NBA Draft: Zion Williamson still first in 2019 Redraft

Daniel Gafford was considered a fringe lottery prospect going into his freshman season at Arkansas, but by the time the NBA Draft Combine came around he looked like he would be a question mark to be taken in the first round. He therefore returned to college, had an even better season, and…still fell to the second round, going 38th to the Chicago Bulls.

That put Gafford in a crowded frontcourt, behind a second-year lottery pick in Wendell Carter Jr. and a third-year lottery pick in Lauri Markkanen. He carved out a small role in the rotation, posting great on-off splits and providing instant rim protection. Offensively he was entirely a dependent player, but he was a strong finisher who ran the court and set hard screens.

There is a role in the league for such a player, and this past season Gafford built on that by increasing his impact in a similarly small role with the Bulls, and then expanding it after a midseason trade to the Washington Wizards. By the time the postseason hit Gafford was the team’s best center, including shooting 12-of-15 across two play-in games.

A team drafting Gafford can’t expect a future star, but he has continued to improve and fits perfectly as a low-usage starting center who will run the floor and protect the rim. The San Antonio Spurs take him here as an option to start, or as a replacement to allow them to move Jakob Poetl. Their original pick, Luka Samanic, has shown very little thus far to prove he belongs in the NBA.