Kentucky Basketball: Is Doron Lamb a Second-Rounder?

John Clay reports that many basketball analysts now have Kentucky's Doron Lamb slipping out of the first round and into the second.

The most high-profile pundit taking this view is Draft Express, who has Lamb sliding to the fifth pick in the second round. DX also has Marquis Teague on the bubble as the very last pick in the first round. The problem seems to be that Lamb lacks the kind of size NBA evaluators look for in a shooting guard without elite athleticism. Even though Lamb is athletic and extremely poised, he doesn't have the eye-popping vertical of a Teague, the speed of a Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, or the strength of a Jae Crowder, although he is arguably more skilled than any of them.

The NBA is known for sometimes placing athleticism over skill, and it would not shock me if they did that in this draft. In many cases, NBA execs rightly assume that shooting can be developed, and there are dozens of examples of poor shooting guards who became much more reliable in the NBA. Few, however, become elite, and Lamb has the ability to become an elite shooter in just a few years, plus can play some point guard at a high level.

It will be interesting to see how much athleticism you have to have to be a first rounder in this draft, because there are quite a few highly skilled prospects who possess a cut below elite athleticism, like Doron Lamb, Darius Miller, John Jenkins and William Buford who would be otherwise locks for first round picks.