Recently, ESPN went through and used their "NBA Draft Projection Model" to create a separate "big board" from the one that Chad Ford already does. The players that ranked higher on the projection model than Chad Ford's big board are considered "steals of the draft."
Malik Monk was ranked as the number 2 steal of the draft. Ford's big board has him ranked as the #7 prospect, while the projection model ranked him as the #3 prospect. ESPN had this to say about Monk:
"Our data has shown guards to be more difficult to project than big men at the next level, as some guards are able to transfer their shooting to the NBA while others possess shooting flaws that aren't exposed until they play against bigger and faster defenses in the NBA. That said, the model gives Monk just a 25 percent chance of being a bust, which is the second-smallest figure in this draft for a guard after Lonzo Ball. Compared to the other top-60 players on Ford's Big Board, Monk is unique because he lacks any glaring weaknesses statistically, but the only statistic in which he really stands out is his having a low turnover percentage."
Check out ESPN's entire ranking of their steals of the draft by clicking
here and if you are curious on how they create their projection model you can click
here.
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