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Top 10 NBA prospects by position
We're in a little bit of draft limbo at the moment. Draft workouts won't start for another week or so … and most of those will be workouts for second-round prospects.
The real action won't heat up until the Chicago pre-draft combine in early June.
Until then we're stuck doing what every team out of the playoffs is doing … watching film and trying to create rankings.
We already have a Top 100 and a Mock Draft 4.0.
Here's a look at the draft from a different perspective: the top 10 players by position.
Note: Top 100 ranks are in parentheses.
Point guards
1. Damian Lillard, Jr., Weber State Wildcats (12)
2. Kendall Marshall, So., North Carolina Tar Heels (17)
3. Tony Wroten Jr., Fr., Washington Huskies (21)
4. Marquis Teague, Fr., Kentucky Wildcats (24)
5. Tyshawn Taylor, Sr., Kansas Jayhawks (34)
6. Scott Machado, Sr., Iona Gaels (35)
7. Tu Holloway, Sr., Xavier Musketeers (52)
8. Casper Ware, Sr., Long Beach State 49ers (73)
9. Josep Franch, France (77)
10. Jordan Taylor, Sr., Wisconsin Badgers (78)
Comments: It's a very weak point guard class this year. We don't have any PGs ranked in the top 10 and just one in the lottery. We had to include three players ranked in the 70s just to get an entire top 10.
The class gets a wee bit better if you classify Dion Waiters here, as Fran Fraschilla did on Monday in our draft blog. Waiters would be No. 2 if you classified him as a 1 and could very possibly be the first PG off the board. Wroten and Teague may have the most potential of anyone on the list, but neither player is considered NBA-ready, which will hurt their stock.
Shooting guards
1. Bradley Beal, Fr., Florida Gators (3)
2. Jeremy Lamb, So., Connecticut Huskies (11)
3. Austin Rivers, Fr., Duke Blue Devils (14)
4. Dion Waiters, So., Syracuse Orange (15)
5. Terrence Ross, So., Washington Huskies (18)
6. Doron Lamb, So., Kentucky Wildcats (29)
7. Evan Fournier, France (30)
8. Will Barton, So., Memphis Tigers (31)
9. John Jenkins, Jr., Vanderbilt Commodores (32)
10. Jared Cunningham, Jr., Oregon State Beavers (36)
Comments: This is the second-strongest position in the draft. There are potentially four to five lottery picks here, and even the players ranked at the bottom end of the list have real potential. Beal is clearly the No. 1 SG off the board.
However, Lamb, Rivers, Waiters and Ross are in a real scrum. I think you'll see a number of teams invite all four players to come in and work head-to-head. Lamb has the ideal size and length. Rivers and Waiters are big-time scorers. Ross is the best shooter of the group.
Barton may be the big sleeper here. I've heard a few teams have him much higher on their draft boards.
Small forwards
1. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Fr., Kentucky Wildcats (2)
2. Harrison Barnes, So., North Carolina Tar Heels (6)
3. Quincy Miller, Fr., Baylor Bears (20)
4. Moe Harkless, Fr., St. John's Red Storm (22)
5. Royce White, So, Iowa State Cyclones (25)
6. Jeff Taylor, Sr., Vanderbilt Commodores (26)
7. Draymond Green, Sr., Michigan State Spartans (28)
8. Khris Middleton, Jr. Texas A&M Aggies (37)
9. Tomas Satoransky, Czech Republic (39)
10. Darius Miller, Sr., Kentucky Wildcats (40)
Comments: Everyone talks about the need for centers and big men in the draft, but the biggest drought in the NBA comes at the small forward position. According to John Hollinger's PER stats, only 18 small forwards posted a PER of 15 or higher this season. That was the fewest of any position in the league. This year both Kidd-Gilchrist and Barnes are players who could sneak into that group eventually. Miller and Harkless are both young and underprepared, but have big upsides.
White is the real enigma of the draft. He could be great or he could be a bust. No one is quite sure which he'll be.
Power forwards
1. Anthony Davis, Fr., Kentucky Wildcats (1)
2. Thomas Robinson, Jr., Kansas Jayhawks (4)
3. Perry Jones, So., Baylor Bears (7)
4. Terrence Jones, So., Kentucky Wildcats (8)
5. Jared Sullinger, So., Ohio State Buckeyes (9)
6. John Henson, Jr., North Carolina Tar Heels (13)
7. Arnett Moultrie, Jr., Mississippi State Bulldogs (16)
8. Andrew Nicholson, Sr., St. Bonaventure Bonnies (27)
9. Kevin Jones, Sr., West Virginia Mountaineers (38)
10. Mike Scott, Sr., Virginia Cavaliers (44)
Comments: The strongest position in the draft, by far, is at the power forward position. There are seven potential lottery picks in this group, along with the No. 1 pick in the draft. The interesting thing about this group is that no two players are really alike. They all bring very different strengths to the table and, with the possible exception of Davis, significant weaknesses too.
While Davis and Robinson are very likely to be the first two PFs off the board, there's a pretty huge scrum between Perry and Terrence Jones, Sullinger and Henson. Those four can probably expect to see each other a lot in workouts.
Centers
1. Andre Drummond, Fr., Connecticut Huskies (5)
2. Tyler Zeller, Sr., North Carolina Tar Heels (10)
3. Meyers Leonard, So., Illinois Fighting Illini (19)
4. Fab Melo, So., Syracuse Orange (23)
5. Festus Ezeli, Sr., Vanderbilt Commodores (33)
6. Henry Sims, Sr., Georgetown Hoyas (42)
7. Kyle O'Quinn, Sr., Norfolk State Spartans (43)
8. Justin Hamilton, Jr., LSU Tigers (70)
9. Robert Sacre, Sr., Gonzaga Bulldogs (72)
10. Garrett Stutz, Sr., Wichita State Shockers (76)
Comments: The center position is pretty sketchy. Drummond is the best prospect on the board, but there is significant risk involved. Zeller should be solid. Leonard and Melo both have significant upsides but are far from NBA-ready. The rest of the group are career backups at best. If you don't desperately need a center this year, I'd pass.