Even if Shabazz is available, I wouldn't put him with the highest upside. There are questions about his handle, ability to create off the dribble and defense. He's also not a standout athlete. I don't see how he has the highest upside besides benefiting from a top high school ranking.
On pure upside, I'd put Ledo and Giannis over him.
I think with Shabazz his showing at UCLA actually helps his upside a little bit (as it has submarined his draft stock). I'd compare him in some ways to Jrue Holiday, not a great comparison in that Holiday's athletic markers never really moved like Shabazz's did, but that his poor collegiate showing isn't emblematic of his potential as a player. Phrases like 'when he's going left he's a top 5 prospect, when he's going right he's a top 15' should be noted, as they highlight how unrefined he really is.
Jrue played out of position in his only season at UCLA. He almost never got to run point because of Collison. That said, I'm not sure that's why his draft stock dropped because even as a two-guard, he showed a shaky handle and questionable decisionmaking, which shouldn't be the case if you're a point guard playing the 2-guard or not. I didn't think that highly of him and with his improvement this season, that was a definite miss by me.
I've never read the phrase "he's a top 5 pick going left, a top 15 pick going right" with Shabazz. To me, he isn't good going to his left or right. His efficiency numbers off the dribble were not good and he mostly drove left so I can't imagine how he looked like a top 5 pick going to his left.
Shabazz is a real puzzle. When I saw him play, I didn't think his defense was all that bad. He moved his feet well laterally and it looked like he put in effort but how in the world did he put up such underwhelming defensive numbers? At the college level, if you're athletic and an NBA prospect, it's hard to only block 4 shots the entire season (0.1) and average under a steal a game (0.7). He has a massive wingspan and is a good athlete for college and yet 4 blocks! His fellow freshman wing teammate Jordan Adams is a worse athlete and he still managed to block 12 shots and average 2.2 steals a game. I think Shabazz could be a good defender since defensive stats are limited but for his NBA prospects, the lack of steals and blocks puts him in very bad company historically.
And then there's his passing. 0.7 assists a game. He has the numbers of a black hole and to be sure, he loved to shoot but I thought his vision was fine and he was capable of making the unselfishh play. At UCLA, he didn't play much pick and roll but I watched a game of him in high school and there he was, playing a lot of pick and roll, in sets that evoked Pierce and creating for himself and his teammates.
Topic: Highest Potential/Upside Picks possibly available at #16? (Read 7615 times)