Who will be the STEAL of the 2019 NBA draft?

[getrichordie]

Bazley is showing encouraging signs from his deep ball to his defense to attacking the basket. He could end up being THE steal of the draft.

Just went 23/7/1 in 26 minutes including 5/8 from deep...

[clyde21]

this draft is turning into a pretty damn strong one

[King Ken]

I feel like we are seeing year 2 improvements from the rookies.

[nolang1]

I feel like we are seeing year 2 improvements from the rookies.

I mean this is normally past when they'd have been starting year 2 in summer league. This is why teams draft young players: the improvement curve is much steeper than average. Take someone like Jaxson Hayes who has gone from high school benchwarmer to fringe top 100 recruit to one-and-done lottery pick to a solid contributor for a team that was in the hunt for the playoffs. The improvement from high school benchwarmer to NBA contributor is much greater than that from NBA player to star.

[Sicnarf]

To me, Cam Reddish (if he keeps working and don't get complacent) will still be the biggest steal of last draft once all is said and done...

[EvanZ]

I feel like we are seeing year 2 improvements from the rookies.

Not surprising given they had more than the equivalent of a summer break.

[getrichordie]

Ima keep saying it. I was pushing for Reddish to go #1 pre-draft. I think he has PG potential.

[clyde21]

Baz with another great game today, 22/10/3

[clyde21]

Keldon: 23/11/3

[Stillwater]

Its Bol barring injury as far as when he was picked...but I would put my $ on KPJ 30th to CLE always in that mix of drafts biggest steal esp if Bol cant stay healthy.

[CP War Hawks]

So many thefts in this draft it was ridiculous.

[clyde21]

if Bol stays healthy the only guy in the this entire draft that will be better than him is Zion

Read on Twitter

but he 'doesn't act like a pro'...

[clyde21]

Herro was picked 14th so I dunno if he counts as a 'steal' but goddamn this kid is so good

[getrichordie]

I don't know that Herro is ever more than a nice shooting specialist to have on your bench. That's a valuable weapon, but definitely wouldn't consider him a steal at 14.

[EMG518]

I don't know that Herro is ever more than a nice shooting specialist to have on your bench. That's a valuable weapon, but definitely wouldn't consider him a steal at 14.

He has already shown he is more than a shooting specialist. He sees the game extremely well and is very mature and poised for his age, he is a natural and he has good enough ball handling skills and is a solid passer hence him getting some minutes at point guard. He is very good, way ahead of where most rookies should be. He was my steal for 2019.

[clyde21]

lol @ Herro being just a shooting specialist

how is this still a take?

[nolang1]

So many thefts in this draft it was ridiculous.

If everyone was a theft, no one was a theft. I don't think the draft has been drastically different relative to expectations in year 1; it was low on stars and high on role players, and between that and the shortened season you could talk yourself into just about anyone in the top 5-10 in a redraft depending on your preferences. For all we know there are guys on the non-bubble teams who have improved similarly as much as Herro or Bazley since March.

Players who will definitely not be the steal of the 2019 draft: RJ Barrett (hard enough to be a steal at #3 and the situation was stacked against him, but he's definitely not going to pass Zion or Ja shooting 61% on free throws), Jarrett Culver (was supposed to be one of the more NBA-ready guys coming in and Minnesota was widely viewed to have won the transaction when they moved up to get him 6th), Ty Jerome (only played garbage minutes in the bubble), Jordan Poole (never got what the deal with this guy was supposed to be).

[clyde21]

those were not the expectations, majority of people here were pretty down on this draft completely, and not just the top10

as for thefts, we already have 3 guys that want undrafted that would retroactively get drafted today and probably in the 1st - Naz Reid, Lu Dort, Terence Davis

we have Bol and KPJ who also should have went much higher...can make arguments for Claxton, Gafford, Keldon, Paschall, and Bazley too, i'd call guys like Herro and Clarke steals too who should've gone top10

[nolang1]

those were not the expectations, majority of people here were pretty down on this draft completely, and not just the top10

as for thefts, we already have 3 guys that want undrafted that would retroactively get drafted today and probably in the 1st - Naz Reid, Lu Dort, Terence Davis

we have Bol and KPJ who also should have went much higher...can make arguments for Claxton, Gafford, Keldon, Paschall, and Bazley too, i'd call guys like Herro and Clarke steals too who should've gone top10

So just as I said, you can make arguments for basically anyone to be the top 10. I'm just pointing out the simple fact that logically you can't have dozens of players end up being 'steals' because a small number of them are going to improve more, and those players will end up being the steals of the draft rather than there being a 'ridiculous' number of thefts (see: the post I actually responded to).

To cast such a wide net on who will be the steal of this draft is to admit that after one truncated season where the only player who unexpectedly missed any significant time due to injury was the much-hyped #1 pick who most people would still have #1 at this point, your opinion isn't going to be drastically different than it was last year.

For there to be steals there have to be busts drafted higher, and just as how you can say Claxton has a shot at being the steal of the draft, most of the teams that picked in the top 10 can argue that their guy has shown plenty of signs he'll end up being worthy of a high selection.

[Mylie10]

I don't know that Herro is ever more than a nice shooting specialist to have on your bench. That's a valuable weapon, but definitely wouldn't consider him a steal at 14.

He’s not just a shooter though. He’s a pure scorer in every sense of the term.