The Projects

Some players just aren't ready for prime time. They have some basketball skill, some athleticism, but there's no way they are ready to contribute to a CSL team. But their potential, oh, they are just oozing potential. That's why teams draft these raw players so high, that's why teams throw guys out there who clearly aren't ready (Dennis Schroeder, anyone?) and just let them get eaten alive by the wolves. The potential is sky high for some of these players. Who are those players this year?

Zach LaVine, UCLA
Zach LaVine is one of the more tantalizing prospects out there. He's lightning quick with an insane vertical leap and has great size for a guard. He's shown flashes of his ability to score the ball and defend at a high level, but there's a reason why he's only playing 18 minutes a game for UCLA. He's still too out of control, too prone to making mistakes, and too overaggressive sometimes. His skills haven't quite caught up with his athleticism yet, as he finds himself flinging poor shots at the basket from 3 feet away, simply because he can't keep control of his body as he flies through the air. He loses the ball far too much for a guard, and sometimes relies on his athleticism too much on defense and just loses focus altogether. However, he's shown a lot of natural instinct in terms of creating his own shot and is a knockdown jumpshooter already. He's also shown, when he's locked in, what kind of an incredible defender he could become. As he is right now, his only real assets are his outside jumpshot and his sometimes reliable ability to create for himself on the perimeter. If he is well coached and learns how to play CSL basketball though, he could easily turn into the next Kobe, a devastating scorer on one end with elite defense on the other.

Aaron Harrison, Kentucky
The other Harrison isn't quite the point guard his brother is, but don't count Aaron out, he's a good player in his own right. He's mostly a scorer, but he has good handles and doesn't turn the ball over much. His shot is still developing though, especially inside the arc, where his scoring off the dribble skills needs some fine tuning. He's a great spot up shooter, but he has a bad tendency to fade away when he shoots off the dribble, leading to a lot of his shots clanking off the rim. His defense is also an area that needs work, as it seems like he just lacks focus and gambles too much. When he does try to just play solid defense and keep his man in front of him, he does a great job. Harrison looks like he could become an above average defender who can knock down some shots as well, reminding me a lot of Courtney Lee.

Grant Jerrett, Arizona
What intrigues me the most about Jerrett is that he'll potentially have the skills to be a Shawn Marion type player in the future, enough strength, inside scoring, and blocking ability to play as a big, but enough outside shooting, passing and handling skills, and defensive ability to play on the perimeter. Right now his only well-developed skills are his outside shooting and his passing, but with more work in the post the rest of the season in Arizona and if he gets some good coaches around him, he could easily turn into a two-way All-Star at either forward position. Heck, he could probably even play small ball center at 6'10".

Viktor Gaddefors, Sweden
When all is said and done, Gaddefors could be a fantastic 6th man scorer type of player. He's got a great shooting touch inside the arc, and takes care of the ball really well. He's still working on developing go-to moves offensively, but once he gets some down he'll be downright dangerous. Right now he's mainly used to score in cutting or spot up jumpshot situations, but he's shown the ability to be a scorer in the DeMar DeRozan mold.

Joel Embiid, Kansas
I know everyone is talking about this guy like he's the next great big man, and to be honest, he should be. But watching him play at Kansas, you don't necessarily see it all the time. What you do see is a big man who struggles to finish inside, has pretty poor footwork, turns the ball over a little much, and doesn't exactly have the defensive fundamentals down. And then every now and then, he'll have a game where his post moves look as polished as Big Al Jefferson's, he can't miss no matter how well guarded he is, he even flashes the mid range jumper, and he'll play outstanding defense. Those games make everyone believe in Embiid's future as one of the greatest big men to play the game. He's certainly got the talent, just whether or not he can put it all together.

Great read. I don't follow college ball but everyone talked about Embiid as the next Dwight so I thought he'd be more than just a project in the draft... surprised to see him on the list

Zach Lavine is the ultimate boom or boost player. I can see some team with a nice lottery pick and not much need of guarantee help picking him to see if he pans out.

He can be the difference between a good team and a championship team if he can live up to 70% of his potentials!

These are the players playoff teams should be looking to grab and groom for a couple years.

Only lottery pick here is Embiid, and he's top 3.

I'm just not seeing the defense we're being told about from LaVine to make him interesting enough. He can shoot the three, but is a massive project? So that means that it will take 5 seasons for him to play okay offense and sub-average defense?

I think Harrison and Jerrett have a real chance to be late round value.

I've always been a fan of having at least one project guy on the roster. These guys I guess depends on where they go as some teams will take a flier on them.

I'm scared of project guys in DDS 3's engine after AB15 busted.

Lavine to the Cavs!

Jestor (PHX) wrote:I'm scared of project guys in DDS 3's engine after AB15 busted.

which is why LaVine will fall to the 2nd round where I pick him up right?