NBA Draft 2012: 5 Biggest Potential Busts in the 2012 Draft Class

There are two undeniable trends when it comes to NBA drafts; rookies that have the ability to contribute immediately, and at the other end of the spectrum, selected in the draft that will be 'busts'.

For every Kyrie Irving, Blake Griffin or John Wall there is a Hasheem Thabeet, Joe Alexander or Nikoloz Tskitishivili (remember him? Of course you don't.)

Wednesday we took a look at six rookies that have the potential to have immediate NBA impacts. So in all fairness, let's highlight five players eligible for the 2012 NBA draft who are destined for the "Bust" label...

Quincy Miller, SF Baylor

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Quincy Miller had a great opportunity to be the big man on Baylor's campus with Perry Jones III declaring for the draft. Instead, Miller elected to enter the draft as well as fight for a spot in the bottom of the first round.

Miller has some nice NBA skills. He's a smooth 6'9" athlete at the SF position that can score in a number of ways. Where Miller's stock will take a hit is that he's still showing the affects of an ACL injury suffered during his HS senior season. Miller is rail thin also, which may hurt him in workouts with other more physically mature prospects.

Quincy Miller may get an opportunity to produce eventually, but don't expect it to be anytime soon. 

Meyers Leonard, C Illinois

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Another year at Illinois could have done center Meyers Leonard a world of good, but it's hard to argue with his decision to go pro as a potential top 20 pick after his sophomore year.

Leonard may in time develop into a serviceable NBA rotation player. Or he may turn out to be the second coming of Robert Swift, which to me seems more likely. Many prominent mock drafts have Leonard slotted to be selected between picks 14-20 of the first round and that's primarily because he's a 7-footer, which you can never have too many of in the NBA.

To his credit, Leonard has shown great improvement from his freshman campaign to his sophomore season. But at this stage in his development a top-20 pick is a reach for a young big man with limited skills who may not get much better.

Marquis Teague, PG Kentucky

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Although Kentucky's entire starting five decided to turn pro after winning the national championship, Marquis Teague is the one member of that group that should have returned for his sophomore season.

Teague has athleticism similar to his older brother Jeff (the current starting PG for the Atlanta Hawks), but Marquis doesn't appear to be as quick or as tall as Jeff. Marquis also has a shaky jump shot, and unless you're name is Rajon Rondo a point guard who can't shoot rarely gets valuable NBA rotation minutes.

The younger Teague also played out of control at times for the Wildcats, and it seemed as if he was trying to establish himself as more of a scoring threat instead of being a distributor for the rest of his talented Kentucky teammates. This isn't an ideal quality of NBA point guards.

If Marquis Teague sneaks into the bottom of the first round, I doubt he plays much above the D-League level for the first few years of his NBA career.

Terrence Jones, PF Kentucky

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Terrence Jones may be the most offensively versatile forward in the 2012 NBA draft. At 6'8", 244 lbs Jones has the size and touch to score around the basket, while also flashing solid ball-handling and perimeter skills to be effective on the wing when matched against slower players. Jones' skill set is similar to that of Atlanta Hawks forward Marvin Williams.

The question mark regarding Terrence Jones is his motivation. At times in his two seasons at Kentucky, Jones displayed body language that should raise red flags for scouts while also sometimes appearing to check out of games mentally.

If motivated, Jones could be a steal anywhere from picks 5-10. The question remains to be seen if Terrence Jones will be motivated on a nightly basis to keep himself in the rotation and avoid the"bust" label.

Andre Drummond, PF/C Uconn

Andre Drummond is the type of lottery pick that can either boost a franchise's fortunes in two to three years or set that same franchise back for two to three years.

Drummond has ideal size and athleticism for an NBA big man and a world of talent, but Drummond also has a questionable motor that makes you wonder if he really even likes playing basketball that much. Throw in the fact that Drummond only shot .295 from the free throw line in college, and it's safe to say he won't see much playing time for a couple years.

A similar situation happened with DeAndre Jordan (who at the time had similar attributes as Drummond) coming out of Texas A&M in 2008. Jordan was projected as a top five pick, but after workouts with teams Jordan's draft stock fell completely out of the first round, eventually landing him with the Clippers at number 35.

On potential alone, Drummond is a top three pick in ANY draft. But based on his inconsistent play, lack of offensive polish and questionable desire, Drummond may not prove worthy of the top five pick he is being projected as.