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2015’s Big Man Draft Class–Where Are They Now?
A comparative analysis of how the Knicks’ Porzingis stacks up against his draft class peers
So, the trade deadline passed with Phil Jackson asleep on a bench somewhere. The New York Knicks were not the biggest losers of the day for once, but they weren’t winners either. Sitting on your hands isn’t much of a strategy, but drafting well might be.
Every Knicks fan remembers the memorable draft night when Kristaps Porzingis dawned New York’s orange and blue for the first time. The ride to Porzingis fame is well-documented in Knicks fandom, but one has to wonder how the other centers and power forwards who were drafted in 2015 are doing. Some of the big men selected in the first round have found themselves tangled in a web of irrelevancy while their team rebuilds and they develop. Most of the others, specifically the second rounders, have been let go completely.
However, there are a few of these skilled, young players who have found their niche on their team and in the NBA. These big men with big names might deserve their own class rankings early in their careers. Who knows where they’ll end up?
Karl-Anthony Towns
Currently ranking head and shoulders above his classmates is the big man, the Big KAT, Karl-Anthony Towns. The Dominican-American New Jersey native has been an electrifying player since he stepped foot in the NBA. A five star recruit out of high school and a fearless leader of a previously 38–0 University of Kentucky NCAA men’s basketball team, it seemed as though Towns greatness was written. Even between the NCAA tournament and the draft he was scheduling classes to pursue two degrees. There’s a lot to like about this kid. His amateur accolades needn’t be forgotten, but his professional accomplishments already outshine the hefty list.
In his first year alone he received three NBA honors: NBA Skills Challenge Champion, an All-Rookie first-team selection, and of course Rookie of the Year. In his second year he has continued to awe audiences by averaging 23 points and 11 rebounds. Those are All-Star stats. The eye test will tell you the young man is a threat from anywhere on the court. His hook shot is a staple to his game and if he has an inch of space to get to the hoop he’ll use it. Even when he doesn’t, his growing comfort with a spin can catch skilled veterans off-guard. The highlight plays from his first season alone show he’s dripping with talent.
His team isn’t faring very well in the Western Conference (they currently rank 13th in the standings), but their young core is one to look out for in the coming years. If it remains in tact he may meet one of his classmates in a late round playoff match up.
Kristaps Porzingis
Coming in second place is New York’s very own Kristaps Porzingis. The Latvian power forward was booed on draft night, but everyone knows how the story goes. He overcame the cynicism of New York sports to become the main core of The Big Apple and the golden boy of the franchise. Put back dunks by Porzingis quickly changed the tune of any dissenters. By All-star weekend he was hailed as the savior of the Knicks franchise by NBA fans and analysts alike. Due to the teams recent and frequent struggles, that may not actually be true, though mismanagement of the organization is no fault of his. With a pep in his step he scored 30 points in the Rising Star Challenge and finished the season as an All-Rookie first-team selection.
With this success came growing pains in his second year; Porzingis was rewarded with a hike in minutes, but this increased his frequency of foul trouble. A bidding Achilles injury slowed him down in the first half of the season, but with time he’s been showing his old self and contributing sufficiently for his role.
However, Porzingis is no stranger to adversity. When teammate and mentor Carmelo Anthony was off to a rocky start to the season the second year forward was on fire at times, showing that he can pick up the slack when his team needs him. Intangibles like leadership and positivity when your team’s front office is comparable to a failing TV sitcom leaves long-time fans giddy with admiration. Still, when the owner of the team you play for treats retired players worse than Frank Gallagher treats his kids maybe a change in scenery wouldn’t be too bad. Porzingis will be locked up in his rookie deal for a while, but a lot can transpire over that course of time for better or for worse. (Editor’s note: last night Porzingis left the Cavs game early with a sprained ankle. His timeline to return is unknown at the moment.)
Myles Turner
The 11th overall pick in the draft, Myles Turner has been playing a role similar to his Latvian counterpart. Both players were drafted to compliment their All-Star forward during a strange rebuild-esque, yet win-now period in their organization. The ambiguity of the organizations’ directions aren’t exactly inspiring, but both have found a place in the starting lineup early on. In his first season he averaged 10 points per game in the playoffs. in the 2016–17 season he’s seen improvement in almost every statistical category (via BBall_Reference).
Turner can often be found in the paint blocking shots (his most famous a LeBron James stuff at the rim), but don’t sleep on his outside game. His game inside the paint is more than catching lobs, but his outside shooting is picking up this season. With his height, his turn around jumper is nearly unreachable for defenders. With Turner stretching his opponents’ bigs out of the paint he leaves room for his smaller, more nimble teammates to get to the basket.
The Pacers barely have their heads above water by tettering around the .500 mark in the Eastern Conference. They stand in roughly the same spot that they were in last season, but Turner is showing that he’s not the same player he was. He’s better.
Jahlil Okafor and Frank Kaminsky
With the rest of the class there’s a very noticeable curve in production and playing time. Two players who may be neck-and-neck in these standings are the Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor and the Charlotte Hornets’ center Frank Kaminsky III. Okafor, a third overall pick was projected to be the favorite in the 2015 draft early into the NCAA Men’s season. However, the rise of KAT and the thirst for point guard D’Angelo Russell caused him to drop.
Nevertheless, 76ers fans were excited to see yet another center join their front court-heavy roster. Since Joel Embiid was still recovering from his injuries, Okafor stepped up to the plate and averaged 30 minutes per game with 17.5 points and seven rebounds to boot. A hefty workload for a rookie, but NCAA champion Okafor fared well.
Subsequently, Kaminsky, the ninth pick in the 2015 NBA draft, was coming into his own. He started slowly, although he averaged a little more than 20 minutes per game. His game seemed fairly lackluster, but when you’re being compared to rookies who already have nicknames like KAT, and Porzingod expectations can become a bit inflated. He averaged 7.5 points and four rebounds within those solid 20 minutes. His team, led by Kemba Walker, went to seven games against the Heat before being eliminated. Seven playoff games as a rookie is more than a lot of his classmates had. They might be more than a few see in the while for the lottery picks since they were lottery picks for a reason. Overall, he had an OK season. No all-rookie selection, but it was solid enough to not get waived. It was solid enough to grow. And by All-Star break Frank the Tank had shown he was ready to handle a bit more.
With a few more added minutes he has been up to 10 points per game with accompanied by 4.6 rebounds. He hasn’t shown a lot, but he’s proven to be solid. His field goal percentage is below 40 percent, so, he still has work to do, but his defense has surprisingly ramped up this season. Among second year players who play more than 20 minutes per game he’s in the top five in defensive rating. He ranks above KP and KAT with an almost identical rating to Indiana’s Myles Turner. Kaminsky may not end up a star, but he could end up as a solid rotation player.
Unfortunately, Okafor has not held up too well this season. Joel “The Process” Embiid took over in the fall and the only thing keeping Okafor relevant is Embiid’s fragile body. The drop in minutes wasn’t so much a signal of decline, but the relieving of pressure since three young centers were in the lineup until the trade deadline sent Nerlens Noel to the Dallas Mavericks. His greatest weakness, defense, announced itself early in the season, causing whispers about a sophomore slump to float hand in hand with trade rumors. His defensive rating is a 108.7. That seems a little high, but manageable to an offensive talent. This season his offensive rating is sitting at a low 92, giving him a net rating of -16.6. Sometimes, an ugly stat speaks for itself.
A lot of Okafor’s struggles aren’t entirely his fault. Again, three young centers hoping to prove their meddle sounds good, but the theory was flawed, and the application of it was ugly. Thus, the 76ers are in position to tank for yet another season.
In short, Okafor may have started with a much bigger role than Kaminsky, but it seems that the Charlotte Hornet is faring much better in the belly of the beast.
Larry Nance Jr., Willie Cauley-Stein, Trey Lyles, Bobby Portis
This last group of big men seem like the leftovers, a bunch of first round picks that fans hope will have found their niche by the time their rookie contracts are up or before their team’s managers have chosen to part ways by waiving them.
Larry Nance Jr., NBA legacy and the most productive player among this group, has been contributing well as a Los Angeles Laker. The Akron, Ohio, native was drafted the lowest among this group with the 27th overall pick the Lakers acquired from Houston. He is averaging 6.9 points and 5.5 rebounds on a 55.7 field goal percentage. Nance, the son of the first NBA dunk champion, was invited to compete in the slam dunk contest, early in the season, but was forced to forgo the competition due to injury. Nance’s invitation was in no part just an offer because of his father’s legacy. He can throw down. For the time being, he’ll be posterizing opponents while down on the scoreboard.
Trey Lyles, the 12th pick in the draft finds himself averaging 7.0 points and 3.7 boards (via Bball_Reference). While he is not a huge part of the Utah Jazz’s offense, it must do him some good to play with a young team that chose to stay low and build themselves into the fifth seed. The Jazz are only a game behind the fourth-seeded Clippers, so, maybe Lyles will be the beneficiary of useful playoff experience.
Willie Cauley-Stein, the sixth overall draft selection has seen better days. He averaged seven points and five rebounds in his rookie year, but has seen a drop in all five statistical categories. Well, with DeMarcus Cousins hogging up all the greatness there’s not much one can do. The year prior, KAT took all the shine on their University of Kentucky team. Let’s just hope Cauley-Stein soaked some up since his former teammates’ game since Towns is now a western conference rival and Cousins has officially landed in New Orleans. This new big role could either make or break his potential.
Bobby Portis, the Chicago Bulls’ 22nd pick is doing alright. He’s averaging only four points in 12 minutes, but he’s managing. Since the Bulls gave up both of their veteran power forwards Portis may get the opportunity to show that he isn’t as far down the ladder of his class like most people think.
So, there are clearly gaps in ability between these players, but the clear disparities in professional development are intriguing nuances that may come into play down the line when all of their cards on the table. It looks like the tiers for their roles in the NBA are mostly set, but breakout stars can come out of nowhere. With this interesting class of versatile big men, the floor might be sticky, but the ceiling is among the stars.
— Ty Jordan, site writer
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