Following the Champions Classic in Chicago, I scouted 32 teams in the 10 days leading up to the coveted PK80 Invitational, which Jonathan Givony and I outlined in detail on Monday. While Phil Knight's 80th birthday bash left most other early season tournaments with a sub-par pool of prospects, I still evaluated a handful of future NBA players, most of whom have the tools, skills and makeup to develop into contributing NBA role players down the road.
With modern role player criteria in mind, here's a look at five prospects who are helping themselves with strong starts to the season, and could carve out a niche at the NBA level in the future.