2015 NBA Draft: 4 prospects due to climb draft boards
Robert Upshaw, C, Washington
This rise has already been in-progress.
NBADraft.net originally slotted Robert Upshaw to go No. 51 overall (the Magic’s second round pick) — but Draft Express currently has him rated as the No. 30 prospect in the draft and has him penciled in to go No. 25 overall.
This is a guy who basically spent the entire second half of the NCAA season disqualified from competition, and who is a very raw talent.
But teams have begun to learn from past mistakes, and the ultra athletic, long centers are not going to last into the second round as they once did in the past (citing DeAndre Jordan’s No. 35 overall selection as just one notable example).
Upshaw averaged 10.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and a 30.0 PER in his 19 games last year, while blocking nearly five shots per game. And he did all of that in just about 20 minutes per game.
As to how a team could let a talent like that pass with a late first? It will not happen.
Upshaw is going to likely play his way higher on the board, too, so if Orlando wanted to have any chance at obtaining him as the rim protector it needs it will have to deal for a pick in the early 20s.
Upshaw possesses the biggest hands and highest standing reach (9-foot-5) of any player in this year’s class. His physical attributes are what makes him rise in this draft, not his refinement nor basketball skills.
Given this draft’s relative depth, there may not be a lot of teams looking to deal those picks, nor do the Magic have a plethora of appropriate assets to offer at any rate.