NBA Draft 2018: 5 potential second round steals

BOISE, ID - MARCH 17: Hamidou Diallo #3 of the Kentucky Wildcats slam dunks over Nick Perkins #33 and Dontay Caruthers #22 of the Buffalo Bulls in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament held at Taco Bell Arena on March 17, 2018 in Boise, Idaho. (Photo by Brett Wilhelm/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) /

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SOUTH BEND, IN – JANUARY 16: Ray Spalding #13 of the Louisville Cardinals shoots the ball in the second half of a game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Purcell Pavilion on January 16, 2018 in South Bend, Indiana. Louisville won 82-78 in double overtime. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

4. Ray Spalding (Louisville)

During the 2018 NBA Playoffs, we saw two former Louisville Cardinals (Terry Rozier and Donovan Mitchell) have breakout performances. Mitchell wasn’t much of a surprise, after going No. 13 overall in the 2017 NBA Draft, Mitchell put together a Rookie of the Year caliber performance in the regular season. Rozier made a name for himself by filling in for Kyrie Irving and helping to guide the Boston Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Neither was looked as a sure thing leading up to their draft and 6-foot-10 Ray Spalding has the makings of the next under-the-radar Louisville prospect. As the title of this article suggests, Spalding is very unlikely to get taken in the first round like Mitchell and Rozier, but that doesn’t mean he can’t have an impact in the NBA.

Big men that can defend in space and also protect the rim come a dime-a-dozen and Spalding has shown flashes of developing into that type of player. Spalding possesses a wingspan that is just a shade under 7-foot-5, he has the mobility and length to be a difference maker on the defensive end in time. Louisville’s aggressive press defense often resulted in switches and cross-matching and Spalding proved capable of sticking with guards on the perimeter.

Offensively, Spalding isn’t anything special in the post or from the perimeter but was a capable finisher around the rim (especially on lobs). The skill that stands out for Spalding besides his play above the rim, is his comfort with the ball in his hands. Rick Pitino and David Padgett didn’t often let him put the ball on the floor, but he showed the ability to maintain control off the dribble — particularly in short roll situations.

Clint Capela likely earned himself max contract money because of his ability to put together all of those offensive and defensive skills listed previously. It took Capela four years to turn into this after being drafted in the backend of the first round in 2014. Spalding has some similarities to a young/raw Capela.

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