Undrafted NBA Free Agents 2012: Best Players at Every Position
As all of you who watched the 2012 NBA Draft last night, there's a reason I call the Draft "Half-Christmas." Well, other than, you know, the fact it hits around the Christmas halfway point.
Every year, the draft is a joyous occasion ripe with terrible suits, David Stern basking in his yearly boo showers and analysts struggling to pronounce goofy international names in the second round.
But for some players, a night they thought would be a dream come true turned out to be a disappointment after going undrafted. Who are the best players of that crop? Read on and find out.
PG: Scott Machado (Iona)
1 of 5My Final Big Board Ranking: 37
While you never take any advanced metric as "word is bond", the guys over at Wages of Wins were even higher on than Machado than I was, ranking him No. 15 overall.
For me, there were few better passers in the draft. Machado excels in the drive-and-dish game and blossomed as a much-improved shooter last season at Iona.
Teams were obviously concerned enough about his size and questionable work ethic to pass on Machado altogether.
But that actually might not be a bad thing for the former MAAC point guard. Like undrafted players in the NFL, Machado will have a chance to field multiple camp offers from teams and make the most informed decision for his future.
He's going to need a coach willing to run an uptempo offense to excel in the NBA, and now Machado will have the opportunity to do so. With second-round contracts not guaranteed anyway, this might have been an act of serendipity.
And according to Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski, Machado already has no shortage of suitors:
"Undrafted Iona guard Scott Machado has Bobcats, Cavaliers, Hawks, Hornets, Raptors, Rockets calling for summer league, sources tell Y!
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) June 29, 2012"
SG: Terrell Stoglin (Maryland)
2 of 5My Final Big Board Ranking: 48
The rap on Stoglin coming into the draft was that he was an undersized volume shooter who put up gaudy numbers on a weak Maryland team.
But the final nail in Stoglin's draft coffin was the unceremonious way the shooting guard left Maryland, with a year-long suspension for "multiple violations of the same university rule." Because the violation was not academic, the problem could have been drug-related or behavioral. University privacy laws prevent the public from ever knowing.
We're here to talk about the positive, though. While undersized, Stoglin is a scoring machine, basically a larger version of Kings guard Isaiah Thomas. He can stretch out to the three-point line with ease and reportedly destroyed first-round talents in draft workouts (subscription required).
If Stoglin can keep himself out of the back of a paddy wagon, whichever team scoops him up might find a bench scoring threat.
SF: Hollis Thompson (Georgetown)
3 of 5My Final Big Board Ranking: 53
It's always understandable when a player this deep on the big board goes undrafted. Teams and I often have different evaluations, and that's before accounting for the tried-and-true practice of drafting international talent that teams can stash overseas for years without paying a dime.
Thompson needs to add strength and a more consistent handle, but he possesses the single most translatable skill: shooting. If a team gives Thompson a chance, he could wind up as a nice high-energy, spot-up shooter coming off a contender's bench.
PF: Kevin Jones (West Virginia)
4 of 5My Final Big Board Ranking: 40
Jones is a 6'8" power forward whose wingspan stretches past the seven-foot mark, can shoot out to the three-point line and shows a high motor on both ends of the floor.
To say I'm shocked he went undrafted would be an understatement. Jones is absolutely the type of player who could have come off the bench for either the Miami Heat or Oklahoma City Thunder and contributed to both second units.
Jones will be a godsend for whichever team invites him to camp.
C: Henry Sims (Georgetown)
5 of 5Final Big Board Position: 57
In his yearly Draft Rater column, ESPN's John Hollinger identified Sims as a potential second-round sleeper and had him No. 32 overall on his Draft Board.
Unlike most of his big-man counterparts, Sims already possesses a polished offensive game and had some of the softest hands of anyone in the draft. Where Sims struggles is on the defensive end. He wasn't able to rebound consistently at Georgetown, so he would struggle mightily at the NBA level without adding some muscle.
Regardless, in a league where there is a dearth of skilled big men, Sims was worthy of a draft selection and should stick somewhere at the next level.
