As we prep for the 2016 NBA Draft in a mere two weeks, I’ve noticed that some of the buzziest guys we didn’t draft in Slim and I’s (grammar police!) 2016 NBA Mock Draft have some absolutely awesome names. And what do you think of when you hear absolutely awesome male names? Porn stars of course! So I dedicated a little mini-series to the under-the-radar draft day names that could sneak their way into the first round and have some deep league 2016-17 fantasy impact.
In our results for Thon Maker: Better Porn Star or NBA Career – we’re at 75.9% better Porn Star!
So I typo-ed his name in the title “Diamond Stones”, and almost left it due to how it fits the series…
But in all seriousness, we’re here to talk about Diamond Stone! Singular! But if he did have two kids, he could say he has two little Stones… This is too fun!
Coming in at Draft Express’s 30th ranked prospect, it’s not too surprising we got a comment asking where Stone would be drafted. I thought it would be early 2nd round, but the more I’m doing some digging, I see the optimism for his sleeper appeal. At first I thought he was just your typical bruiser at 6’10 250, and at that height/weight, kinda stuck as a PF/C tweener that didn’t have the stretch 4 appeal. DeJuan Blair for example. But Go Go Gadget Arms! Dude has a 7’3 wingspan , and can make up for his portly body with some great raw athleticism.
In the Big-10 (still weird Maryland isn’t in the ACC anymore – big reason I am losing interest in College Hoops, I hate all these conf. changes…), Stone went 12.5/5.4 as one of college’s youngest Freshman, but that’s only the surface. On top of that, 56.8 FG% AND 76.1 FT%. Not too shabby for a C. Then the biggie – 1.6 BLK. And all of those stats were in only 23.1 MPG!
While his FG% efficiency is nice, he unfortunately averaged 1.5 TO to 0.4 AST. Almost 1:4 AST:TO ratio! They tell me that’s not very good… Reports say he holds the ball too long in the post and isn’t really a creator. Tyler agrees. Also you’ll notice the rebounds weren’t special, and that’s been a knock on his scouting report as well. He also lacks much of a perimeter game right now, impacting how he could fit small-ball schemes prevalent in today’s NBA.
Like our fellow porn star Thon Maker, Stone is likely heading to a lot of D-League time in 2016-17, and if he does find a second-unit role down the stretch for a bad team, his appeal would be a few blocks. BLOCKnOF! Which always makes me think of Rachmaninoff. Which makes me think of Beef Stroganoff. Also a good porn name! Ew.
I really think Stone could have benefited from one more year in college and develop his perimeter game, as even though he would be coming out a sophomore next year, he’d be a really young player in the draft. But any player that has a modicum of upside I can’t fault for entering this year’s draft – it’s all about upside and there could be some major surprises outside the lottery on draft night.
So what say you about Diamond Stone? Better NBA career or porn name? And I will remind you that diamonds are very sharp, so it kinda sounds painful… DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER!
