The second round of the NBA draft typically only produces a handful of players worth mentioning so I will recap them here. Thus far this draft has produced 4 quality bench players and not much else:
36. Minnesota Timberwolves – Craig Smith, F. The Wolves uncovered the first steal of the second round in Smith lasted as long as he did because scouts did not believe he would be able to play the PF spot at 6′ 7″, but he has more than held his own off the bench for the Wolves averaging 7.4 points his rookie season and 9.5 in his second year. He has also proven himself a reliable shooter and rebounder off the bench for Minnesota.
42. Cleveland Cavaliers – Daniel Gibson, G. Gibson has arguably been the steal of this draft. After a rather inconspicuous regular season Gibson emerged as a key player in the Cavs postseason run to the Finals scoring 8.3 points per game off the bench while shooting .409 from behind the arc. Gibson has been a key player this season for Cleveland hitting 45.9% of his three point attempts while averaging 10.7 points per game.
47. Utah Jazz – Paul Milsap, F. A nice find for the Jazz averaging 7.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 19.3 minutes per game off the bench for the Jazz.
49. Denver Nuggets – Leon Powe, F. Landed in Boston after being drafted by the Nuggets and has emerged as a key player off of the bench for the Celtics averaging 7.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.
