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NBA Rookie Ladder: Ranking draft and stash heroes

By Brandon Jefferson

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JUNE 23: The Philadelphia 76ers host a post draft press conference announcing new players Anzejs Pasecniks, Markelle Fultz, Jonah Bolden and Mathias Lessort at the Sixers Training Complex on June 23, 2017 in Camden, New Jersey. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant /NBAE via Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JUNE 23: The Philadelphia 76ers host a post draft press conference announcing new players Anzejs Pasecniks, Markelle Fultz, Jonah Bolden and Mathias Lessort at the Sixers Training Complex on June 23, 2017 in Camden, New Jersey. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant /NBAE via Getty Images) /
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3. Sasha Vezenkov

FC Barcelona has been home to such talents as Pau and Marc Gasol, Juan Carlos Navarro, Ricky Rubio, Anderson Varejão, Mario Hezonja and Marcelinho Huertas in the past. Now, Bulgarian forward Sasha Vezenkov looks to be the latest player to come from the Barcelona pipeline. Following an impressive 2015 Greek League season that saw him take home Most Valuable Player, Most Improved Player, and lead the league in scoring, Vezenkov has been part of FC Barcelona’s B-Team.

However, this season he has seen much more action with the top team and has even started six games in EuroLeague this season. Barcelona is as talented as some of the lower-tier NBA teams and Vezenkov should have enough experience to hold his own in the NBA whenever the Brooklyn Nets decide to bring him over.

At 6-foot-9, Vezenkov is comfortable playing on the perimeter. He has connected on 47.9 percent of his 3-pointers through 30 EuroLeague games this year. There are parallels between his game and many of the previous international stretch bigs that have managed to find their footing in the NBA recently. Spacing the floor is a necessity in the modern game and having a ready-made option that’s playing consistently in the second best basketball league in the world isn’t a bad thing.

The Nets selected Vezenkov 57th overall in the 2017 NBA Draft. Since the ill-fated Pierce/KG deal in 2013, Brooklyn has to look for talent anywhere it could find some and with Vezenkov they might have made dollars on their dime investment.

We’ve seen with Kenny Atkinson’s philosophy that 3-point shooting is a prominent function of his offense. While getting Quincy Acy to become an outside shooter is an accomplishment not many teams could see through, there’s no harm in letting a sure thing like Vezenkov get some looks in that role down the line.

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