The 2021 NBA Draft is fast approaching, and NBA teams will try to leverage their draft capital to add a difference-maker from among the many prospects. After one of the most tumultuous draft cycles in basketball history due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is even more uncertainty than usual heading into the draft.
A few players are a lock to go high in the first round, but towards the back end of the lottery, things become very muddled. Players have a draft range of 8-30 in some cases depending on how the board falls. Some players will be the beneficiaries and go early, but others will fall and good players could slip into the second round.
The second round of the NBA draft can be the perfect place to find a diamond in the rough. Who is Neemias Queta and what other sleepers are out there?
Nikola Jokic just won the league’s Most Valuable Player award after going in the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft. Khris Middleton was a second-round pick and just helped win a title in Milwaukee. On a lower tier, second-round picks have become solid starters and contributed to winning teams, players such as P.J. Tucker, Danny Green and Jae Crowder all starting for NBA Finals teams the past two years.
Taking a low-cost swing or two in the second round can be a way to add inexpensive players to a roster and capture their upside if they do turn out. If they don’t, then the investment wasn’t overwhelming. Keeping the modern NBA in mind, who are five players likely to go in the second round of the 2021 NBA Draft that could turn into long-term starters?
2021 NBA Draft Second Round Sleepers: 1. Neemias Queta, C, Utah State
There are a number of players who would have been on this list even a month ago, yet the buzz has elevated them clearly into the first round. Players such as Nah’shon Hyland, Miles McBride and Joshua Primo are now possibly, if not likely, going to go in the first round.
One player who has not risen up draft boards, strangely enough, and despite one high-profile backer (Athletic paywall), is Utah State center Neemias Queta. The pride of Barreiro, Portugal is one of the best rim protectors to come out of the draft in years, the anchor of perennial Top 5 defenses at Utah State.
The 7’0″ center has a 7’4″ wingspan and absolutely envelops the paint while on defense. He is a superb weakside shot blocker and strong enough to take on direct attacks inside. The big concern with Queta is whether he will be able to defend in space, or if he will be continually roasted. The good thing for Queta is that if he is beat on the perimeter, his huge strides and length mean he can block or at least bother shots from behind.
On offense Queta is a work-in-progress, boasting all of the size and talent but needing an improvement of skill. He is a fluid athlete, a good rebounder and a legitimately good post scorer. He won’t be a knockdown shooter from outside, but he is a good passer who loves to run dribble handoffs, an NBA staple.
Queta may not be an elite shooter, but he is elite at the rim, and that is still very valuable in the modern NBA. Whatever team takes him will need a plan to protect him in space, but otherwise, he has an incredible level of potential to wall off the paint defensively, and to be a ball-moving big on offense.
2021 NBA Draft Second Round Sleepers: 2. Joe Wieskamp, SF, Iowa
NBA teams need shooters, and Joe Wieskamp and Kessler Edwards are two of the best. Wieskamp especially profiles as an elite bomber in the NBA, hitting 46.3 percent of his 3-pointers. Playing off of National Player of the Year Luka Garza he would sprint off of screens and into space to nail outside shots. He played largely in the role he will be in at the NBA level.
Far from a one-trick pony, Wieskamp has the chops to put the ball on the deck and get to the rim off of a closeout. He is a great athlete with solid block and steal numbers, and he rebounds well for his size. He won’t run your offense, but as an off-ball player cutting and shooting he is an excellent fit for most, if not every team out there.
2021 NBA Draft Second Round Sleepers: 3. Kessler Edwards, SF, Pepperdine
Every year the NBA gets enamored with a 3-and-D prospect and they shoot up the draft board. Every year, the NBA completely misses another prospect and they stay hidden in the weeds of the second round. From Danny Green to Terance Mann extremely valuable two-way wings are there if you can find them.
Enter Kessler Edwards, who was out of the national spotlight at Pepperdine but has all the trappings of a starter-level 3-and-D forward. He is 6’8″ with a 6’11” wingspan, with solid athletic traits and great lateral fluidity. He slides his feet well on defense and has the reaction speed to often block shots on-ball.
Offensively Edwards will excel in the right role. He is an excellent off-the-catch 3-point shooter, making 39.5 percent despite often being asked to run the Pepperdine offense as their best player. He is not a particularly good ball-handler or passer, and his strange shot mechanics mean he’s not great shooting off the dribble. Deploy him off-ball running off of screens, however, and you have a 6’8″ Joe Harris.
2021 NBA Draft Second Round Sleepers: 4. Joel Ajayi, SG, Gonzaga
Even for players taken in the second round, most of the time an NBA team is looking at a player who was the best or second-best on their team and projecting them into a much smaller role in the NBA. With Joel Ajayi, the fourth option on an absolutely loaded Gonzaga team, they can see exactly how he fits around other stars.
The answer is remarkably well, as Ajayi is a good shooter who runs and cuts with energy and is especially good at scoring in transition. He doesn’t need a lot of touches to make an impact, rebounding well and moving without the ball. He isn’t a great athlete and needs to improve his shot creativity when creating for himself as a secondary or tertiary creator. He’s a solid if unspectacular defender.
An NBA team isn’t getting a shot at a star if they take Ajayi, but they are getting a very good chance at a rotation player, and a smaller chance at a long-term starter.
2021 NBA Draft Second Round Sleepers: 5. Matthew Hurt, PF, Duke
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We should start with the drawbacks. Matthew Hurt, a two-year player at Duke, is a bad passer, a bad defender and a mediocre athlete. Despite his effort, he has no lateral quickness and will get blown by again and again in the NBA. He can’t stay in front of anyone.
Why should a team take a flier on Hurt? Because he can absolutely shoot the lights out of the basketball. He is 6’9″ tall and hit 42.1 percent of his 3-pointers at Duke on a very high volume of attempts. His release point is very high so it’s hard to contest, and he doesn’t bring the ball back down off-the-catch so he can fire the ball lightning fast. In the post, he was one of the country’s most effective scorers, with a variety of moves reminiscent of Dirk Nowitzki.
Deploying him as a shooting specialist, a jumbo Duncan Robinson, would allow a team to maximize his strengths without allowing his weaknesses to pull back too much from the team’s success. A little defensive improvement and he could easily be a long-term rotation player in the league, along the lines of Doug McDermott.
None of these five players are surefire things, and they don’t have that tantalizing aroma of star-level upside. Yet each of them fits the modern NBA and can contribute to a winning team, and would be excellent picks in the second round of Thursday’s NBA Draft.