Undrafted NBA Free Agents 2016: Predictions for Top Prospects Available

The 2016 NBA draft might have been the most confusing to date, leaving more notable names in undrafted free agency than ever before.

Starting with the No. 13 pick, even analysts on television couldn't help but scratch their heads a bit as names such as Georgios Papagiannis, Juan Hernangomez, Guerschon Yabusele and Pascal Siakam came off the board.

These guys are the future of the league, so it's best to buckle down and learn (and probably change the way one approaches the draft). But it's also important to monitor the undrafted market, as there are always one or two strong rotational players, if not more, who emerge from it.

Here's a close look at a few of the names to know, with Bleacher Report's Alec Nathan detailing the whole list here.

Wayne Selden

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If anyone is a steal in this market, it's certainly Kansas guard Wayne Selden.

A three-year player with the Jayhawks, Selden already looks the part at 6'6" and 232 pounds. There isn't much in the way of weaknesses, though at the next level he won't be able to simply bully his way to the rim.

Still, the numbers show Selden as a guy who can shoot from anywhere on the court:

SEASON	FG%	3P%	REB	AST	PTS
2015-16	.474	.392	3.4	2.6	13.8
2014-15	.382	.365	2.8	2.6	9.4
2013-14	.437	.328	2.6	2.5	9.7

Selden won't transform into the league's next great shooting guard unless he bulks up more and evolves on both ends of the court.

But that's not what a team snagging Selden looks for on the market right now. A team like the Charlotte Hornets, who worked Selden out before the draft, would view him as a third or fourth guard for now and call it a day.

With Nicolas Batum heading to free agency and the team needing to get some competition for the newly arriving Marco Belinelli, per ESPN, expect the Hornets to get Selden on the phone soon.

Prediction: Selden signs with the Hornets

Jarrod Uthoff

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Another three-year player, Iowa forward Jarrod Uthoff is a reliable scorer who can come off an NBA bench and provide some shooting while otherwise developing his body and game.

Uthoff is already 23 years old and hard to classify at 6'10" and 214 pounds, hence his going undrafted. The negatives stop there. Last year, he posted averages of 18.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and shot 45 percent from the floor and 38 percent from deep.

Tom Kakert of HawkeyeReport.com explained the situation best:

Teams seem to have shied away from Uthoff's size, but a guy who can help protect the rim on one end and space the floor with shooting on the other won't last long on the market.

Look for a team in need of forward depth and shooting such as the Boston Celtics to come calling soon. After a bit of an odd draft, Boston could use a little name recognition to smooth things over with onlookers.

Prediction: Uthoff signs with the Celtics

Perry Ellis

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Size also wound up hitting Selden's teammate Perry Ellis rather hard on draft day.

Ellis is the definition of a tweener, a guy who will need to float between the small and power forward positions at the next level—which isn't a bad thing given the NBA's trend toward small-ball lineups. 

Still, Ellis turns 23 in September, so again, a lack of perceived upside didn't help matters. Even so, the Wichita, Kansas, native posted minimum averages of 13.5 points and 5.8 rebounds over the course of his past three seasons and in two of those shot better than 40 percent from deep.

A team unafraid to let Ellis blossom as a floor-stretching tweener will fall in love with his resume. He's not the best athlete, but shooting is shooting these days.

Bank on a team such as the Philadelphia 76ers adding depth after potentially liking what they saw at a pre-draft workout.

Prediction: Ellis signs with the 76ers

Marshall Plumlee

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Again, size and age knocked a prospect out in a hurry. 

Duke's Marshall Plumlee had a solid collegiate career and in his last season posted averages of 8.3 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.

But even the numbers suggest Plumlee has work to do on the offensive end of the court, which isn't a good detail when paired with the fact that he's going on 25 years old in July and stands at just 6'11" and 211 pounds.

An ESPN.com scouting report from May summed up why teams should like Plumlee:

"

Plumlee was the other really intriguing player I saw in Chicago. I'm not sure why he didn't get an invite to the combine. I understand that he's 24 and averaged only 8.8 PPG as a senior, but his size, explosive athletic ability and strength -- combined with a very solid second half of the season for Duke -- have to be intriguing. 

"

And believe it or not, Plumlee has already generated some interest, according to the Palm Beach Post's Jason Lieser:

This is how things go sometimes on the undrafted market: A team perhaps in need of some depth gets an endorsement behind the scenes from a player who knows a player, and the undrafted guy gets a shot.

Look for the Miami Heat to follow through here, because there's nothing wrong with taking a long-term shot at a potential position of need.

Prediction: Plumlee signs with the Heat

All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.