2012 NBA Draft: 5 Prospects with the Biggest Character Concerns

"Character concerns" are among the most abstract measures teams use to evaluate prospects.  

On one hand, a player can get charged with a crime and automatically get labeled as a "bad" guy.  

That's easy. But evaluating a player's actual personality type? Much more difficult to judge.  

One team may love a player's "swagger" and "confidence" while another could write the same player off as "brash" and "overconfident."

And one team's psychological analysis can seemingly send a player soaring or plummeting down draft boards as leaks run throughout the media.    

It's an arbitrary process, but one that's necessary for teams making the evaluations.  

With the draft just a few days away, who are this year's "character flaw" guys? Follow along to find out.  

(Note: We're only looking at projected first-rounders because they're the only prospects with the inherent risk of a guaranteed contract.)

Tony Wroten, PG, Washington

Projected Draft Range:  Late first round.

Wroten started the NBA draft combine competing for Weber State's Damian Lillard and North Carolina's Kendall Marshall for the top point guard moniker.

By the combine's conclusion, Lillard was the consensus top dog, Marshall's stock stayed stagnant and Wroten was scrambling to stay in the first round.  

The concerns Wroten's NBA transition begin with his dreadfully inconsistent jumper (He was just a 16.1 percent three-point shooter at Washington), expand with his poor on-court decision making and culminate with character red flags.  

Fab Melo, C, Syracuse

Projected Draft Range:  Mid-to-late first round. 

While Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim was adamant that Melo "didn't let anybody down" when the NCAA ruled him academically ineligible to compete in the NCAA tournament, there are many who feel the Orange's loss of Melo's defensive presence cost them a national championship.  

Throughout the draft process, Melo has also tried to shine some light on exactly what happened, but the events which led to his collegiate career ending remain overwhelmingly mysterious.  

For me, the "I'm a foreigner" excuse seems too convenient. According to Syracuse's website, there are 2,000 international students currently attending Syracuse University, all of which have access to the university's Slutzker Center for International Services and English Language Institute.

And this wasn't Melo's first run with academic ineligibility. If the language barrier was that difficult, he should have utilized those services and worked with a tutor to keep his grades at an acceptable level.  

It's not as if anyone would scrunch their face at working around Melo's rigorous basketball schedule.   

Academically ineligible once? Fine. Twice? Character flaws.

Arnett Moultrie, PF, Mississippi State

Projected Draft Range:  Late lottery to mid-first round.

Call me crazy, but calling out your lesser-talented teammates in college doesn't exactly scream "gets along well with others."

Couple that with his age (going on 22), his poor defense and his transfer from UTEP (for the most part, I don't trust players who transfer) and Moultrie has a bevy of issues that would normally hamper a prospect's draft stock.  

Fortunately for Moultrie, he's become a token "guy that everyone says is underrated to the point he's overrated" guy as multiple teams have fallen in love with his athleticism and ability to play the prototypical stretch power forward position. Moultrie has even reached the lottery in some mock drafts.

For me, there are just too many concerns for a guy whose ceiling is a slightly better Taj Gibson.  

Dion Waiters, SG, Syracuse

Projected Draft Range:  Mid-to-late lottery.

Earlier we discussed a player who Jim Boeheim went out of his way to defend, so it's fitting we'll now be discussing a player who consistently clashed with Boeheim after arriving to Syracuse overweight, being a defensive turnstile and exhibiting poor body language.

Waiters was even the target of a rare public pointed criticism from a college coach: 

"

"He had nothing to be frustrated about because he was 100 percent wrong,” Boeheim said. He added: “He played no defense last year. Not some. None.”

"

And Boeheim isn't the only coach Waiters won't be receiving a Christmas card from. He also attended four high schools, reportedly butting heads with coaches at every stop.  

...but seriously, DAT TALENT DOE. Scouts don't throw the name Dwyane Wade when talking about a draftee every day. Even if the comparison is a little hyperbole (which it is), a poor man's Wade is certainly worth taking a lottery risk on despite the apparent character flaws.  

Royce White, SF, Iowa State

Projected Draft Range:  Mid-first round. 

If this was high school and we were handing out superlatives for 2012 draft prospects, White would certainly win "Most likely to thank his therapist after winning an NBA championship."

But we need to be clear about what denotes character issues with White. His anxiety disorder? Not a character issue. His fear of flying (related to the anxiety)? Not a character issue.

His suspected theft of a laptop, trespassing incident and subsequent transfer from Minnesota? Post-baby Jessica Simpson-sized character flaw.  

You cannot discount those issues when evaluating White. However, his candor how he's dealing with his anxiety issues and his past mistakes have impressed NBA teams. If these problems are truly past White, whichever playoff team drafts him may get the next Lamar Odom.  

At the 18-24 range, White is beyond worth the risk.