NBA Draft: Catching Up With the Guards and Wings of 2022 Draft-and-Stash Class
Eight international players drafted in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft have yet to play a single minute in the NBA and have instead continued with their professional careers playing in different leagues around the world, a common practice for late second round draft picks known as the “draft-and-stash”.
In the first installment, we looked at the bigs in this category. Now, let's take a look at how the guards and wings from this group have fared in their 2022-23 campaigns overseas and how their talents could translate to the NBA, should they make their way to the United States.
Gabriele Procida
Drafted by the Detroit Pistons with the 36th Pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Procida was highly regarded coming into the draft after two productive seasons in the Italian Serie A, where he stood out as a 6-foot-7 sharpshooter who mixed in some moments of self-creation and playmaking for others.
For the 2022-23 season, Procida moved to Euroleague side ALBA Berlin, where he has made an impact as a scoring wing who can create his own shot, attacking the basket and generating space for his pull-up jumpers with his fluid ball-handling ability.
The leap in level of competition has come with some struggles in terms of scoring efficiency. Considered as the best shooter in the 2022 international class, Procida has converted just 27.8% of his 3-pointers and a concerningly low 28.5% of his open triples according to InStat.
Considering some of his struggles shooting off the catch this season, Procida likely needs at least one more year, either in Europe or in the G League, before being ready to contribute consistently for an NBA team. However, the combination of versatile shooting, defensive potential and flashes of ball-handling at his size continue to be interesting indicators of long term potential.
Matteo Spagnolo
Drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 50th Pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Spagnolo was drafted on the back of an impressive junior basketball career for Real Madrid and, mainly, a stellar 2021-22 season for Cremona in the Italian Serie A, where he scored 12.2 points per game while shooting 44.1% from 3-point range. Spagnolo then moved to Trento, another team in the Italian league for the 2022-23 season.
Spagnolo is a combo guard who contributes in multiple ways offensively. As a playmaker for others, he is a versatile passer who is able to find open teammates all over the court, being quick to react and showing a level of creativity with his deliveries. When he calls his own number, Spagnolo has touch from multiple levels of the floor, being able to finish drives at the rim against contact and converting 3-pointers both off-the-catch and off the dribble.
Spagnolo was one of my sleepers coming into the 2022 Draft and while he has not been able to reach the same levels of scoring efficiency that he did in the previous season, he continues to show his profile as an all-around combo guard who possesses the requisite size for the NBA.
He will certainly need to address some concerns (such as the low release point on his jumper, which makes it easy for opponents to contest) before reaching the NBA, but he could provide valuable depth for a Timberwolves team that has only two guards on guaranteed contracts for next season.
Luke Travers
Drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 56th Pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Travers was a relatively surprising pick by the Cavaliers near the end of the 2022 Draft, but his productivity and improved efficiency in the Australian NBL during the 2022-23 season seems to have proved the Cavs right in their decision.
Travers continues to be somewhat of a jack-of-all-trades type of player with the requisite size, length and strength for an NBA wing. While he's not quick enough to beat opponents off the dribble, nor developed enough as a shooter to create his own jumper in the perimeter, he does a number of things on offense at a great level, such as bringing the ball up, finding open teammates, attacking the basket in transition and shooting off the catch. Defensively, he makes an impact by using his combination of mobility and 6-foot-7 size to stay in front of wings and contest shots at the rim.
Travers just finished his contract with Perth which makes him a free agent, meaning that Cleveland would not need to spend money on a buyout if they decide to bring him over for next year. His lack of an elite NBA trait might conspire against his NBA aspirations, but the offensive versatility at his size could make him an interesting glue guy for the Cavs.
Hugo Besson
Drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 58th Pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
The final pick in the 2022 Draft, Besson spent the first half of the 2022-23 season at Metropolitans 92 in the French LNB, where the perimeter scoring and secondary playmaking that he provided were perfect complements for Victor Wembanyama’s all around game.
Besson had already proven his ability to create shots for himself both as a driver and as a pull-up shooter before the 2022 Draft, but he had never been so efficient as a scorer until this season, where he put up 13.4 points per game on 65.1% True Shooting. Besson shows touch on multiple levels of the floor, being able to convert jumpers off movement from the perimeter and being fairly consistent with difficult finishes inside the paint such as floaters.
After playing just fifteen games and amidst rumors of him leaving Metro and signing with a Spanish ACB team, Besson underwent hip arthroscopy in early February, a procedure which seems to have ended a 2022-23 season in which he showed the ability to create for himself on a high level of efficiency. Despite his recent injury, Milwaukee could be enticed to bring him over next season; a contending, well-over-the-cap team like the Bucks could certainly value a player who can add a level of scoring on a cheap rookie contract.
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