While the insanity of the impending free agent market, spurred by megastars like LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh, has dominated the NBA landscape for months now, the impact of the draft certainly cannot be overlooked. One need only think back to Oklahoma City’s meteoric rise from the dregs of the league to a team that gave the Lakers all they could handle in the NBA playoffs. The Thunder did it almost exclusively through the draft by acquiring one of the top five players in the league in Kevin Durant (No. 2 pick in 2007), a star point guard in Russell Westbrook (No. 4 pick in 2008), solid complimentary forward Jeff Green (No. 5 pick in 2007), and the insanely-talented combo of off guard James Harden (No. 3 pick in 2009) and power forward Serge Ibaka (No. 24 pick in 2008).
UT basketball coach Rick Barnes has churned out four first-round picks in T.J. Ford, LaMarcus Aldridge, D.J. Augustin, and the aforementioned Durant and expects to add two more to his tally this year in small forward Damion James and shooting guard Avery Bradley. Center Dexter Pittman has a chance to be drafted, as well. Let’s take a look at each prospect and where they could potentially end up hearing their names called on Thursday night.
Avery Bradley
Position: Shooting guard
Height w/o shoes: 6’ 2”
Height w/ shoes: 6’ 3.25”
Weight: 180 lbs
Year: Fr.
Strengths: Easily the top perimeter defender in this draft and possibly for a long time. Picture-perfect form and incredible elevation on his jump shot complement a strong midrange game. Freakish athleticism and speed. Hard worker on and off the court and a humble personality to boot.
Weaknesses: What is his position? He’s extremely short for an NBA shooting guard, his natural position. Comparisons to Russell Westbrook are premature, as Bradley possesses both subpar ball handling and passing skills. Didn’t display the primacy in college desired in a first-round NBA guard, especially at his size.
Where will he go: Projections for Bradley have been anything from late lottery to later first round. He seems to be a polarizing force among scouts, but expect him to go somewhere in the middle of the first round. The Timberwolves currently hold the number 16 pick, though there is speculation that they have been considering dealing it to Memphis. If they keep it, Minnesota would love to pick up a much-needed shooting guard to complement likely number-four-overall pick Wesley Johnson. Bradley would slide in seamlessly next to Johnny Flynn in the backcourt and his deferential style would fit in nicely with established post players Al Jefferson and Kevin Love.
Did you know: Despite the incredible hype surrounding number-one-pick lock John Wall, ESPN chose Bradley as the number one player in their 2009 high school basketball rankings.
Damion James
Position: Small forward/power forward
Height w/o shoes: 6’ 6.25”
Height w/ shoes: 6’ 7.75”
Weight: 227 lbs
Year: Sr.
Strengths: Nobody plays harder than the Big 12’s all-time leading rebounder. Relentless on the offensive and defensive ends. Very good strength and athleticism. Multifaceted forward who is too fast for big men and too big for perimeter players, making him a nightmare matchup on offense. Has added new skills ever since arriving in college as a raw freshman. 
Weaknesses: Like Bradley, doesn’t have a defined position in the NBA. Probably too small to guard NBA power forwards and not quick enough to defend NBA small forwards. Shot is decent, but will have to improve to NBA 3-point range. Handle leaves much to be desired; he frequently loses control of the ball on fast breaks. Though he has improved his catching, still sometimes displays “stone hands.” Has he reached his potential already?
Where will he go: Most mock drafts have James going somewhere in the middle of the first round. What better team to draft him than the home-state San Antonio Spurs? The Spurs love high-character guys who play hard (see DeJuan Blair), and nobody epitomizes that more than James. Also, after the failed Richard Jefferson experiment, San Antonio will be looking for a more hard-nosed player to fill the SF position. James can be brought along slowly and play around established stars Tony Parker, George Hill, Manu Ginóbili, and Tim Duncan.
Did you know: If James is drafted in the first round as expected, he would be the third first-round pick taken in UT’s 2006 recruiting class, joining Kevin Durant and D.J. Augustin.
Dexter Pittman
Position: Center
Height w/o shoes: 6’ 9.5”
Height w/ shoes: 6’ 11.5”
Weight: 303 lbs
Year: Sr.
Strengths: A huge and imposing interior presence, Pittman is nimbler than one would expect for his size. He was absolutely dominant at times in college, especially when he locks into the game. Almost unstoppable once he gets into the deep paint. Not many will push him around inside. Shot-blocking machine Has he even begun to tap into his potential?
Weaknesses: Pittman has had weight problems for as long as anybody has heard about him. Does he have the drive to keep his weight down? Even towards the end of his college, he was starting to put on noticeable “bad weight,” and that was WITH the best strength and conditioning coach in the country. Many question his resolve to be a star player, as he frequently coasted during long stretches of games. Horrific free throw shooter. Doesn’t possess the passing abilities you want to see in a pivot man who’s going to incur repeated double teams. Prone to excessive foul trouble.
Where will he go: Pittman started the year as a potential lottery pick, but has since seen his stock slip continuously over the course of the season. He could go as high as the end of the first round if some team falls in love with his enormous size and potential as a sleeper, but more than likely he goes middle to late second round with a possibility of being undrafted. A team in need of a backup center could take a flier on him. The Atlanta Hawks are extremely undersized and could use some depth and beef off the bench behind Al Horford. They could take Pittman with the 53rd pick in the draft and hope he can become a solid backup to throw at Dwight Howard for 10 minutes a game.
Did you know: At 10.5’, Pittman has the longest hands in the entire draft!
Link to the story at Austin Examiner:
--Blake Borron
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