The rookie class of 2012 ended up producing some decent NBA talent as there are many who made their mark in their rookie season. The future of the league is in good hands as the young talent coming into the league are very talented and versatile players...for the most part.
Every year there are those players who capitalized on their pre-draft hype and workouts to catapult themselves into the forefront of general managers minds come draft day. These players may have been good if not exceptional collegiate players; however, their game just doesn’t translate into NBA success.
We round out our analysis of the 2012 NBA entry draft by looking at those draftees who really underwhelmed in their rookie seasons. These five rookies failed to line up to their hype and really have their respective teams second-guessing themselves.
Check out eDraft’s Top Five Performing Rookies as well as eDrafts’s Top Five Up and Comers from the 2012 Draft.
Terrence Ross - Guard, Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors used the eighth overall selection in the draft on University of Washington’s Ross. This 6’6” shooting guard wasn’t even considered to be a lottery selection in the draft, many had predicted Ross as being a mid to late first round selection. No one had the Raptors taking Ross with their first round selection. It’s not that Ross wasn’t a talented player in college, it was just that the Raptors didn’t have a need at shooting guard. At the time of the draft the Raptors already had a young versatile wing-player in DeMar DeRozan whom they drafted just two years earlier.
Ross had a terrible year, he averaged a measly 6.4 ppg, 0.7 apg and 2.0 rpg. All this for a team that failed once again to qualify for the playoffs and who are once again headed back to the lottery for yet another chance to draft an NBA ready player. Ross is at-best a bench-player with limited upside, granted he can practically jump out of the gym and is spectacular on fast-break dunks, but the game is more complex and athleticism will only get you so far.
Austin Rivers - Guard, New Orleans Hornets
Rivers parlayed a high-profile role with the high-profile Duke University into a large pay day come draft day. The Hornets bought in and selected Rivers with the tenth overall selection come draft day. The Hornets didn’t really need a point guard and they didn’t need an under-sized combo-guard either; they already had Eric Gordon and Greivis Vasquez in the backcourt. The Hornets reached out and grabbed Rivers anyways as they hoped to create some magic between Rivers and Anthony Davis. It is clear that they over-reached with their pick as Rivers managed to post 6.2 ppg, 2.1 apg and 1.8 rpg in over 23 minutes of action a night. If Rivers had been playing for a semi-decent squad instead of the woeful Hornets, he wouldn’t have seen anywhere near that amount of playing time and would have been a spectator for most of the time.
Kendall Marshall - Guard, Phoenix Suns
The Suns were desperate to restock their backcourt in lieu of Steve Nash’s departure. They already had Goran Dragic pencilled in as the starter and so they went hunting for a backup and potential incumbent to Dragic. Everyone was in agreement that Marshall was not an overly athletic player; however, he was drafted based on the strength of his decision making. Viewed by many as a good game manager who makes sound decisions with the basketball, Marshall played his role to perfection while with North Carolina.
Marshall has been a non-factor for the Suns this season as his only fantasy value has come in spot-starts filling in for the injured Dragic. Marshall’s season averages of 2.9 ppg, 2.7 apg 0.8 rpg in 13.8 minutes per game. Marshall has no fantasy relevance heading into next season as his role with the Suns hasn’t changed.
Royce White - Forward, Houston Rockets
My oh my, where does one start with Royce White. The hype machine was in full throttle leading up to the draft and much of the hype was focusing on the multi-talented White. The Rockets had the luxury of having two first-round selections and when their name was called for the sixteenth selection they jumped at the chance to add White to their roster.
From that day forward, the Royce White saga has been nothing but a headache and an exercise in futility. White was known to suffer from anxiety disorders, yet the Rockets did no homework prior to selecting him. The Rockets conducted no face-to-face interviews and did no personal workouts with White. The troubles that have followed since draft day are on-going and are not likely going to be resolved anytime soon. Royce White could very well end up being a what-if NBA story and is more likely to be featured on a made-for-television special than on NBA Primetime.
Jared Sullinger - Forward, Boston Celtics
Sullinger was viewed by many as a potential top five draft pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. Despite these draft projections, Sullinger bucked the trend and returned to school for another run at a title. Sullinger had another solid season and did post good numbers, unfortunately for him the rest of the field caught up and his draft stock fell. With the 2012 Draft on the horizon, the predictions were again favorable for Sullinger as he was thought of as a lottery pick. When the Celtics saw him sitting there still available, they jumped on him with the 21st overall pick.
As it turned out, Sullinger’s success in college was due to his physical strength against weaker and smaller opponents. In the Association, Sullinger enjoys no such physical advantages and he now relies on a poor mid-range jumper and slightly overweight physique to average 6.0 ppg and 5.9 rpg. With averages like these the fantasy relevance of Sullinger is minimal, unless you are in a super-deep league Sullinger should go undrafted in all leagues.