble. Both vital skills needed in the NBA. Today, players need a floater and soft touch around the rim because they won’t always get an open shot on the perimeter. This makes players one dimensional and predictable, allowing defenders to guess their next move. Additionally, Porter isn’t going to be able to guard many of the elite small forwards in the game today. Porter weighs in at 198lbs which concerns me. I know he is only 19 years old but until he puts on some muscle players like: Paul Pierce, Paul George, Metta World Peace, Lebron James even Luol Deng are going to light him up. All of these factors combined, may cause Otto Porter to be buried in the lineup as the Wizards are trying to make a playoff push this season. On the contrary, he does have tons of room to grow and develop as a player. Perhaps a few years down the line, he will be able to live up to his draft spot expectations.
Anthony Bennett – PF UNLV
The Cleveland Cavaliers shocked the NBA world when they selected PF Anthony Bennett first overall in the 2013 NBA Draft. Bennett was not a widely recognized name going into draft day especially with all of the buzz surrounding Cleveland to select Nerlens Noel. Bennett has struggled thus far in his NBA career, unable to record a field goal in his first four games. I don’t like him as a power forward mainly because of his lack of height. This is going to make it much tougher to score in the post with all of the near 7 footers that will be covering him. This will lead Bennett to continually take bad jumpers as he has shown to do throughout his college career and early stages of his NBA career. Also, he is not a great defender. He tends to jog back on defense and appear completely lost when he is supposed to rotate over. This is not something that you want from your number 1 overall pick. Cavaliers coach Mike Brown has alluded to the fact that Bennett has asthma and struggles to get up and down the court. In addition, Bennett suffers from sleep apnea which is a somewhat common condition amongst NBA players. The real cause for concern is the fact that Mike Brown explained “It’s been tiring to watch him because every time I watch him he’s (gasping). It makes me tired, so I try not to look at him. I tell him, `If you need a sub, just tell me. Otherwise I’m not going to look at you.” If this were a conditioning issue I wouldn’t be as worried, but the fact that Bennett has asthma throws major red flags up that this may be an ongoing issue throughout Bennett’s entire career.
~Statistics and Players Profiles courtesy of NBA.com, GUhoyas.com, UNLVrebels.com, Draftexpress.com~
What about Kentucky’s Nerlens Noel to be a first year disappointment? He is most likely going to be out the entire season.
Also, what about UCLA’s Shabazz Muhammad? I think he’s a bust this year. He has been struggling.
I’d also look at Miami’s Shane Larkin, with his size and his ankle injury. He could be a small bust, unless he has serious offensive production.
I go to UMD, so it hurts me to say, but Alex Len could be a bust this year as well. He has been struggling since his ankle surgery. He could of benefited from another year of college ball.
I think more than two draft picks are ‘doomed to disappoint’.
I didn’t include Nerlens on here because of the injury and also since we knew coming Ito this year he was going to miss significant time. I feel like Alex Len will find his rhythm though. You are right though, Shabazz Muhammed should be included in this list
You are right on as usual. Can’t wait to see how this season plays out with these guys..Nice job…..Go Nets