NBA Draft 2013: Top Players Who Will Slide on Draft Day

Every year it seems that a handful of big-name college stars that were mocked and projected to be selected early on in the first round end up taking a tumble on the night of the draft.

Whether these slides are for legitimate reasons or not, the nature of the draft process is quite fickle—especially when the class is weak as a whole, such as the 2013 crop of talent.

Let’s take a look at the top candidates to suffer a major fall and come off the board later than expected on Thursday night.

Shabazz Muhammad, SF, UCLA

Muhammad was a consensus top-five pick early on in his collegiate career, but a mediocre freshman season and the shocking revelation that he is 20 years old, not 19 as previously thought, has sunk his stock to new lows.

While one year may not seem like much, it makes a major impact in terms of raw upside. His ceiling is now significantly lower than originally believed and his potential as a contributor in any other area aside from scoring is now limited.

The left-hander will certainly be able to put the ball through the bottom of the net, but he’ll likely never make major strides as a facilitator, rebounder and defender at the next level.

A scoring-starved franchise will stop Muhammad’s free fall eventually, but it probably won’t happen until the very latter stages of the lottery and possibly not even until the early 20s.

Trey Burke, PG, Michigan

After leading the Wolverines to a national championship game appearance and garnering every major player of the year award in a stellar sophomore season, many believed that Burke would be in contention for the No. 1 overall pick this June.

However, with the college season months behind us, Burke’s stock has cooled significantly and the emphasis has shifted to his less-than-ideal size and lack of prototypical athleticism for a modern point guard prospect.

Some of his most valuable assets are impossible to measure, such as leadership and winning intangibles.

Fellow PGs vying to become the first off the board include 6’6” Michael Carter-Williams and superstar scorer C.J. McCollum, who both possess more identifiable skills and better raw stats than this Michigan man.

There’s still a chance that Burke is selected within the top five, but it’s much more likely he’s tabbed in the latter half of the lottery.

Mason Plumlee, C, Duke

Plumlee may have been instrumental to the success of a solid Duke team during his senior campaign, but the bottom line is that this big man has limited upside and a low ceiling.

While bigs tend to rise on draft night, Plumlee is going to be overlooked due to his age and lack of excitement surrounding his prospects as a professional player.

The Blue Devils star is a high-flying athlete that brings his lunch pail to the court and a blue-collar attitude, but scouts have observed him playing for the past few years and understand his game inside and out.

He’s not a “sexy” pick that oozes potential, which is why he’ll likely slide as general managers look to swing for the fences and hit a home run, rather than bunt for a surefire single.

There’s no doubt that Plumlee will be able to carve out a long career for himself in the NBA as a high-motor big coming off the bench, but he’s not going to be picked until the 20s at the earliest.