2016 NBA Draft: Potential second-round sleepers

Damion Lee (Guard/Forward – Louisville)

Another player mentioned by Green was forward Jae Crowder. The former Marquette Golden Eagle has helped personify the small-ball style of play and has shown how valuable 3-and-D prospects are in the modern NBA game.

And while Damion Lee doesn’t quite have the bulk that Crowder did coming out of college, he makes up for it with a much better shooting ability. Even though Crowder is generally referred to as a “3-and-D” player in the NBA, he isn’t exactly an elite shooter, sitting at 32 percent during his short NBA career.

Lee, on the other hand, was a 36 percent shooter in college. While that may not seem like a fantastic number, he did so on a lot of attempts.

As DraftExpress points out: “(Lee) has deep range on his jumper, often knocking down shots from well beyond the NBA arc, while also being capable of coming off screens, shooting off dribble-handoffs and pulling up off the dribble.”

So we know Lee can shoot the ball. And after playing a season under Rick Pitino, one of the better defensive coaches in the country, he’s ready to contribute on that end of the floor. Lee racked up 1.5 steals per game in his one season at Louisville and has intriguing size to guard numerous positions.

Lee wasn’t invited to the NBA Draft Combine, and by the time he logs a minute in the NBA, he’ll already be 24 years-old. That’s older than already established NBA super-stars like Anthony Davis and Andre Drummond.

At 6’6″, Lee is probably a small-forward, but could potentially bang with some of the more prolific small-ball power-forwards, like Harrison Barnes, for a short period of time.

Either way, Lee could be a fantastic two-way player in the NBA.

Next: Wade Baldwin