Continuing their recent series of closer looks at various NBA Draft prospects, Draftexpress.com of late has two new prospects that they're attempting to "Find a Niche For."
The site looks at two members of the Kentucky Wildcats, guard Marquis Teague and forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
Teague is one of the more interesting prospects in this draft as he could indeed be a "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" type. He could definitely use another year or two of college seasoning, but in a draft so devoid of PG talent, someone will take a flyer on him in the first round, maybe even in the middle of it depending how he fares in workouts.
From the Draftexpress post on Teague:
Looking forward, Teague clearly brings some attractive things to the table with his physical tools, fast-break prowess, developing pick-and-roll game, and defensive potential, but the question marks surrounding his half-court offense, specifically with his point guard abilities, make him a player likely to have stock all over the board from different NBA teams...
Yes indeed, it's anyone's guess where he'll land in this draft.
As for Kidd-Gilchrist, he looks like a top 3, even top 2 lock, but isn't without his fault.
He's an average perimeter shooter at best, making 26% of the 51 3-pointers he attempted this season, showing highly unconventional mechanics (shooting the ball on his way down, with his elbow flailing out) that could hamper him from ever becoming anything more than that later in his career. He doesn't have much of a mid-range game either, struggling to pull-up off the dribble effectively due to his crude shooting mechanics.
Of course the article goes on to discuss the plethora of benefits MKG would provide an NBA team, and obviously as fans of the Toronto Raptors, this is one player regardless of current faults, we'd be happy to have on board.