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Welcome back Razzball Nation. What a night the draft was. A true testament to Adam Silver and the NBA for putting on a fantastic spectacle which had more twists and turns than a South American mountain road. One clear message that came from current and former players was that work is only the beginning. For this article, I have also taken a twist and turn, as I bring an email dialogue between myself and Steve Connell about the draft. Steve works hard researching high school and college basketball and provides inspiration for many of the Dynasty Deep Dive articles. Two minds are better than one, right?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

 

The danger in doing rankings before Summer League is that a lot can change in terms of perception. After a slew of Summer League games, we now have a better picture of how the best players that college had to offer match up against their peers.

Keep in mind that the Summer League is filled with players at different levels. Think of NCAA College Basketball as High-A in minor league baseball. Summer League would be akin to Double-A. The Euroleague, not to be confused with domestic European divisions, would be Triple-A.

In addition to the final piece of my post-draft rankings, this post will also include some of the players who have moved up in my rankings after watching Summer League games. Believe me, my evenings have been spent doing little else.

Here are some caveats about my rankings:

  • Only includes rookies from the 2017 draft class. Players such as Ben Simmons and Bogdan Bogdanovic are not included.
  • This is for dynasty purposes. NOT for redraft leagues.
  • Landing spots are important, but the main focal point is the overall projection for the players’ career.
  • It often takes time for NBA prospects to adjust to the NBA. Just because players don’t crack the rotation from the outset doesn’t mean they are a bust. Three years is often a good time frame to define roles in the NBA.
  • This is my own personal rankings, and not representative of all the writers at Razzball

Before I begin, I want to address something @Jordan brought to my attention. My previous rankings omitted Luke Kennard. This was a pure oversight on my part and I’d slot Kennard into the late-teens.

So, here we go for a real deep dive into some candidates that might actually matter more than you think:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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Ok maybe not significant news for you, but I return after a 2 week hiatus in which life turned itself upside down and got uglier than a Byron Scott rotation attempting to play the pick and roll; and what better way to return than once again putting on those oxygen tanks for a dive so deep that not only will you be needing those oxygen tanks, but may also be in fear of being diagnosed with the bends.

Now diving deep is not everyone’s cup of tea of tea, and of course some of you readers will be thinking ‘dude, these guys are years away’, but as a basketball purist who follows the game globally, let me guide you through my specialist subject and through some of the most talented players playing their trade in Europe who will be draft eligible in 2017; after all, it never hurts to stay ahead of the game and knowing who those rising stars of the future are. Especially given the mystique every year of those unknown ‘toolsy’ projects who do not grace the floor in the NCAA.

Please, blog, may I have some more?