10 NBA Rookies Who Must Start the 2012-13 Season in the D-League

Not all rookies are ready for the full-on NBA experience, and there are several notable draftees and signees in the class of 2012 who should start the season in the NBA Development League.

Some teams draft players based on upside, but at the moment, they're well stocked at the draftee's position. Thus, the draftee is the odd man out and sent to the minor leagues.

Other squads assign rookies to the D-League simply to hone their skills and expand their game in order to eventually contribute at the NBA level.

In addition to the handful of second-round picks and undrafted signees who need to spend time in the NBADL, there are couple first-round selections who will benefit from D-League maturation.

Khris Middleton, Detroit Pistons

After a somewhat disappointing junior campaign at Texas A&M, Khris Middleton took his talents to the 2012 NBA draft and was plucked early in the second round by the Detroit Pistons.

His Vegas Summer League performance left something to be desired, particularly his long-distance shooting. Middleton connected on just 31 percent of his three-pointers, which isn't horrendous, but it's poor considering the looks he got.

Joe Treutlein of Draft Express identifies Middleton's catch-and-shoot jumper as a primary point of concern:

"

"Projecting to the next level where he'd very likely have to play a smaller and less ball-dominant offensive role, Middleton's lack of success hitting catch and shoot jumpers is a red flag..."

"

For now, the Pistons will be absolutely fine without Middleton at small forward, and he'll get a chance to refine his scoring skills with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

Robert Sacre, Los Angeles Lakers

Most four-year players who have size and motivation like Lakers draftee Robert Sacre are ready to make an impact in the NBA.

Sacre isn't quite there because he's not used to battling with talented bigs every night. He hails from Gonzaga of the West Coast Conference, where he towered above most opponents.

He's faced some tough non-conference opponents and defended them well, but he doesn't have the skills to be a major factor offensively. As a seven-footer, his 36 percent field-goal shooting in Las Vegas is unnerving.

Let's be realistic: with Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol and Jordan HIll manning the post, Sacre isn't going to get much run at all if he stays with the Lakers.

It makes sense for him to start out with the hometown NBADL Los Angeles D-Fenders.

Festus Ezeli, Golden State Warriors

Similar to Robert Sacre, Festus Ezeli's relative lack of offensive comfort makes him a strong candidate for the NBADL.

The Golden State Warriors are in decent shape in the paint for now with Andrew Bogut, David Lee, Andris Biedrins and Carl Landry. Bogut and Biedrins provide size and defense, while Lee and Landry supply the offensive fireworks.

Ezeli may never be an offensive-oriented player, and will probably be a rebounding, defensive energy center. But the former Vanderbilit enforcer still needs to understand the flow of the game on offense in order to capitalize on good positioning.

He should be on the Santa Cruz Warriors to start the 2012-13 campaign.

Darius Miller, New Orleans Hornets

He wasn't an offensive juggernaut in college, and no one expects him to be an elite scorer, but New Orleans Hornets draftee Darius Miller needs to find his range while in the NBADL this fall.

Miller's athleticism won't overwhelm anyone in the NBA, nor will his ball-handling skills, so he needs to make sure his jump shot is ready when he checks into the game.

The summer saw him shoot just 33 percent from the field and miss all six of his three-point attempts.

Out of the four rookies currently on the Hornets roster, Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers are the only ones who will suit up to start the regular season.

That leaves Miller to work on his perimeter game with the Iowa Energy.

Kris Joseph, Boston Celtics

Former Syracuse standout Kris Joseph had a roller-coaster summer in the Orlando and Las Vegas Leagues.

As a Syracuse native, I followed most of his games with the Boston summer league squad. Some days, he was attacking the hoop effectively and creating opportunities. Others, he was out of sync and cold from the field.

ESPN's Chris Forsberg diagnoses Joseph's situation within the context of the Celtics' needs:

"

"At 6-foot-7, Joseph can really only help the Celtics at the small forward spot (he could play the two, but the C's are already loaded there), and with Paul Pierce and Jeff Green taking all of the minutes there, the Syracuse rookie should be the odd man out."

"

Joseph could eventually be a solid small forward in the NBA, but unless he magically becomes better than Paul Pierce and Jeff Green, he's better off doing battle for the Maine Red Claws.

Orlando Johnson, Indiana Pacers

Indiana Pacers rookie Orlando Johnson carved up the Big West in college with his athleticism and playmaking ability at UC Santa Barbara.

But this isn't the Big West anymore, and if he doesn't improve dramatically in the preseason, he'll need to spend some time in the D-League.

His summer stints raise concerns about inefficiency: he shot 20-for-76 from the floor in 33 minutes per game. If Johnson is going to get any significant playing time in Indiana, head coach Frank Vogel needs the assurance that he'll be consistent.

Plus, with Paul George, George Hill and Gerald Green on the roster, they might as well give Johnson some substantial minutes in the NBADL rather than infrequent cameos with the big club.

Tony Wroten, Memphis Grizzlies

Memphis' dynamic left-handed draftee turned in a noteworthy summer league performance, dropping 13 points and four assists in 24 minutes per game.

Unfortunately, that won't be enough to give him a serious role on the Grizzlies when the regular season gets underway.

As impressive as Wroten's facilitating and athleticism is, the 19-year-old is stuck behind Mike Conley, Jerryd Bayless and Josh Selby. The first two are proven NBA players, and Selby had a better summer league than Wroten.

Lionel Hollins and the Memphis brass would be wise to assign Wroten to the Reno Bighorns. There, he can work on his NBA three-point range in an in-game environment every week.

Hollis Thompson, Oklahoma City Thunder

One of the best outside shooters in the Big East over the last couple seasons, undrafted forward Hollis Thompson recently inked a partially-guaranteed deal with the reigning Western Conference champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

Thompson's length and shooting stroke give him a legitimate shot to establish himself with OKC, but the Thunder don't have a pressing need for him right now.

Currently, there's no room for him on the roster. If someone like Daequan Cook goes down with injury, a sharpshooter like Thompson could be the perfect medicine for the Thunder.

Until then, he should work on his ball-handling skills as a member of the Tulsa 66ers.

Fab Melo, Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics' first selection in the 2012 NBA Draft was Jared Sullinger, a fundamentally-sharp, skilled big man with excellent court awareness and NBA-readiness.

Their next pick, Fab Melo, hasn't turned out to be quite as ready.

He was picked for his size and his defense, but they were still expecting him to pull a little more weight on offense. In the Orlando and Vegas leagues combined, he averaged 2.9 points in 17 minutes per game.

It's safe to say Melo left college too soon, and an autumn in the NBDL would be the best course for him. With the Maine Red Claws, he'll learn more about what it takes to be a professional pivot man. Once his offense can somewhat complement his defense, he'll be ready to run in Boston.

Evan Fournier, Denver Nuggets

I'm impressed with what I've seen from Evan Fournier. The French forward is poised, has a smooth jump shot, and can use the glass to finish with either hand.

That being said, he doesn't excel enough in one area for the Denver Nuggets to go out of their way to keep him on the roster to start the season.

Also, check out the shooting guard/small forward depth ahead of him:

1. Andre Iguodala

2. Corey Brewer

3. Wilson Chandler

4. Quincy Miller

5. Jordan Hamilton/Julyan Stone

While Fournier's future in a Nuggets jersey looks promising, the near future should be in an Iowa Energy jersey.

Follow Daniel on Twitter: @Danielobleacher