Could Dennis Schroeder Be The Best Player In The 2013 Draft Class?

There was a lot of buzz and intrigue heading into the 2013 NBA Draft surrounding a young, quick point guard out of Germany. The world still might not know exactly who Dennis Schroeder is, but after an impressive summer league stint in Las Vegas, he has shown the glimpses of possibly being a future star in the NBA. Thanks to a relatively weak class overall, could Schroeder actually turn into the best talent?

Before getting too riled up about a Summer League performance, there is understandably a lot that the 19 year old German needs to work on before he can challenge the likes of Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Deron Williams, Tony Parker and Kyrie Irving. In fact, he still needs to show he can match up with the player he is compared to, Rajon Rondo. However, in the summer league, Schroeder hit the ground running, providing quite a bit of optimism for fans in Atlanta.

The Hawks took Schroeder as the #17 overall pick, and they gave him the keys to the offense almost right away. As good as his numbers were in limited action (10.8 points, 5.6 assists, 1.6 steals) he could have had even better numbers with better finishers surrounding him.

What surprised many scouts in Las Vegas was Schroeder's quickness and court vision. He already has a first step that rivals any player in the NBA, and his court vision allows him to not dribble into trouble like many ultra-athletic young point guards do.

Thanks to a better shooting touch and overall control, the better comparison at this stage of his career might be Tony Parker. As fans might remember, Parker had an up and down transition to the NBA as a teenager, but he eventually evolved into one of the best point guards in the game. Schroeder will get plenty of minutes backing up and even playing with Jeff Teague, and it would not be a shocker to see him evolve into perhaps the best overall talent in this year's draft, keep him in mind when it is time for you to draft your fantasy basketball team this year.


By a guest author (This author has no affiliation with NBA-DRAFT.COM) 8-12-13