The shape of the
2019 draft remains somewhat uncertain at this stage, given that beyond the top three or four players, there’s a less-pointed talent gap than in recent years, one that has been somewhat aided by injury and a number of the projected top freshmen all slumping. Apart from
Zion Williamson, and to a
lesser extent Ja Morant and R.J. Barrett, there aren’t many players inspiring a great deal of confidence. At the end of the day, teams have to use their draft picks on somebody, and so parsing through the pack and evaluating on a team-specific basis will be even more crucial than usual in a year where “best available” might be more of a relative designation. There’s still a good deal of talent on this board, particularly in terms of guys who could become quality role players, and so writing it off as an expressly bad class would be premature. As college basketball’s platform increases, prospects always set themselves apart.