Jalen Brunson — the reigning NBA Finals MVP, a man who should never have to pay for his own dinner in Manhattan again — was a second-round pick. So were Nikola Jokic, Dillon Brooks and Draymond Green and if you want to go back, there’s Manu Ginobili, Marc Gasol and many more players who slipped to the second round, then had impressive NBA careers.
There will be players taken in Wednesday night’s second round who will become key parts of their team’s rotation and maybe more. Let’s grade these picks (and note, my grading in this round is more gentle and on a curve compared to the first round; expectations are relatively low, and with that, the misses are not painful like missing in the lottery).
(Check out the grades for the first round picks here.)
Bruce Thornton (31)
The only reason Thornton is in the second round is that he is an even 6’0″, undersized for a point guard. Everything else screams NBA rotation player: He’s incredibly polished, strong, efficiently scored from everywhere on the floor and averaged 19.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists last season for Ohio State. Houston is a perfect fit for a guy who can come in and play behind Fred VanVleet (something the Rockets did not have last year).
Richie Saunders (32)
. It shows you how much the Grizzlies like Saunders that he tore his ACL in February, and they still took him here (he would have gone in the first round if healthy). Saunders is a quality shooter (37.6% from 3 last season) who can do enough of everything else that he looks like he can be a solid rotation wing player in the NBA.
Isaiah Evans (33), Trey Kaufman-Renn (59)
Evans is a quality movement shooter about to play with Nikola Jokic — he will find Evans if the Duke star gets open. He’s got good size (6’6″) but needs to get stronger and become a better defender to earn steady NBA run. Kaufman-Renn has NBA size (6’8″) and physicality, but he’s got to show he has the skills to stick at the next level.
Meleek Thomas (34)
Cleveland is betting on Thomas’ upside. He was a five-star recruit coming out of high school who slid a little but still averaged 15.6 points a game last season for Arkansas. Early in the second round, that’s a good bet.
Trevon Brazile (35), Bryce Hopkins (49)
Brazile has good size (6’11”, with a 7’4″ wingspan), and he averaged 13 points and 7.3 rebounds a game for Arkansas, but the really intriguing stat combo is that he averaged 1.6 blocks and 1.3 3-pointers a game. Looking for someone to play behind Jokic, Brazile is a good pick at this point. Hopkins is a 6’6″ forward with a high motor but needs to develop a shot.
Baba Miller (36), Nick Martinelli (55), Narcissie Ngoy (57)
Miller is a great roll of the dice here, a 6’11” big but with very fluid athleticism, he can pass, averaged 13 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, plus is a solid defender. Martinelli has good size (6’7″) and shot 41.7% from 3 at Northwestern, he scored at the college level and might be worth a two-way contract to see if he can translate that to the next level. Ngoy almost went to Auburn, stayed in France, and is seen as a project at the guard spot (don’t be shocked if he stays in France for now).
Ryan Conwell (37)
Miami picked up Conwell in a trade with Oklahoma City, and the Heat get a guy who wasn’t afraid to put it up last season and averaged 18.8 points a game for Louisville. He needs to tighten his handles and become a more efficient shooter, but it’s a good roll of the dice by the Heat at this point in the draft.
Braden Smith (38)
Indiana brings in the Purdue star who is maybe the best passer in the draft (he is the college all-time assist leader) who is a better athlete than realized. He’s undersized (5’10’) but as a backup point guard with the Pacers, there’s a role for him.
Jack Kayil (39), Tyler Nickel (47)
Kayil played professionally in Germany and is a 6’4″ combo guard who does a lot of things well but wasn’t efficient and isn’t really explosive as an athlete at the NBA level. Nickel is a high-level movement shooter with good size, and while there are questions about athleticism and footwork, getting a good shooter that deep in the draft is a good bet.
Dillon Mitchell (40)
Great bet at this point by Boston: Mitchell is a 6’7″ high-level athlete, but he struggles with his shot. If Boston can develop his shooting touch (it’s an issue) they could have a second-round steal.
Oklahoma City: A-
Otega Oweh (41)
Oweh fits in with OKC — a physically strong guard and high-level defender who needs to work on his offensive game but goes to one of the best developmental programs in the league. He might be on a two-way, we might not see a lot of him for a season or two, then suddenly we’ll wonder where this latest quality find from OKC came from.
Ja’Kobe Gillespie (42), Maliq Brown (44)
Gillespie is an elite shot maker who fell to the second round because he is undersized (6’0″), but a Spurs kind of guy because he gets steals and helps teams win the possession battle. Brown is a great pick at 44, a high-level front court defender at 6’8″ but he’s going to have to show a little more offense to stick in the NBA.
Tyler Bilodeau (43)
Shooting matters, and Bilodeau does that and has good NBA size (6’7″). The question is whether he is athletic enough to play at the NBA level. We’ll see, but guys who can shoot get a chance.
Emanuel Sharp (45)
Sharp is a great pick up where the Kings got him in the draft. He proved he can shoot (including from 3) and defend in four years at Houston. There were questions about his athleticism at the next level, but Sharp should have gone higher than this.
Felix Okparpa (46)
Okparpa is an old-school rim-running big who can block shots on one end and dunk on the other, and has good athleticism.
Tobi Lawal (48), Vsevolod Ischenko (56)
Lawal is a bet on new coach Dusty May’s developmental skill. Lawal, 6’7″, may be the best pure athlete in this class. He put up monster numbers at the combine, but his skills have a lot of work to do to catch up with that. Ischenko has been a standout young player in the Russian league but is a draft and stash for now, he will stay overseas.
Jaden Bradley (50)
Bradley is a good floor general and a pesky defender who could be a backup point guard in the league if he develops a 3-point shot.
Izaiyah Nelson (51)
Nelson is the kind of player you should get at 51 — good athlete, good size (6’8″), can defend multiple positions, but he needs to work on his feel for the game. If the Magic can develop that then this becomes a great pick.
Henri Veesaar (52)
Veesaar is an absolute steal at 52, one of the best picks of the second round. Veesaar is a 7-foot floor-spacing center who averaged 17 points and 8.7 rebounds a game last season for North Carolina while shooting 42.6% from 3-point range. He can step in as a backup big next season for the Hawks.
Ugonna Onyenso (53)
Onyenso is arguably the best rim protector in the draft, he averaged 2.9 blocks per game last season, and that’s a huge plus, but he’s going to have to show more offensive game than he did at Virginia.
LaJae Jones (54)
Jones is a big guard/wing (6’7″) who projects as a strong defender but has to develop his offensive game if he wants a spot in the NBA.
Jaon Pierre Jr. (58)
Pierre is a 6’6″ guard or wing who averaged 17.6 points a game at SMU. He has potential, but he’s got to show better defense and playmaking to stick with the Pelicans.
Malique Lewis (60)
Lewis has played internationally in Spain and Australia as a 3&D player. He plays with a high motor and if his skills continue to improve it could work out in Milwaukee, a good bet at this point in the draft.
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