NBA draft pool lacks a deep end, and a high end too

If any NBA team is hoping to land a franchise-altering player during the June 27 draft, like a Tim Duncan or LeBron James, good luck finding him.

Seemingly every NBA general manager or scout views the 2013 draft as being devoid of that dominant force.

Instead, most GMs say, it’s the kind of draft in which teams will pick the best player available, to fill a need at a particular position or because a team likes a certain player for its own reasons.

“I think it’s just an OK draft,� said one Western Conference executive who was not authorized to speak publicly about the draft. “I wouldn’t classify it as a great draft. There’s no consensus No. 1 player. That kid Nerlens Noel hurt his knee back in February and I don’t know if he’d be a consensus player if he didn’t hurt his knee. So, I don’t think it’s a great draft.�

Still, most believe Noel, a center-forward who played one season at Kentucky, will be the first overall pick, which would make him the second straight Wildcat to be the top selection in the NBA draft. Anthony Davis went No. 1 last year.

Noel’s biggest issue is that he is recovering from surgery in March for a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Kentucky lists him at 6 feet 10 and 228 pounds, and he is projected to play some power forward and center in the NBA. Not only is Noel slight for his position, but it’s not known when, or even if, he’ll play this fall.

But he’s a tremendous shot-blocker because of his explosive leaping ability, and the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have the first pick, are expected to take him.

Perhaps the most perplexing player in the draft is UCLA’s Shabazz Muhammad. Once considered a possible top overall pick or at least a top-five choice, Muhammad has seen his stock drop.

Some draft projections have Muhammad going as high as eighth overall to the Detroit Pistons; others have him falling out of the lottery and going 16th, to the Boston Celtics.

Some of the uncertainty has to do with Muhammad’s skill set. One Eastern Conference general manager said Muhammad can’t create his own shot in a one-on-one matchup, can’t really put the ball on the floor and, at a listed 6-6, 222, is undersized for a small forward.

Some of it also has to do with off-the-court issues.

One Western Conference scout wondered about Muhammad’s attitude, about an NCAA investigation that caused him to miss the first three games of his only season at UCLA, and about the discrepancy regarding his age — Muhammad is 20, a year older than originally indicated. There is also the recent revelation that his father, Ron Holmes, is under house arrest and facing federal bank fraud and conspiracy charges.

Muhammad, who averaged 17.9 points and 5.2 rebounds for the Bruins, has a lot to prove.

“If his attitude is right and he accepts his role, he can be all right,� said an Eastern Conference executive. “He’s been built [up] to be a star, but I don’t think he has that kind of game.�

One player reportedly has dropped out of the draft, forward Dario Saric of Croatia.

Orlando has the second pick and is expected to take Kansas guard Ben McLemore. Washington reportedly wants Georgetown forward Otto Porter, and Charlotte is thought to covet Indiana guard Victor Oladipo with the No. 4 pick.

From that point on, executives say, it’s up in the air as to who goes where and when.

“It’s a real difficult draft to figure out,� another Western Conference executive said. “It’s kind of like a draft you should take the best guy available or you take the player that you like. It’s going to be one of those drafts where a guy can be taken 15 or you can take him 33 [in the second round]. He’s the same guy.�

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