NBA Draft 2019: 5 potential second-round steals

5. Daniel Gafford, Center, Arkansas

The Step Back Big Board Ranking: 28

Gafford was once considered a possible lottery prospect in the 2018 NBA Draft, but decided to return to school for his sophomore season, and that ended up being a very poor decision. Gafford regressed on the defensive end this year, and didn’t show much meaningful offensive improvement, and that has him firmly rated as a second-round prospect this year. Gafford’s disappointing combine performance, where he only completed five bench press reps and finished with an average lane agility time, also brings into question his athletic potential, one of the bigger reasons to buy Gafford stock.

But this year’s struggles probably just made us overthink things with Gafford. He may not be the best athlete, but he’s an incredibly functional athlete, turning a strong vertical leap and 7-foot-2 wingspan into play as a solid vertical spacer in the pick-and-roll, and a good rim protector on the defensive end. He probably doesn’t have the ceiling as a passer that he was afforded as a freshman, but he still looks like he has potential to be a cheap and valuable dive man for a team drafting in the early second round. His functional skill set should be easy to plug into most rotations, and in the right spot, he has some good potential upside. There are a lot of bigs in the league right now, so space is going to be limited, but there are good fits for him early in the second. Philadelphia, who picks 33rd and 34th, could certainly use a functional athlete behind Joel Embiid, and Chicago at 38 could probably do something with Gafford in a third big role to compliment Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter off the bench. Gafford probably doesn’t have the potential that a Jaxson Hayes or Nick Claxton do at the center position, but he’s still probably a useful big man, and could be valuable for a team picking at the top of the second round.