2010 NBA Mini Draft Prospect Profiles: Eric Bledsoe, Solomon Alabi and Daniel Orton

by Rook6980 on Jun 22, 2010 1:46 PM EDT in Draft

Editor's Note, by Rook6980: With only 2 days left before the Draft, and lots of prospects left to preview, I'm going to accelerate things a bit. I promised a flurry of activity the week of the draft - so here it comes.

Draft prospects in this preview:

Eric Bledsoe, Solomon Alabi and Daniel Orton

Previews after the jump.

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Eric Bledsoe

19 years old;
6'1"; 190 lbs.
Kentucky, Freshman
Draft Projection: Late lottery to mid first round

Eric Bledsoe played at Kentucky with John Wall. He is a super quick guard with a high basketball IQ. Playing off the ball next to Wall last season, Bledsoe didn't get the chance to show off his point guard skills; but be assured, he is a very good pass-first PG. He needs to work on his ball handling and cut down on his turnovers, and he also needs a lot of work on his jump shot.

STRENGTHS:

Very athletic
Super quick
Explosive leaper
end-to-end speed
6-foot-7 1/2 wingspan
Pass first mentality
High basketball IQ
Defensive effort
Potential to be elite defender
High upside

WEAKNESSES:

Inconsistent jump shot
Turnover prone
Sometimes plays out of control

The team that drafts Bledsoe should be willing to wait for his development. He won't be able to step right in and run the point, but given time, he could develop into a very good one. Not the Wizards, of course, but just about any other team could use a young point guard to groom.

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Solomon Alabi

22 years old;
7'1"; 251 lbs.
Florida State, Sophomore
Draft Projection: Lottery-Late1st Round

Solomon Alabi is a tremendous physical specimen. Standing 7'1" in shoes with a 7'5" wingspan, he reminds one of a young Dikembe Motombo. Offensively, he can do little more than catch-and-dunk or shoot a baby hook shot. Alabi is a decent free-throw shooter (79%) so there may be hope for a pick-and-pop game.

Defensively is where Alabi will make his living. He is effective in protecting the post, where he can block shots while defending one-on-one, rotating to help on the weak side or just contesting jumpers around the lane. Rebounding is a concern, though. You'd like to see more than 9.2 rebounds (per 40 pace adjusted) from your defensive-minded center.

STRENGTHS:

Ideal size for an NBA center
Runs the floor well
Good shot blocker
Good free throw shooter (79%)
High energy level, hustle

WEAKNESSES:

Needs to add strength
Still very raw offensively
Not a good rebounder
Poor passer, court vision

Alabi is the type of player that Ernie Grunfeld loves to draft. Extremely long, athletic players that run the floor well and have explosive jumping ability. Alabi blocks shots and can defend the rim. But since the Wizards already have JaVale McGee, I think the Wizards should pass if they get a pick in the high teens/early twenties as has been rumored.

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Daniel Orton

19 years old;
6'10"; 260 lbs.
Kentucky, Freshman
Draft Projection: Mid-Late 1st Round

Orton has great size and strength for an NBA Center. Standing at 6'10", 269 pounds with a 7'4" wingspan, Daniel Orton certainly looks the part of NBA Center. Orton has nice touch around basket, but needs to develop some moves in the post. Remember, he only played 13 minutes per game as a freshman at Kentucky. And for that, NBA scouts are droling over him.

Personally, I don't see the attraction in drafting a guy that played a total of 501 minutes (about 14 games worth of minutes) simply because he is big and has some upside. He also has a number of red flags, like his balky knee, his 13.8% body fat, the fact he has practically no offensive game, the fact that he's an abysmal free throw shooter (52.4%) and the reality that he struggles guarding the pick-and-roll (an NBA staple).

STRENGTHS:

NBA body with extremely long wingspan
Good athlete
Finishes strong around the basket
Projects to be a good shot blocker

WEAKNESSES:

Very raw offensively
Makes careless turnovers
Lacks experience
Balky left knee?
Questionable conditioning
Terrible Free Throw shooter

Daniel Orton really needed another year at Kentucky as the starter, out from underneath Demarcus Cousins' shadow. Personally, I don't see the appeal of drafting Orton so high, but to see him ranked in the middle of the first round on most mock drafts says that there are a lot of people that see his potential. The team that drafts Orton may have to wait three or four years for him to develop. If he fell to the Wizards at pick number 30, I'd be happy taking him, but he's not worth a pick in the teens.

More mini-profiles to come....

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Comments

I don't get

Why Orton and Bledsoe are coming out now. Seems to suggest they expect their stock to drop when they’re the starting players on a lesser Kentucky team. And hey, maybe they’re right. But I’d rather take someone who flourished in college and is more of a known quantity than one of the bench-projects from Kentucky (particularly seeing as how Kentucky didn’t actually win much of anything, despite Wall, Cousins, and Patterson.)

by sierradave on Jun 22, 2010 4:59 PM EDT reply actions

CBA

I think the expectation is that salaries will be lower after the new CBA is done.

by steadyhand on Jun 24, 2010 10:33 AM EDT up reply actions

I prefer Alabi even if it means duplicating JaVale. Right now I don’t see JaVale starting a playoff game but Alabi has the size and strength to defend the rim. He has a nice hook which scouts expect him to use more in the pro game with better spacing. FSU actually ran plays for him late in games because he was their best FT shooter. So there is hope there too. And evidently he wowed folks in his interviews. I can’t see him getting past the Celtics.

Orton has little production and a red flag for his knee. He’ll figure it out just in time for his second contract. No thanks.

by Jheiser3 on Jun 22, 2010 5:35 PM EDT reply actions

I have some worthless, fan-based comments, but they’re based on 20 years of observing the NBA draft, so here goes:

This draft is sick, the deepest I’ve seen it for well over ten years, meaning, you’re gonna have more than just a couple of dudes in the second round that will play in the League for a long time. That said, I remember when Scottie Pippen came out, nobody heard of him, but when the buzz came out a little before the draft, he was lottery and was awesome. This year it’s Paul George like that.

Every year, there are guys that no one talks about because they think they have a sleeper and they don’t want any buzz. They are taken higher than you think they will be. This year it’s Patterson, Henry, James Anderson. Everyone’s like, yeah, they are picks in the teens. Don’t believe it. Plus, Whiteside is a mystery. Alabi is a mystery. Last year, Thabeet is picked number two, and these guys are in the teens? I got no other explanation for that, except this draft is deep as hell.

Then there are guys that didn’t go through public workouts, and no one is talking about them in the first round discussion. But they get drafted, sometimes way higher than you think. Zoubek, Samhan, Jeff Foote. 7-footers who proved themselves in the Tourney, and know how to play. When I see Zoubek, I see Laimbeer without a jumpshot…yet. Dude can rebound, destroy people with picks, and is well coached in the nuances of the game. What else do you want? OK, you want an athlete, but it’s not like Laimbeer was either. Just saying that I’d love the Bullets to be able to buy some picks, anywhere, by any means possible — we’ll be thieves if that actually plays out.

by Tbonebullets on Jun 22, 2010 8:05 PM EDT reply actions