Every year, I put together a "Best Available List" for ESPN's coverage of the NBA draft. For the past 11 years, this list has been based not upon a player's expected draft position, but on which players are the best prospects and project to be the best NBA pros.
For this year's Top 30 best available players, I have broken down each player with his "Success Piece" (the attributes the player exhibits that will most likely lead him to success in the NBA), his "Fail Piece" (the things that could hold the player back from having success in the NBA), his projected fit in the league, and a brief overview.
1. Ben McLemore, SG, Kansas
Success Piece: Elite shooter and transition athlete.
Fail Piece: Assertiveness, overall toughness and maturity, ability to defend in isolation.
Projected Fit: Starter to All-Star
Overview: McLemore is the player in this draft who is most likely to mature into an All-Star. His talents are considerable. The only question is whether he has the temperament and assertiveness to be a star performer on the NBA level. If selected by a team with an established star, McLemore can have the room to mature into one himself.
