Frank Kaminsky might slide in the 2015 NBA Draft due to his team losing the NCAA championship game against the Duke Blue Devils, but that wouldn’t be fair to the big man who has a guard’s range. He proved himself as one of college basketball’s best shooters and decision makers last season, and those kind of skills will only serve him better in the NBA. Some will say that Jahlil Okafor exposed Kaminsky’s defensive weaknesses in the title game, but I disagree with that assessment. Okafor is just a skilled player who had a good game on that particular day. I don’t see Kaminsky as the starter on a professional title team yet; however, he could still come off the bench for one. In fact, I could imagine him being a reserve for either team currently competing in the NBA Finals, although they will not get a pick high enough to draft Kaminsky.
But the Washington Wizards are a team who could really use his talents, especially if they have already decided to start phasing out Nene‘s role. Kaminsky could offer John Wall a lot more spacing in pick-and-rolls and also give the squad another 7-footer on the defensive end.
Kaminsky had a fantastic senior season with the Wisconsin Badgers and averaged 18.8 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 2.6 APG and 1.5 BPG all while shooting the best percentage of his career from the field, 3-point line and charity stripe. That was pretty impressive stuff to witness from the 22-year-old. His team came up just short in their final game, but they upended John Calipari’s undefeated Kentucky Wildcats on the way there and solidified their place in history as a result.
The Wizards should pray that Kaminsky slips to them in the draft, because he would be an absolute steal with the No. 19 overall pick. I’m betting he will go down as one of Bo Ryan‘s best players ever, and the big man will surely be missed in Wisconsin unless the Milwaukee Bucks snag him.
Dave Daniels is an NBA Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter: @AllDave_AllDay, like him on Facebook here or add him to your network on Google.