The NBA draft is just a day away and with all the teams in the league locking down as they try to make final decisions, general managers will be looking for prime talent at the top of the draft and hidden gems through the rest of it and some sleepers in the first round could be names like Ricky Ledo, Sergey Karasev, C.J. McCollum and Pierre Jackson.
The draft in the NBA can at times be a crapshoot, sometimes teams make great selections and they players don't work at pros and sometimes teams can outthink themselves, like when the Pistons selected Darko Milicic in 2003 after LeBron James went number one, leaving Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade on the board. This year there are a number of teams in prime position to find some hidden talent in the draft, including some picking later in the first round like the Bulls, Knicks, Nets and Rockets.
Pierre Jackson from Baylor is an interesting options for a lot of teams that need a point guard, including the Knicks and even the Bulls, who could use some depth as they bring back Derrick Rose from an injury. Jackson is very athletic and at times last season he was by far the best player on the floor for Baylor and he scored nearly 20 points per game against a tough conference. He can get up high with his shot that helps with his size and his speed could be an asset for any team using a running offense.
Shabazz Muhammad isn't a sleeper in the traditional sense of the word, but he could end up being the best player overall out of the draft down the line and the fact that he likely won't be a top two pick makes him a sleeper. At just 19 he is still very young and while he played just one season for the Bruins, he is one of the most offensively skilled players in the class and his size has some comparing him to LeBron James. If Muhammad can prove he can make a jump shot consistently, he could end up being one of the top players in the league down the line.
C.J. McCollum from Lehigh is a player that is moving up draft boards as the big day gets closer and he could be a big steal for a team in the draft, as scouts have said he has great court knowledge and shot making skills. McCollum hit over 50 percent of his shots before being hurt and while he was limited to just 12 games, teams have seen him as someone who can adjust to the NBA quickly. Ricky Ledo is also a name that could end up being called in the first round, as he has immense talent, but there are maturity questions. If he slips, a team will be getting a possible top-10 talent.
Sometimes teams will avoid international players, but in recent years the number of players from other countries has increased at a steady pace and one name that could come up in the first round is Sergey Karasev from Russia. The 19-year-old guard has a great three point shot and not too much else yet, but he has good size for his position and a team looking to develop a player could end up with an All Star down the line.
