Top Ten Rookies To Watch
The 2005 NBA Rookie Class may have lacked a Yao Ming or LeBron James-type impact player, but it may go down as one of the deepest Drafts in recent memory. Nearly every player selected in the first round has a chance to make an impact with their team this year, and these ten players are worth keeping an eye on.
Deron Williams - PG
Selected 3rd overall by Utah Jazz
Preseason: 8.2 ppg - 3.0 apg - .538 FG%
Utah's mission going into this spring's draft was 'Deron or Bust'. Williams was the only player seriously considered by Utah after workouts with Spanish forward Fran Vasquez failed to impress.
Williams goes into this season as the logical choice to start for the Jazz, but one never knows for sure with rookies when it comes to head coach Jerry Sloan. Assuming Williams can crack the starting five this year, he'll have his work cut out for him balancing this Utah offense. As the roster stands, Williams is the only player capable of creating his own shots on an offense loaded with spot up shooters. That means he will have to pick and choose how to best use his superior offensive instincts when it comes to shot selection and play calling.
Williams should not have much of a problem finding ways to score in the NBA. He's a high percentage shooter who can extend the defense all the way out to the three-point line. Physically, he's a very strong guard, often compared with Jason Kidd, but the Nugget's Andre Miller is probably a more accurate comparison. Deron can shoot, drive, and does not get flustered making decisions with the ball in his hands.
The one possible bump in the road for Williams could be adapting to the rigid Jazz offence. Jerry Sloan does not accept mistakes, especially from his point guards, as seen last year with Carlos Arroyo. If Williams struggles when running Sloan's offense, coach won't hesitate planting him on the bench.
Chris Paul - PG
Selected 4th overall by New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
Preseason: 9.2 ppg - 6.8 apg - 2.0 steals
Going into the season, Chris Paul is one of the favorites to win this year's Rookie of the Year award. He has the total package at the point, he's lightning fast, can shoot the ball from anywhere on the floor, and has an incredibly developed court vision for someone so young.
Paul has the starting spot locked up this year for the Hornets. He and J.R. Smith will be looked to heavily to carry the load for this rebuilding franchise, especially with former All Star centre Jamaal Magloire playing alongside Andrew Bogut this season in Milwaukee.
Because of this, look for Paul to put up monster numbers on a team that is going nowhere this year in the west. He will be afforded every opportunity to make mistakes and work through them, as he is by far the best option they have at the point, playing ahead of Speedy Claxton in the rotation. His defense is already light years ahead of Claxton's, and his mind for the game is unrivaled on this very young Hornet's squad.
Paul and Smith are going to form one of the most dynamic and athletic backcourts in the entire NBA this year, and is reason enough to keep your eyes on Paul. He's a warrior at the point and has the kind of confidence that this team needs as it rebuilds around him.
Ray Felton - PG
Selected 5th overall by Charlotte Bobcats
Preseason: 11.0 ppg - 4.5 apg - 1.0 steals
Ray Felton is the only point guard of the big three to be selected in this year's draft to be able to cite an NCAA title as a qualification to run an NBA team. However, in all likelihood, Felton will be brought along slowly while being mentored by last years starting guard Brevin Knight. Knight is a seasoned vet in the NBA who finished second behind MVP Steve Nash in assists last season with nine assists per game. He will hopefully instill Felton a work ethic not often seen from top-five picks in today's ego-driven NBA.
Felton may be the fastest player with the ball in the NBA. Period. He's got the footspeed to blow by any defender in the league. The knock on him going into last season at North Carolina was that he had no shot (a criticism that can still be laid on Knight). Felton has since made his jump shot a lethal addition to an offensive arsenal already containing a superb around the basket game, especially impressive for a player generously measured at six foot one.
Felton is also a gifted passer, however sometimes he speeds up his game past the point of control and looks to make passes that aren't there. It's a side of his game he'll have to eradicate as the Bobcats look at Felton as their point guard of the future. He'll team with fellow Tar Heel Sean May in anchoring the Charlotte's second unit (at least initially) this season.
Martell Webster - SG
Selected 6th overall by Portland Trailblazers
Preseason: 7.8 ppg - 2.2 rpg - .818 FT%
Going into June, Gerald Green looked to be the consensus pick as the best high school player to declare for the Draft. Green then refused to work out against competition leading up to the selection day, and he saw fellow high schooler Martell Webster selected sixth, while he sat idle until pick18.
Webster brings a level of refinement and maturity not yet present in Green's game. Webster is already receiving kudos from the coaching staff in Portland for his attitude and work ethic in an atmosphere of unearned entitlement. As a result, Webster is fast becoming the favorite to grab the stating spot at two guard when the season tips off next week.
Webster is an ultra-athletic swingman, and can finish around the basket with a flurry of dunks, but it's his shooting that has been his trademark in high school. In preseason he has struggled with his jumper, shooting a paltry 38% from the floor. In fairness, though, he is playing in a dysfunctional environment in Portland where the offence has rarely been anything but bogged down with personal agendas from me-first vets like Ruben Patterson, Darius Miles and Zach Randolph.
Webster still has a long way to go in terms of filling out his game. He has to learn to pass the ball better and find more options when finishing around the basket. He doesn't turn the ball over, though, and will find the basket with his jumper as the season progresses. What might be Webster's biggest hurdle throughout this season is not being influenced by the locker room bickering that is sure to continue right through the year and to continue to improve his game and trust that the coaching staff knows what they're doing. He's got some work ahead of him, but his upside is so high the effort will pay off in spades.
Charlie Villanueva - PF
Selected 7th overall by Toronto Raptors
Preseason: 16.0 ppg - 5.0 rpg - .481 FG%
After the uproar around the NBA at Toronto's number seven selection of Charlie Villanueva, one would have assumed the rookie had never picked up a basketball in his life. In reality, Villanueva is a very versatile and skilled player, and no matter what the consensus is on whether he deserved the seven pick or not, all that matters now is that he is a player on the Toronto Raptors.
As if to silence the critics, Villanueva, while coming off the bench, has led the Raptors in rebounding and all rookies in scoring during the preseason. He's done it with an unrelenting offensive attack that's comprised of a wide array of moves in the post to go along with a killer three-point shot. He gets after it on the glass, and the Raptors hope that as he becomes more accustomed to banging in the post his rebounding numbers will get up into the seven to eight rebounds a game territory. He'll be given the minutes at all three front court positions this season, and will probably fill the roll off the bench reserved for Donyell Marshall last year.
Defensively, Villanueva has a long way to go. He has the body to be a solid defender at the four spot, but he needs to concentrate this year on staying in front of his man and not worry about trying to do too much.
Villanueva, like Paul, is playing for a rebuilding team and will be given every opportunity to work through his issues on the court. He's got the potential to make a lot of people look very silly if the preseason is any indication.
Rashad McCants - SG
Selected 14th overall by Minnesota Timberwolves
Preseason: 11.3 ppg - 2.3 rpg - .467 3p%
McCants, another Carolina alum, has stumbled into a very fortunate scenario this year in Minnesota. The Timberwolves woefully underperformed last season when they missed the playoffs after reaching the Western Conference Finals the year before. McCants is a scorer in the purest sense of the word, and will have a huge impact on the fortunes of the Wolves in the coming year.
McCants had the knock against him that he was too small and one-dimensional to be an impact player in the NBA. Well, now that he's here he's looking to prove his doubters wrong by having his way on offence in the preseason. McCants is the kind of player who will score, percentages be damned. He can hit the shot from anywhere on the floor, he can penetrate, dish, cut, slash, do whatever he has to do to get the ball in the basket. He'll put his body on the line and get to the basket where he is an excellent finisher around the rim, and he can nail his free throws if he gets fouled.
Like most rookies on this list, his defense has a long way to come before he'll be able to supplant Trenton Hassell in the starting line-up. He'll also need to develop some consistency on the court as the only guard they have who is a natural scorer and they'll need his points if Wally Szczerbiak should find himself injured again this season.
While McCants will most likely be a bench player in his rookie year, his offensive prowess should force him onto the court more and more as the season goes along.
Danny Granger - SF
Selected 17th overall by Indiana Pacers
Preseason: 10.6 ppg - 7.4 rpg - 1.0 blocks
When the Pacers waltz through the playoffs this spring, expect the same question to be on everyone's minds; 'How did Danny Granger slide to number seventeen?' Granger grew to be an outstanding college player at New Mexico, but injuries caused his stock to slip as skittish GM's went about selecting what they felt were safer picks over the multi-talented Granger.
Granger and Artest are going to be the forwards that provide probable the best secondary punch of any team in the NBA, San Antonio included. Granger can score inside and out, rebound like an animal, and plays all-out on the defensive end. There is not one thing that Granger can hang his hat on (another factor, some felt, in his slipping last June), but he is a jack-of-all-trades that can come into almost any scenario and find a way to contribute.
While Granger may not be one to put up the monster numbers this year of a Chris Paul or Charlie Villanueva, the fact that his team has serious title aspirations and his importance to that goal makes him maybe the most important rookie of this years class.
Hakim Warrick - SF
Selected 19th overall by Memphis Grizzlies
Preseason: 8.4 ppg - 3.1 rpg - .392 FG%
Warrick's inclusion on this list is entirely a result of the team that selected him. Unlike most other players on this list, Warrick's game has a serious lack of polish. He is an athletic freak who can jump out of the gym, but his lack of production on the boards and his inability to use his athleticism for shot blocking are inexcusable deficiencies in his game.
So, why watch Hakim Warrick this year? Well, with the departure of Stromile Swift and Bonzi Wells from the Grizzlies lineup, the team has a glaring lack of athletes. Guard Eddie Jones is the closest thing this team has to someone who can play above the rim, and even he is getting a little long in the tooth. Warrick provides some much-needed energy off of the bench, as he runs the floor and elevates as well as any rookie coming into the league.
For the long-term, Warrick needs to seriously improve his ball-handing, as well as his rebounding and shot blocking. In the short-term, however, all Warrick needs to do bring the kind of energy that made him a fan-favorite at Syracuse.
Nate Robinson - PG
Selected 21st overall by Phoenix Suns (traded to the New York Knicks)
Preseason: 10.2 ppg - 3.0 apg - 3.5 rpg
Going into the draft, popular opinion was it would be amazing if this 5'9" guard could be selected at the top of the second round, let alone mid-first round. But the Phoenix Suns tabbed Nate Robinson as the final piece to complete their trade for Kurt Thomas from New York, and the New York Knicks couldn't be happier.
With coach Larry Brown looking to eventually move the self-proclaimed 'best point guard in the NBA' to the shooting guard slot, Robinson is left as the only natural point guard left on the Knicks roster. Add to that the fact that Robinson lit it up during his summer league stint with New York and he's quickly becoming the most fashionable rookie to throw support behind.
He's going to have an uphill battle trying to run the point guard slot for Larry Brown, a notoriously fickle coach who tends to come down hardest on his point guards for not playing the 'right way'. Robinson, up until this point, has been a flashy player first, fundamental player second (if ever). Ultimately, Brown may wind up being the best thing to happen to Robinson in his rookie year, since there is no better teacher in the NBA. In the nearer future, however, look for Robinson to have earful of Brown to deal with as the only point guard on the Knicks roster.
Jarrett Jack - PG
Selected 22nd overall by Denver Nuggets (traded to the Portland Trailblazers)
Preseason: 7.2 ppg - 3.0 apg - .417 3p%
Sebastian Telfair is the point guard of the future in Portland. Just don't tell coach Nate McMillan, who has become so enamored of rookie Jarrett Jack in training camp, due to his attitude and sound, fundamental game, he is thinking of allowing Jack to start over not only Telfair, but also over summer acquisition Steve Blake.
Jack brings to the table a very steady, intelligent game to the Portland one-spot. He is a truly unselfish point man who looks to set-up his teammates over looking for his own shot. He has incredibly quick hands on the defensive end that should create a lot of turnovers that lead to Portland fast breaks that can utilize their ultra-athletic roster.
That defense will come in handy, too, because it can help make up for Jack's proclivity for turning the ball over. While Jack has a definite skill at hitting the open man, he can sometimes get overambitious.
Only coach McMillan can say for sure whether or not Jack will find his way into the starting lineup, but given his affection for the rook, he'll definitely log plenty of minutes during what is likely to be a very long season in Portland.
