At the time, Norman Powell falling to No. 46 in June's 2015 NBA draft made sense. His weaknesses and dubious track record had always raised questions about his NBA promise.
The knocks were simple: At 6'4", Powell is slightly undersized for a traditional 2-guard, and he never shot better than 35 percent from three in four years at UCLA.
But his shortcomings seem to have been overblown. Powell's 6'11" wingspan and explosive 40 ½" vertical compensated for his underwhelming height, and the mechanics on his jumper appeared fluid in Las Vegas last week, where he was the only rookie named to the All-NBA Summer League First Team.