NBA Draft 2012: Ranking the 5 Best Team Fits for Jeremy Lamb

It will be crucial for Jeremy Lamb to land on the right team if he is going to be successful in the NBA.

Lamb’s stock has drastically fluctuated throughout this past year.

He was once believed to be a top-five talent after helping Kemba Walker win a National Championship at UConn in 2011.

Now, he may even fall to the end of the lottery after his lackluster sophomore season.

He proved in college that he can be a fantastic scorer, but he seemed to disappear at times and wasn’t a great leader for his teammates.

Lamb is a pure shooting guard who will thrive in a system that makes him the primary scorer.

Here are the five best team fits for Jeremy Lamb in the 2012 NBA Draft.  

5. Toronto Raptors (8th Overall Pick)

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The Toronto Raptors already have a solid shooting guard in DeMar DeRozan, but they are lacking at the guard position overall.

If they draft Lamb, they could slide DeRozan, who is 6’7”, over to small forward and use Lamb as their starting shooting guard.

This isn’t the greatest position for DeRozan, but it is definitely an upgrade from the small forwards they had last season in Alan Anderson and Linas Kleiza.

If the Raptors take him, Lamb will put up a ton of points in his rookie season. 

4. Detroit Pistons (9th Overall Pick)

The Pistons already have two shooting guards who can play, but neither of them are signed past the 2014 season.

According to NBA.com's Sam Smith, it is already rumored that the Pistons are trying to trade shooting guard Ben Gordon because he is the highest-paid player on the team. 

If the Pistons draft Lamb, he will be joining a team with a great young core of players that includes Greg Monroe and Brandon Knight.

He may not get a ton of playing time in a rookie season with the Pistons, but Lamb would enter the rotation soon enough and form a dynamic backcourt with Knight. 

3. Portland Trail Blazers (11th Overall Pick)

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The Portland Trail Blazers are the team that is projected to select Jeremy Lamb according to ESPN’s latest mock draft by Chad Ford.  

The Trail Blazers could use Lamb, as they are expected to lose two guards this offseason: Jamal Crawford and Raymond Felton. 

Out of all of the teams on this list, the Trail Blazers have the best overall team and the best individual talent in LaMarcus Aldridge.

This is one of the few teams that could draft Lamb where he’d get to play significant minutes right away for a playoff contender. 

2. Golden State Warriors (7th Overall Pick)

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The Golden State Warriors have a hole to fill at shooting guard since they traded away Monta Ellis last season.

They have Klay Thompson, who had a great rookie season last year, but he is 6’7” and would probably be better suited at the small forward position.

Even if Thompson stayed at shooting guard, Lamb has the skills to compete with him for the starting job right away. At worst, he would probably be the first player off the bench for Mark Jackson next season.

It would also be a boost of confidence for Lamb if the Warriors draft him since they own the No. 7 overall pick.

1. Phoenix Suns (13th Overall Pick)

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The perfect fit for Jeremy Lamb is with the Phoenix Suns

The Suns are the only lottery team that is so guard-depleted that they would actually build around Lamb instead of using him as a complementary piece.

If he went to Phoenix, Lamb would step in and start at shooting guard right away with very little competition.

He is a natural scorer and could become the team’s go-to guy, even as a rookie.