The NBA Draft is fast approaching, and the early-entry deadline has passed. The lottery is in a couple of weeks, and then the players will be anticipating their names being called. One of the early entries and assumed top-picks is Washington's Hannes Steinbach. The German forward played one season at UW and is a projected lottery pick. Except, ESPN's latest mock draft has him outside the lottery.
For those who don't know, the NBA lottery determines the first 14 picks of the draft, so anything outside that, even if it's in the first round, is not a lottery pick. ESPN's latest NBA mock draft has Steinbach going 16th overall to the Minnesota Timberwolves. About two picks lower than the lottery.
Washington's Hannes Steinbach is projected as the No. 16 pick in the NBA Draft
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It's still close enough that the pick's valuation is high, and maybe it's not a huge miss that he chose to leave college. He could have potentially made more in college next season, but the NBA was always the goal and the dream for Steinbach.
The valuation for the 16th pick is $3,685,300 for the first year. That's still a great salary, and he wasn't going to get that at Washington. However, he could have potentially found more if he shopped the transfer portal.
Steinbach was a star for Washington, averaging 18.5 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. He was a consistent double-double machine for the Huskies. He's going to be a good, if not great, NBA player, and there's a chance he still is a lottery pick depending on the evaluation process as he prepares for the draft, but ESPN thinks he slips out of it.
According to ESPN, "While not a flashy player, his rebounding ability and offensive skill level should allow him to plug in off the bench right away. There are varying opinions on how his defense and shooting (34% from 3) project long-term, and scouts view him as somewhat caught between the 4 and 5 positionally due to his size."
That's a very fair evaluation of Steinbach, but the "caught between" position is actually a plus in the modern NBA. Steinbach has a bit of a positionless approach to basketball and can slide out to take the three, but also loves to grind out in the paint for rebounds. It will be interesting to see who ultimately grabs him in the NBA Draft.
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