This year’s draft class leaves a lot to the imagination when it comes to star-power.  But, as with all drafts, it will proves to provide us with diamonds in the rough and some duds.

I’m taking an early shot at grading these guys.  Here’s my grading legend:

“Swimmer” – productive player with positive impact to their teams and the league.

“Floater” – player that will stick around the league with inconsistent or varying degrees of impact, mostly positive.

“Sinker” – player that should be happy that his name got called in the draft.  In 10 years, he’ll have to convince people that he actually played in the NBA.

First, let’s look at the top 10 selections:

1.  Blake Griffin- This seems like a no-brainer.  But being drafted by the Clippers could have been the worst thing to happen to Griffin (it’s not the absolute worst…after all, he is in the NBA).  Griffin’s college game was built on athleticism and brute strength – tools that are more prominent amongst other NBA-types.  I think he’ll find that out early and often.  Otherwise, playing with the lesser L.A. team will prove to stunt his development.  And playing with the Davises (Baron and Ricky) is always a good way to get shots…eh hem.  T Lamont’s Grade: Floater 

We all know that Thabeet can do this very well...

2.  Hasheem Thabeet- Maybe he can carve out a career as a Dikembe Mutombo clone.  But that would be wishful thinking.  Mutombo had 11 seasons in which he averaged a double-double (points and boards).  I can’t see Thabeet averaging 10 points a game for a week…much less a whole year.  T Lamont’s Grade: Sinker

3.  James Harden- Good pick by the Thunder.  Harden will help pick up some of the scoring burden that Kevin Durant is carrying (not that he needs any help).  His pick will go a long way towards bringing Oklahoma City that much closer to respectability as a team.  But will he be a star?  Hmmmm… T Lamont’s Grade: Floater

4. Tyreke Evans – Watching this guy all season at Memphis, the thing that stood out to me was his propensity to improve as he gets comfortable with his surroundings.  That is a good sign for Sacramento, because they need someone to take the reigns and be the aggressor.  The only reliable option they have to put the ball in the basket is Kevin Martin, but the Kings sorely needed someone to attack and create for others.  Evans can do that and more – including finish at the rim on his own.  T Lamont’s Grade: Swimmer

5.  Ricky Rubio- With Rubio not making the trip to the league this year, the jury will remain deadlocked on him.  I’m almost sad about about it.  At the very least, I was looking forward to the first Rubio / Brandon Jennings showdown.  T Lamont’s Grade: Stay Tuned  

6.  Jonny Flynn - Great college point guard.  In only 2 seasons.  And as far as point guards go in this draft, he is probably the best all-around at this point.  T Lamont’s Grade: Floater

7.  Stephen Curry - He’ll be physically over-matched in the NBA.  He didn’t play for a big-time college program.  He always had the “green light” with Davidson, and could shoot whenever he wanted without consequence.  We’ve all heard the criticisms surrounding Curry, but the bottom line is that this guy is a player.  There’s maybe (and I mean maybe) a few NBA players with the unique combination of his deep range and ultra-quick release.  Additionally, he has demonstrated “blow-by” ability against defenders who want to crowd his jumper.  He’ll have to work on his defense…but what rookie doesn’t?  T Lamont’s Grade: Swimmer

8.  Jordan Hill - Analysts’ selling point on Hill is that he hasn’t maxed out on his potential.  But I’m thinking that should be the case with any player selected in the top 10 – that is, if you believe that NBA players are more talented at their craft than their college counterparts.  Just playing against the top college players will make even the best former All-American have to dig a little deeper into his bag of tricks to make an impact on his new level.  Taking that into consideration, I feel that Hill will only do that to a certain degree.  T Lamont’s Grade – Floater

DeRozan has jaw-dropping athleticism.

9.  DeMar DeRozan – Awesome, jaw-dropping athleticism.  Right now, that’s the best – and probably the only – way to describe DeMar DeRozan.  Fresh out of USC (and almost high school, for that matter), he obviously has some roughness around the edges of his game.  With Toronto having a host of swingmen trying to prove they belong in the league (Antoine Wright, Joey Graham, Marco Belinelli) and Hedo Turkoglu set to gobble up major minutes, things may get tough for the youngster.  T Lamont’s Grade: Floater

10.  Brandon Jennings – This guy doesn’t lack any confidence at all.  He has blasted a European sensation and wrongly predicted his new team’s off-season moves, but Jennings even did those two things with a swagger.  In summer league, he has led the team like a veteran and – unlike many young players – seems to truly enojy winning…even at the cost of his own personal statline.  While it remains to be seen what is ultimately going to happen with Ramon Sessions, there is no doubt in my mind that Jennings will make his presence felt…for some team in the NBA.  It just remains to be seen if that team will end up being the Bucks.  T Lamont’s Grade: Swimmer

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