Indiana’s selection of Andrew Nembhard a year ago is an example of how teams can utilize that strategy effectively even outside the first round.
Philosophically, this is a shift from some teams who use those picks – late first-rounders and second-rounders – to swing for the fences in hopes of landing the next Jokic or Draymond.
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So who could be this year’s version of Braun or Nembhard, a player who has the experience and ability to contend for a spot in the rotation from day one, even if they don’t necessary have as high a long-term ceiling?
It may not even be fair to include Kris Murray on this list, since there is a real possibility he is off the board in the middle of the first round. While Murray shot less than 34% from behind the 3-point line this year, there is a deep belief that he’s going to make spot-up shots at a high level when he gets to the NBA and becomes more of a secondary role player (he made 39% of his 3s as a sophomore at Iowa). In addition to the shooting, he’s a high IQ player who has historically played with a low turnover rate. Combine that solid positional size (6-foot-7 3/4 without shoes with a 6-foot-11 3/4 wingspan), strength and athleticism, and he should be able to make an immediate impact on the offensive end of the floor — in a role not unlike what his twin brother Keegan did this year in Sacramento.
With more and more teams potentially looking for experience in the second half of the first-round, Jaime Jaquez is seeing his stock rise accordingly. While he played a mid-range heavy style, almost as an undersized four man, at UCLA, he gets praised across the board for his toughness, physicality, motor, and intangibles. The shooting is the area he’ll need to show growth in as he transitions into a role-playing wing, but at 6-foot-6 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan, he may still be able to play some small-ball four even in the NBA. He’s a heady two-way player, capable of creating his own shot from the wing or the elbow, and just generally expected to help impact winning with the way he approaches the game.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper helped himself more in the pre-draft process than almost anyone. He’s a high-level athlete with very long arms, good positional size, and a strong motor. Defensively, he’s capable of coming in and making an impact right away, and has a chance to be multi-positional while doing so. Offensively, there’s enough shooting potential to suggest he can be a competent spot-up floor-spacer down the road, but just as important is the fact that he’s not someone who needs the ball in his hands to be effective as he showed this year when Tyler Kolek was the primary playmaker on Marquette’s Big East championship team.
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