2014-15 NBA Season Preview: Rookie Week Picks

In the first week of our 2014-15 NBA Season Preview we took a look at some of the impact rookies entering the NBA. Our five candidates were all interesting, impact prospects from rebuilding teams, who should figure prominently into the Rookie of the Year race. Chris looked at Jabari Parker's NBA-ready game on Monday; Paul discussed Nerlens Noel's need for injury-free minutes while adjusting to a young 76ers team Tuesday; Wednesday was Dante Exum Day, as Chris projected his talents as a potential star guard; Marcus Smart was the subject of Thursday's piece from Paul on toughness; and Friday saw Rookie Week wrap up with Andrew Wiggins and how situation might suit him more in Minnesota.

In this week's podcast, we expanded upon our essays and looked at Parker, Noel, Exum, Smart, and Wiggins closer, but also within the context of their new environments and the talent around them. We also tried to address any other rookies on some of these rebuilding teams, before getting into our All-Rookie 1^st and 2^nd team lineups, and any honorable mentions and or sleepers for the 2015 Rookie of the Year Award.

We’ve tried to narrow down our lists to a few names for each category, but, really, this rookie class is so deep that the honorable mentions list is a legitimate-10 names deep. As always, there are plenty of rookies who struggle to adjust or earn minutes at the NBA level, just as there are second-round picks and undrafted free agents who fight for minutes and carve out roles in the pros. Here are our best guesses for the 2014-15 rookie class:

Chris’s picks:

ROY:  Julius Randle

All-Rookie First Team:

G  Elfrid Payton 

G  Andrew Wiggins 

F  Jabari Parker 

F  Julius Randle 

C  Nerlens Noel 

All-Rookie Second Team:

G  Marcus Smart 

G  Rodney Hood 

F  T.J. Warren 

F  Aaron Gordon 

C  Mitch McGary 

Honorable Mentions:  

Doug McDermott, Gary Harris, Nik Stauskas, Dante Exum, Shabazz Napier, Nikola Mirotic

Second-Round Sleepers:

Damien Inglis, Jarnell Stokes, Cleanthony Early, Spencer Dinwiddie, Jordan McRae

Paul’s picks:

ROY: Jabari Parker

All-Rookie First Team:  

G  Marcus Smart

G  Andrew Wiggins

F  Doug McDermott

F Jabari Parker

C Nerlens Noel

All-Rookie Second Team:  

G  Dante Exum

G  Gary Harris

F  Aaron Gordon

F  Adreian Payne

C  Julius Randle

Honorable Mentions: 

Nick Johnson, Nikola Mirotic, TJ Warren, Zach LaVine, Elfrid Payton, P.J. Hairston, Mitch McGary

Second-Round Sleepers:

Jordan Clarkson, Russ Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, Markel Brown, DeAndre Daniels