BaumBoards Prospect Overview, 12/7/2021: Fringe Week! Unheralded Stars, Sleepers, Second Round Gems, and More!
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I’ve long held the opinion that the most interesting part of the draft to discuss is the fringe. It’s more volatile and harder to pin down. If you look at last year’s draft, for example, there was a rough consensus around the top prospects: Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, Evan Mobley, Jalen Suggs, and Scottie Barnes, in whichever order you preferred. Let’s say you ranked Evan Mobley above Jalen Green, or Scottie Barnes above Evan Mobley, but still had that same Top 5. That’s pretty normal! You may have liked one player more than another, but you probably considered all of them NBA players who would go on to have solid careers. It’s easy to point at a guy at the top of the class and say, “I think he’ll be good.” It’s much more difficult to point at a guy in the 30-50 range on most boards and say the same. For that reason, I’ve always found myself more drawn to the fringe. Save a few “here are some sleepers I like” columns here and there right before the draft, you don’t come across many mainstream conversation about these types of players; only us Real Sickos care about them. But Real Sickos have a home here. That’s why I sent out a tweet last week asking for your favorite prospects that you have yet to see projected inside the lottery. I picked at least one player from each tweet, and I also checked on a few extra returning players I hadn’t gotten to watch yet this season. To organize this list, I’ve provided a loose “draft grade” for each player at this point in the process. Folks, it’s Fringe Week! Let’s get into it!
BaumBoards Prospect Overview, 12/7/2021: Fringe Week! Unheralded Stars, Sleepers, Second Round Gems, and More!
BaumBoards Prospect Overview, 12/7/2021…
BaumBoards Prospect Overview, 12/7/2021: Fringe Week! Unheralded Stars, Sleepers, Second Round Gems, and More!
I’ve long held the opinion that the most interesting part of the draft to discuss is the fringe. It’s more volatile and harder to pin down. If you look at last year’s draft, for example, there was a rough consensus around the top prospects: Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, Evan Mobley, Jalen Suggs, and Scottie Barnes, in whichever order you preferred. Let’s say you ranked Evan Mobley above Jalen Green, or Scottie Barnes above Evan Mobley, but still had that same Top 5. That’s pretty normal! You may have liked one player more than another, but you probably considered all of them NBA players who would go on to have solid careers. It’s easy to point at a guy at the top of the class and say, “I think he’ll be good.” It’s much more difficult to point at a guy in the 30-50 range on most boards and say the same. For that reason, I’ve always found myself more drawn to the fringe. Save a few “here are some sleepers I like” columns here and there right before the draft, you don’t come across many mainstream conversation about these types of players; only us Real Sickos care about them. But Real Sickos have a home here. That’s why I sent out a tweet last week asking for your favorite prospects that you have yet to see projected inside the lottery. I picked at least one player from each tweet, and I also checked on a few extra returning players I hadn’t gotten to watch yet this season. To organize this list, I’ve provided a loose “draft grade” for each player at this point in the process. Folks, it’s Fringe Week! Let’s get into it!