Who is the sleeper in this draft.

[Diesel]

Ha...

I know how to fix things too.

[Nicholasp27]

i'm gonna say definitely not taft

he doesn't have the heart or ethic for it

and besides, he's well known and has been highly rated, so he can't be a sleeper...he can be a steal (a la smoove), but not a sleeper

a sleeper is someone who isn't too well known and was never rated highly that ends up being the bomb

someone who was previously mocked to go #2 can't, by definition, be a sleeper

[Diesel]

Wouldn't that fact that a lot of people think he will not have the heart and will fail make him a sleeper?

I mean, he has the tools but how many people are on the Taft bandwagon.

IF he becomes ROY next year, would you be somewhere saying...

"That wasn't unexpected!",...

[TheDude]

Granger.

[Diesel]

Granger is a lottery pick?

I think he will probably be selected by Toronto!

How can he be a sleeper?

[Final_quest]

I guess sleeper could mean a few different things.

A lottery pick 8th or higher that becomes a star like Paul Pierce or Dirk Nowitzki.

A non-lottery pick that becomes a star or borderline star.

When I heard sleeper of the draft I thought it was referring to someone who's stock would rise and keep rising to where they are picked 10-20 places higher than projected. Something like what happend to Luke Jackson last year. I picked Matt Walsh because I heard he's been generating a lot of buzz. If we're talking about a possible star picked after the lottery I would go with Garcia.

[TheDude]

Because Granger I feel will be a star that's worth a top 4 or 5 pick in the long run. Paul Pierce and DeWayne Wade are what I'm thinking of.

[Diesel]

I guess you make a good point about the meaning.

I'm saying what player might be missed by the mocks but turn out to be really good..

Much like Duhon did last yr...

[Spiral]

I voted Simien, it seemed like he was damn near unstoppable everytime he touched the rock in college. A few others I think could be sleepers are Diener, Ukic, Morris & Stoudamire.

[Packfill]

I voted for Conroy. Could be an Earl Watson type steady point.

[Wretch]

Sleepers IMO don't neccessarily have to be guys that nobody knows about. If you get a guy like Tony Parker or Josh Howard mid to late 1st round but is good enough to have gone maybe in the lottery, then you've got a steal and the player himself is a sleeper pick. I agree that there is a difference between the unknown player that will do well and the known commodity that simply falls. However, if we are talking about coming away from the draft with a talented player that many people pass on, for whatever reason, then basically sleeper and steal generally equate to about the same thing.

Talentwise, Taft has got it. He has even had consideration for the #1 pick. Now he's not even in the top 10? Because of bad workouts and questions about his work ethic? It's one then to be exposed and have people say, well...he isn't as good as we initially thought. It's another to have the Artest/Rider/Griffon kind of stigma hanging over your head...

The question is...can and will he work? If he does, then you have a top prospect. If he doesn't then you have a headcase. Either way, he's still got the talent...he's projected MUCH lower than he was qualified to go and that makes him my sleeper pick.

[Yeti]

I agree. Conroy blew them out at Portsmouth, then did real well in Chicago. Good size, can shoot when he wants but looks to pass. Solid pick.

yeti