Potential Lottery Sleepers In The NBA Draft

This NBA Draft has been admittedly hard to predict. The consensus on the first three names called on Thursday night seems to be the only part the majority can agree on, and there's still plenty of rumors flying to keep those waters muddy too.

After Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren, and Paolo Banchero come off the board though, things could get really interesting (or frustrating, depending on how you look at it).

There's some good news though. Given the fact that history tells us every draft has a name that's called sooner than expected, and at least one that has a noticeable drop, this is where we can dig around and try to find some value outside of the first three:

Keegan Murray - Sophomore, Iowa

Murray's average draft position sits at 5.5 for both FanDuel and DraftKings, with the under heavily juiced at both books. Murray's age (turning 22) has been a negative factor for some teams, but he brings a ton of talent on both ends of the court.

His odds to go No. 4 to the Kings sit at +125, but the better, and the more likely scenario could be the Pistons at No. 5 (+145) where he's also the favorite, or even the Pacers at six (+230).

Murray showed last year he can play in the open floor and in half-court sets, and with Cade Cunningham as the primary ball-handler, Murray's ability to get open off the ball would give Cunningham a dependable target to find when running the offense. He's not necessarily the most athletic guy, but he limits mistakes on offense and knows the smart play, whether it's looking to score or giving it up.

Those types of intaginbles would work well in Indy too, so you can either decide on one here, or hedge a bit a bet on a couple landing spots for Murray.

Dyson Daniels - G League Ignite

Daniels has been one of the names you continue to hear climbing draft boards around the league, and rightfully so. A 6-8 guard with strong court vision and playmaking abilities, Lonzo Ball has been a common comparison.

Daniels sits at +2100 to go No. 4 overall, and +600 at No. 5. With the Pistons set with Cunningham running the show, this could play out if one of these rumored trades happens with a team that loves Daniels' upside.

Who knows, there's also a chance the Kings just surprise everyone and draft him themselves, they are the Kings after all.

Consider one of these bets though if you really like the chances of someone trading up.

Shaedon Sharpe - Kentucky (sort of)

Sharpe didn't actually play for the Wildcats but his talent is well documented, including his potential to be a dominant scorer at the next level.

There was some conversation about poor workouts for teams early on in the process, then of course the opposite was just leaked as well, so chalk a lot of this up to the extreme narratives that are leaked by agents or teams potentially for their own benefit. We see this every year.

That being said, teams like the Pistons at five (+1000), Pacers at six (+650), or Blazers at seven (+200) would all be fits that make sense. Portland may also look to move the pick, or Sharpe specifically, to try and get a veteran return back as opposed to keeping a raw prospect like Sharpe.

Also, why not throw the Kings in there if they don't move the pick (+1400), since Sharpe fits that roster better than Jaden Ivey would.