The more I read about the guys available after the top four (Davis, Robinson, Kidd-Gilchrist and Drummond), there are none available who have the physical tools AND the skills AND the desire that would make them surefire prospects
The more I'm thinking, maybe NJ knew what they were doing by trading away the pick.
We've got Beal, a shooting guard who takes almost half his shots from the 3 pt line and only makes 33% of them. He "still needs to improve on finishing more effectively around the basket, as he lacks a degree of strength and explosiveness in traffic at this stage". And on defense "he doesn't have great size or length for his position". (skills)
Then Jared Sullinger: "question marks linger about his potential on this end of the floor at the NBA level, mainly due to his average physical tools. Slightly undersized for a center and not especially agile for a power forward, Sullinger doesn't cover ground very quickly on the perimeter, and isn't explosive enough to offer much of a presence in the paint rotating from the weakside." (tools)
As for Harrison Barnes; he seems to have the physical tools, but "lack of an explosive first step prevented him from getting to the rim and creating easy baskets, and while he did get to the free throw line at a higher rate this season, he still seemed far too content settling for contested jumpers off the dribble, as he connected on an unimpressive 47% of his field goals inside the arc." And, "From 3-point range, Barnes shot a respectable 36% and shouldn't have much trouble adapting to the NBA line, but he's not yet a prolific deep shooter. He has a tendency to be a bit streaky and miss shots badly on occasion, some of which he should be able to improve on with repetition and better shot selection". (skills)
Also, Barnes "hasn't shown much growth is with his ability as a passer and creator for others. His comfort level as a ball-handler looks to decrease dramatically after a few dribbles, and he doesn't have the creativity or vision to find his teammates for easy baskets, as evidenced by his extremely paltry assist numbers".
Henson certainly has the athleticism and length and motor, but he's already a junior "and still has extremely unreliable shooting ability, as evidenced by the fact that his 50% free-throw percentage this season is actually a three year high (he shot 44% as a freshman, 48% as a sophomore)." Will he ever be a shooter? And he needs to 'add strength and weight to his slight frame"; why hasn't he done this already as a junior? (skills)
As for Perry Jones, tremendous upside and physical tools, "but The weakest part of Jones' game clearly lies on the defensive end. He's shockingly unproductive from a statistical standpoint, averaging an alarmingly low number of blocks and steals every game, and very few rebounds.
Of the 90 NCAA prospects currently classified as power forwards in our database, Jones ranks 78th in defensive rebounding on a per-minute basis, which is extremely disappointing considering his physical tools and the fact that none of his teammates are particularly prolific in this category. He shows fairly poor awareness here, often failing to box out opponents and doesn't look very instinctive or energetic in the way he pursues loose balls.
These attributes definitely translate to the rest of his defensive game, where Jones clearly lacks toughness and activity." (motor, desire)
Tyler Zeller: "he's already 22 years and doesn't have elite length or athleticism likely limits his upside in the eyes of NBA decision makers". (athleticism and also limited skills as a senior)
Terrence Jones; biggest concern is that he may not have the ideal size and skills to play either SF or PF, kind of a tweener, also concerns about his lack of assertivenes. (tweener, motor)
Jeremy Lamb, another shooting guard who only shoots 34% from the three and has very few assists. And on defense: "His energy on this end looked very inconsistent this season, however, not displaying the competitiveness, fundamentals and attention to detail that will likely be demanded from him at the NBA level, particularly off the ball." (skills, motor)
Damien Lillard; a lot of questions about him because his statistics come against lower level opponents and also will he be able to develop playmaking ability since he isn't big enough to play anything but PG. (seems to have the skills, athleticism and motor, will it transfer to NBA?)
As for Kendall Marshall, he is not another Andre Miller; Miller was a bigtime clutch scorer in college. "Marshall's 7.9 points per 40 minutes pace adjusted ranks second worst of all players projected to be drafted this season, and his 55% True Shooting Percentage is towards the bottom as well." Also, his physical tools are really lacking. (athleticsm, shooting skills)
(All quotes from DraftExpress;
http://www.draftexpress.com/ )
Having said all that; we have the picks (hopefully) and I would be inclined to take guys that have the athleticism and motor; even though they need to develop skills: for me those seem to be Henson and Lillard and maybe Barnes.