#NBARank Analysis: Players 401-500

NBARank came out again pre-NBA season with their least valuable 100 players in the league as surveyed by a plethora of ESPN and True Hoop Staff.  They posed the question:

"This year, we asked our ESPN Forecast panel to predict the overall level of play for each player for the upcoming NBA season. This includes both the quality and the quantity of his expected contributions, combined in one overall rating."

In essence, they have emphasized the word predict to influence the ratings to favor younger players than in the past- which has been plagued by over-ranking aging players.  I cannot say for certain whether this year's list will be different, but here is my analysis on who they ranked too low and too high:


Starting with the negatives, too high:  N/A- Calling an audible here.  These are players 401-500, essentially equating to current free agents or end of the bench caliber players.  You could argue a tenth of a point rating for any of these players, which would have a massive change on rank position.  For example, the difference between 401 and 450 is essentially 0.3- a negligible number at this point.  In the future, this category will be full.

Players who are sleepers this year, rated too low:

Victor Claver, Portland (#422)- Claver has been Mr. Intangible for the Spanish National Team this summer, and has a game that could mesh with any combination of players on the Blazers' roster.  Every team needs a player like Claver, and come mid-season, the analysts will see they ranked Claver far too low at 422.

Nate Wolters, Milwaukee (#438)- Wolter's is comparable to Jimmer Fredette- though not at this point.  That said, Fredette will be rated between 175-225 (if I guess) and Wolters is highly capable of many of the same responsibilities.  He could be the steal of the second round.

Nemanja Nedovic, Golden State (#447)- The rookie from Serbia can really score the ball, and could be looked upon as part of the replacement for Jarrett Jack.  Coupled with Kent Bazemore, the Warriors will have an uber-athletic backcourt behind Curry and Thompson, and a player who is severely underranked at #447.  I would expect him to be over 100 spots higher by midseason.

Other notables:
Ian Clark, Utah (#464)
Arsalan Kazemi, Philadelphia (#466)