Quote Originally Posted by Blackeagle
first, the overrated players:
DeAndre Jordan. I know that he has a prototypical body for a C. He COULD be very good. But it won't happen any time soon. If you have the patience for him to develop, he may be worth taking. If you have kareem ready to work with him day in and day out, he could become a force in 2-3 years like Bynum. Most teams don't have the patience and don't have the proper coaching staff to make him a good pick.

JaVale McGee. Everything I said about Jordan applies to McGee. He may be a little more ready to play right now, but not by much. The same massive upside, but serious doubts on him reaching it, especially in a timely fashion.

Derrick Rose. This one will turn some heads, and I fully expect him to be a good player. But, he needs to work on his game. He may very well be the single most athletic person on the planet, and he has great intangibles. I expect him to improve and eventually become one of the best PGs in the league - but there's no way he wins rookie of the year, and for a guy who seems to be the consensus #1 pick, I think that qualifies him as overrated.

Russell Westbrook. This one is a big one for me. The other guys that I say are overrated could very well become very good players. Rose especially, may be one of the best PGs in the league in a few years. But Westbrook? He's not a point guard. He just isn't, so stop trying to say that he is. He's a short shooting guard with no jumpshot. He's very athletic and plays very good defense, and that counts for something, but he'll never be a particularly good player.



Now, the underrated players:
Shan Foster. 6'6" shooting guard with serious range, averaged over 20 ppg as his team's primary scoring option, with tremendous shooting percentages. SEC player of the year. Moves extremely well off the ball, and plays good defense. Why is he not a first rounder again? I've been pimping him since november, at which point he made a brief appearance in the late first round of a lot of mocks, but seems to be totally forgotten these days. His only down side is that he's a senior. I'm sorry, but I'll take what I consider to be a sure-fire quality player now over someone with more unfulfilled 'potential.'

Lester Hudson. Very talented scorer from everywhere on the floor. Athletic, plays decent defense. Is used to taking and making big shots. Plays well under pressure. Two things hold him back. First, his size... he's definitely a combo guard tweener. He needs to go to the right situation, and will probably always be a bench player, but could develop into a very good 6th man, but with the right coaching staff, maybe he develops his PG skills. Secondly, he played at a small program. I'd point you to two guys in recent years: Kevin Martin and Rodney Stuckey. Both guys played for small conference teams, but were tremendous scorers, both have excelled in the NBA. Expect Hudson to do the same if put into a good position.

Jason Thompson. Another guy who gets less respect than he deserves, simply because of his conference. He's athletic, has good size, rebounds well, blocks shots well. He's a jump shooting big, which a lot of people don't like. He's not going to be a guy who you throw the ball to in the low post, and let him draw a double.. and that ability to draw the double in the post is one of the things that makes bigs so valuable. So in that respect, I understand how some people rate him. In the right situation though (like my timberwolves), he would be perfect, because the wolves already have a serious low post scoring threat that Thompson could play off of. If your team is looking for that post scoring threat to draw the doubles, Thompson is not for you, but he could excel as a role player in the right situation, alongside another big with a strong post game.


Please feel free to debate or post your own. Don't just make lists, explain your picks.