The only thing better than the value of a star player on a rookie scale contract is a star player on an even cheaper, late-draft rookie scale deal.
Here are five sleeper prospects heading into Thursday's NBA Draft who may soon find themselves on a top-value listicle.
Christian Wood, PF, UNLV
A strong sophomore season saw Wood's stock rise, and his measurements and athleticism for a power forward, in addition to analytic indicators, suggest a lottery-level talent.
Still, his wiry frame and reported maturity concerns (including questions about his focus) have Wood projected to be anywhere from a late first- to mid-second-round pick. If those concerns are well-founded, one could understand an under-pressure executive's hesitation to use a first-rounder on the 19-year-old, but nabbing a lottery talent between 25-45 has to be enticing.
Kevon Looney, PF, UCLA
Looney averaged 11.6 points and 9.2 rebounds in recording more double-doubles than any other freshman, and his 41.5 percent 3-point shooting on 1.5 attempts per game, in addition to his high school experience as a point guard, indicate the type of floor-stretching, play-making power forward NBA teams currently crave.
But with conditioning concerns and questions about the healing process of a preseason hip injury following Looney into the draft, he finds himself in the 19-20 range in most mocks. The worst-case scenario when it comes to reaching on unpolished, potentially unconditioned talents is frightening. The best-case scenario of landing a top-end, contemporary power forward in the mid-to-late first round is tantalizing.
Robert Upshaw, C, Washington
There's a reason Hassan Whiteside comparisons abound.
The numbers and measurements are almost unbelievable – a combine-leading standing reach of 9'5", an astronomical block rate of 17.4 percent.
Unfortunately, Whiteside comparisons come with their complications, as like the Miami Heat center, Upshaw has his character concerns, being dismissed from both Washington and Fresno State over the span of 20 months. In addition, those character concerns come with a much more serious matter, as Upshaw was recently flagged for a heart issue for the third time in his career, although he's since been cleared to resume working out.
Like most players on this list, reaching for the mercurial big man carries its risk, but as a second round pick, as he's currently projected, Upshaw is quite literally a sleeping giant.
Joseph Young, G, Oregon
In our review of the best value picks of the last five years, we touched on Isaiah Thomas.
Four years after Thomas was selected with the 60th and final pick, another undersized (though not nearly as small as I.T.), Pac-12 scoring guard has the potential to be the NBA's next big bench scorer.
Strength and size are an obvious concern for the 6-foot-2 Young, and seniors often get the short end of the stick when it comes to draft projections, giving credence to his Draft Express projection of No. 50. But Young is a serious scoring threat from anywhere with the ability to devastate defenders off the bounce, so you can understand reports of a late first-round promise.
Pat Connaughton, G/F, Notre Dame
Connaughton is the definition of a sleeper.
After an impressive yet unspectacular collegiate career that lasted a full four years, the swingman was rarely, if ever, included in 2015 mock drafts, despite his 42 percent 3-point shooting as a senior and a 38.6 percent career conversion rate on nearly 700 attempts.
An eye-opening combine showing changed all that, as Connaughton recorded the second-best vertical in combine history before showing off his shooting range with a 3-point display during the in-game portion of combine week.
With more people paying attention to the fact that Connaughton's a marksman who can also jump out of the gym – in addition to his underrated rebounding ability from the wing – the Notre Dame product now finds himself with a No. 42 projection and a Matt Harpring comparison on Chad Ford's ESPN mock, while Draft Express has him pegged at 53.
A fourth-round pick of the Baltimore Orioles in last year's MLB Draft, Connaughton didn't crack Draft Express's top-60 until mid-June.
Four more sleepers whose names you should listen for on draft night:
Delon Wright, G, Utah
Chris McCullough, PF, Syracuse
Guillermo Hernangomez, C, Spain
Larry Nance Jr., PF, Wyoming
