In the new year of 2015, point guards Larry Drew II and Jorge Gutiérrez have been amongst those minor league prospects to earn call-ups to The Association. Arguably the most talented position (both individually and depth-wise) in all if the NBA D-League, there are still plenty of intriguing and/or quality floor generals available for the taking. Bryce Cotton and Tim Frazier are among some of the purest, whereas Seth Curry and Toure' Murry stand tall as two of the better combo-guards as well.
Having said that, one NBA scout insists that Santa Cruz Warriors' Aaron Craft happens to be the "most underrated" of them all. For big league teams looking for slick, smart, and savvy play-makers, this could certainly be true.
With regard to orchestrating an offense and taking command of his team, the Ohio State alum is certainly among the cream of the crop, if not at the top of it. He's as intelligent as they come, and his confidence appears to ooze out across his team whenever Santa Cruz is able to get it going offensively.
Dishing out 6.7 assists per game, Craft ranks sixth (fifth when only counting players who have appeared in twenty games or more this season) amongst league leaders. Perhaps even more impressively, the 22 year old is averaging fewer turnovers than the first twenty-seven players ranked amongst the D-League leaders in the assist category. Not only is that impressive mark quite an efficient one, but also further proof that Craft is head and shoulders above the rest.
What's more, the Warriors currently boast a 16-10 record on the season, which means Craft's playmaking abilities are paying dividends and translating to success (in other words, wins) on the court. He makes a positive impact, and his play is contagious.
On the defensive end, he's also able to apply steady ball-pressure on opposing players. He ranks second in all of the minor league with 2.3 steals per contest, behind just David Stockton of the Reno Bighorns' 2.5.
Craft isn't as versatile as some of the league's other point guards. He's not as explosive, dynamic, nor does he have a killer first step towards the basket. But what he does well, he seemingly does better than just about anyone in the league. That's what counts, according to the NBA scout who spoke with RidiculousUpside.com. Perhaps Santa Cruz agrees, as Craft ranks amongst the top ten in minutes played (per game) this season.
With the NBA already full of efficient scorers, they all need distributors to help be the glue that holds a team together. Whatever Craft's role would be on the big league level, it's likely he'd be doing more of the same of what he does in the D-League already.