NBA Draft 2014 – Julius Randle, Jabari Parker Are Top Prospects Not Named Wiggins; Four Other Franchise Players Give Teams Reason To Tank

The main focus of the teams' tanking efforts are for Andrew Wiggins, but there are other top prospects in the 2014 NBA Draft.

There is not just one transcendent talent, or two like in 2007, when the debate between Greg Oden and Kevin Durant came up. All of the draft experts have Andrew Wiggins of Kansas University firmly at number one. Number 2 is up for grabs though, and they have the remote chance of stealing number one.

There are probably four other players that can be inserted into the 2nd overall slot. All of them would be number one in any other draft, and if they joined this year's draft, they would be the top four by a mile. Here are their profiles:

Julius Randle (Kentucky) - most draft boards have placed him next to Andrew Wiggins. He is the slightly taller and much heavier than Wiggins and he is more of an inside player at 6'9" 248 lbs. He had a better game than Wiggins in their college debut, despite Kentucky having the most talented team ever assembled. An NBA scout had these observations on ESPN:

"His body, his shoulders are so big. You know it, but it's different when you see it in person. There's just not much you can do about him. He's so strong and so quick off the floor. He goes hard. He's a man. He needs to do a better job finishing through contact. But he's so big and strong that you expect him to dominate. What people are going to forget is that he's still just a kid." 

Dante Exum (Australia) - silently but steadily creeping up on ESPN's draft expert Chad Ford's draft board is Dante Exum of Australia. He's a 6'8" shooting guard who is the best shooter among the prospects. He is also a leader, being the main weapon of Australia in the World U19 Championships.

Jabari Parker (Duke) - Before Wiggins, Jabari Parker was touted as "the best high school player since Lebron James." He made the cover of Sports Illustrated to prove it. Also at 6'8" he is the highest all-around skill level among the four players listed here. Being coached by Team USA and Duke head Coach K wouldn't hurt him either.

Marcus Smart (Oklahoma State) - everyone expected him to join the 2013 draft and he would have been number 1. He is 6'5" just like Victor Oladipo. Unlike him, Smart has already been playing point guard ever since. Because of his strength and grit as well as the extra year of experience, he may become the top pick for a team with a need for point guard.

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