Welcome to the Insider edition of 5-on-5! This panel is dedicated solely to debating the 2013 NBA draft. In this edition, our experts -- Chad Ford, Kevin Pelton, Fran Fraschilla, Dave Telep and Amin Elhassan -- tackle possible player outcomes for this year's draft class.
1. Which player is an instant starter?
Chad Ford: That's tough to answer before we see where a player is drafted. Teams don't always draft for need. But if you're looking for NBA ready, Anthony Bennett has an NBA body and an advanced offensive game. As long as his shoulder heals, he should start right away.
Kevin Pelton: C.J. McCollum. Outside the top five picks, I think McCollum is the most ready to fill a role immediately if he gets drafted by a team like the Minnesota Timberwolves who have an opening at shooting guard. Fran Fraschilla: Victor Oladipo. Given that all of the teams in the lottery need immediate help and he helps on both ends of the floor instantly, Oladipo will start from day one on whichever team selects him. His talent won't make a team necessarily better, but his work ethic and attitude should help begin to change a bad team's culture. Amin Elhassan: Trick question. Many of the teams in the lottery are so talent-starved that whoever they draft will almost certainly start for them instantly. But if we're talking about which player would have approximate starter value out of the gate, Otto Porter is the pick. His versatility, polish and willingness to do the little things make him an ideal candidate. Dave Telep: Porter. His story is Hollywood-esque. He wins state titles at the same school his parents did, plays little AAU ball, then erupts at Georgetown and goes early in the draft. He's a quietly successful, blue-collar small forward who manages to seize each moment. One concern is he's not an elite athlete. Ford: I'm sure there will be a future All-Star in this group … but it's so hard to peg right now. I think I'll go again with Bennett here. He has considerable upside and doesn't seem to have the same bust potential of others on the list. Pelton: Porter. Despite the concern about Porter's upside, his WARP projection of 2.6 per year over his first five seasons suggests All-Star potential. Of the 25 players with projected WARP between 2 and 3 drafted from 2003 through 2008, nine have made at least one All-Star appearance. Fraschilla: Ben McLemore. After only one season of college basketball, he hasn't figured it all out yet. But no one in this draft has his combination elite NBA athleticism and size at the shooting guard position and a Ray Allen-like shooting stroke. It wouldn't shock me if you woke me up in 12 years and told me he was going to the Hall of Fame. Elhassan: If he can develop a reliable perimeter jump shot, Michael Carter-Williams. Point guards with his size and feel don't come along very often, and if he gets in the right situation, he can make a huge impact on wins and losses, which will help drive the strength of his All-Star candidacy. Telep: McLemore. Most All-Stars hang their hats on that little extra the other guys don't have. With McLemore, it's the obvious athletic explosiveness mixed with the ability to generate diverse offense. Bill Self had to implore him at times to shoot. One day the light goes on and the talent takes over. He doesn't realize his own talent level. Ford: Again, without knowing the team and fit, so tough to know. I'm sounding like a broken record here, but I'm going with Bennett. If he's an instant starter and has the potential to be a future All-Star, he also should be the favorite for Rookie of the Year. Pelton: McLemore. Rookie of the Year is as much about opportunity as it is ability, and McLemore is likely to go to a team that badly needs his scoring punch. That could translate into more impressive per-game numbers than the other top picks put up as rookies. Fraschilla: Porter. Somehow, I think Porter will end up playing with a terrific young point guard in Cleveland or Washington and, if that happens, his rookie year will come easier to him. As a shot-maker, he will play off dribble penetration perfectly, as will Kyrie Irving or John Wall, and he'll put points on the board immediately. Elhassan: McLemore. Eight out of the past 10 Rookie of the Year winners led rookies in scoring, showing the voters give preference to players who throw points on the board. McLemore might be the most complete scorer, and he'll most likely go to a team that will allow him to hoist shots. Telep: Trey Burke. The ROY has been a guard four of the past five years and three of those went to true point guards. If you're drafting him, you're playing him. And without instant star power in the draft, this will be a production award, so Burke's steady play will earn him the nod. Ford: I worry about the expectations we are putting on McLemore. He has All-Star talent, but I'm not sure he has the mental makeup to maximize his potential. I worry he could be the second coming of Brandon Rush. Pelton: Oladipo. Don't get me wrong -- I love Oladipo's defensive potential. However, if a team drafts him in the top five expecting a two-way star, I think they might be disappointed. Players who use possessions as infrequently as Oladipo did in college rarely develop into big scorers in the NBA. Fraschilla: Cody Zeller. I won't mind eating crow if Zeller has a stellar rookie season, but if I were staring at selecting him in the lottery, I would pass on him. He is the best running big man in the draft, and he will be very good at defending the screen-and-roll on the perimeter. But I can't get out of my mind his inability to hold his ground in the low post, as he failed to do last season against Minnesota. Elhassan: Nerlens Noel. As the presumptive No. 1 overall pick, there are going to be enormous expectations to be a franchise player. Add in his recovery from ACL surgery, and the fact that bigs usually take longer to develop than perimeter players, and it's a recipe for unrealized expectations. Telep: Carter-Williams. Relative to where he's going to be selected, the expectations could be too high for him. This is a good player with issues shooting and occasionally valuing the ball; both are concerning for a rookie. The size is tantalizing and driving his ascension. Ford: Dario Saric. A number of GMs swear, on talent, he's a top-five pick. Saric is putting up impressive numbers in Croatia right now. He's a hard worker with a crazy high basketball IQ. He could be this draft's sleeper. Pelton: Pierre Jackson. I think whoever drafts Jackson late in the first round or early in the second will be pleasantly surprised by how quickly he helps them as a score-first point guard off the bench. Fraschilla: Dennis Schroeder. Dominating a couple of high school All-American point guards in the Nike Hoop Summit was just the icing on the cake for me. After an outstanding summer at the European Under-20 championships in 2012 and a solid season as a German BBL All-Star, I am high on him. Comparing him to Rajon Rondo might be premature but not outrageous, either. Elhassan: Another trick question! This draft is thin on stars and thick on unknowns, but Giannis Antetokounmpo might be the biggest unknown of them all. He's just 18, and he's got a tantalizing skill set for a player his size. He's a long way from being able to contribute, which will cost him in terms of draft position, but he has a chance to be one of the best players in this class. Telep: Shabazz Muhammad. There's a lot of noise around him. My feeling is this kid will immerse himself in hoops and outperform his draft slot. The guy I met five years ago is driven and internalizes things. The kid is feisty. Feels like even as a rookie it's now or never.2. Which player is a future All-Star?
3. Which player will win Rookie of the Year?
4. Which player could be a disappointment?
5. Which player will be the biggest surprise?