If you are following the NBA this season, you've noticed that few first-round picks are making a regular contribution to their teams. The No. 1 pick, John Wall, has missed 11 games with injuries. The No. 2 selection, the 76ers' Evan Turner, has been benched. The No. 6 selection, Ekpe Udoh, has just gotten on the court for the Warriors after a six-month rehab from wrist surgery.
We've come to expect that most rookies are not ready to help a good NBA team win games. So, given the dearth of ready-to-play talent, NBA teams are selecting for the future. It's the equivalent of the MLB draft, where projection and potential are more important that current performance. So when I say someone is ready to get drafted, it doesn't necessarily mean that player will provide an instant contribution to the team that selects him.
Here are some guys who are ready to be drafted high in June and some guys who shouldn't think about the NBA right now, but, instead, should concentrate on getting ready in the future.
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Fran Fraschilla
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Chad Ford
Chad Ford covers the NBA and NBA draft for ESPN Insider. He also is a frequent contributor to ESPN The Magazine and makes weekly appearances on ESPN Radio and ESPNEWS.
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Fran Fraschilla
Fran Fraschilla is a college basketball analyst for ESPN and ESPN Insider. He formerly was the head coach at Manhattan, St. John's and New Mexico. He has been part of ESPN's NBA draft broadcast coverage each of the past five seasons.
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David Thorpe
David Thorpe is an NBA analyst for ESPN.com's Scouts Inc. and the executive director of the Pro Training Center in Clearwater, Fla., where he oversees the player development program for NBA and college players. David has trained Kevin Martin, Corey Brewer, Omri Casspi, Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, Yi Jianlian, Courtney Lee, Kyrylo Fesenko, Earl Clark, Jrue Holiday, DeJuan Blair and others.
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