The NBA playoffs are over; the NBA Draft is here. Time to stop watching Dirk Nowitzki, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, and Chris Paul, and to start dreaming about the future—a future in which, honestly, none of this year's prospects have much hope of being better than the league's existing stars. Here's how various players, experts, and analysts have sized up (that is, sized down) the class. Players listed in the order of Chad Ford's ESPN mock draft of the moment.
1. Kyrie Irving, Duke "A good athlete, but not in the Derrick Rose/John Wall pantheon....He's good at many things, is he great at any one thing?" — Chad Ford
2. Derrick Williams, Arizona "This isn't a need position for the team, but it would be tough for us to pass on such a talented player." — Kevin Love
3. Brandon Knight, Kentucky "I just think [John Wall and Knight are] comparable with the exception of Wall's rare athleticism and explosiveness and speed with the ball." — Bruce Pearl
4. Enes Kanter, Turkey "He'd be a great backup center to Andrea Bargnani." — Jerryd Bayless
"Good athlete, not great...Runs well but does not possess average NBA-level speed." — NBA.com
5. Jan Vesely, Czech Republic "There may be no more of a beauty-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder player in this draft than Vesely....Whether Vesely's quick first step and ballhandling translate to the NBA is a question, though, especially because he is not much of a perimeter shooter." - The Sporting News
6. Kawhi Leonard, San Diego State "He's tough, he's versatile and if he ever learns to really shoot the basketball ... watch out."— Chad Ford
7. Kemba Walker, Connecticut "He can learn a lot from Devin Harris" — Al Jefferson
8. Bismack Biyombo, Congo "He could work on his jump shot but will be a huge help clogging the lane and putting pressure on bigger guys off the bench." — Charlie Villanueva
"A lot of guys in this league didn't have a great [offensive] repertoire. And with the work ethic he has, he's going to get better." — CNNSI Scout's Take
"At the end of the day, I'm never gonna be Kevin Love, I'm never gonna be Kevin Garnett, and also I'm never gonna be Hakeem Olajuwon. At the end of the day, I'm just gonna be me." — Bismack Biyombo, Grantland
9. Marcus Morris, Kansas "His size and perimeter skills will help him at the next level, but he'll also have to figure out who he can guard." — NBA.com
10. Klay Thompson, Washington State "His footwork looked incredibly smooth, and while he wasn't known for his quickness on the college level, he's looking to develop some ways to use the tools he has to score inside the arc." — Draft Express
11. Alec Burks, Colorado "[B]eing able to work on his game as many hours in the day as he chooses will help him shore up his weaknesses and have a long, productive NBA career. — NBA.com
"He's a better shooter than people give him credit for; I see it in practice every day." — Tad Boyle
"I watch Alec Burks and at times I see flashes of Allan Houston. Not as pure of a shooter, but almost like a more new school on-the-ball-type of Houston." — Spencer Perry, Queen City Hoops, via ESPN
12. Chris Singleton, Florida State "[F]or the first couple of seasons he's in the NBA, defense will be his calling card. But Singleton has the skills to build an efficient offensive game, and given the time he'll have to work on it, he can certainly become a scoring option." — NBA.com
13. Tristan Thompson, Texas "He still has to develop an outside shot and work on his post moves, but a kid who can block shots and rebound, you can't keep on the bench." — Jared Dudley
14. Jonas Valanciunas, Lithuania "Best young player in Europe, he's the inside version of what Ricky Rubio is on the perimeter." — NBA.com
15. Jimmer Fredette, Brigham Young "I think he can be a solid pro. He's a really good scorer. I don't know how that translates in the NBA with so many great point guards and athletes, but I think he has a high basketball IQ, and I think he'll have success." — Paul Pierce
16. Jordan Hamilton, Texas "He's worked hard. He's really tried to work hard at the game. And personally I've enjoyed watching him grow more so away from basketball than anything, because he's a wonderful person. He really cares. He's got a great personality." — Rick Barnes
17. Iman Shumpert, Georgia Tech "He can't shoot, but he's a great athlete who can get to the basket." — Chad Ford
18. Markieff Morris, Kansas "He didn't have the perimeter skill set that Marcus has. But he can stretch it, and he's a great passer like Marcus. He just doesn't put it down as well. He's not far behind. Everybody talks about Marcus, but Kieff's improvement has probably been more rapid from last year to this year." — Bill Self
19. Nikola Vucevic, USC "He definitely has size. He measured well at the Chicago pre-draft camp." — NBA scout, Yahoo Sports
20. Marshon Brooks, Providence "One of the best scorers in the draft and can score a lot of points quickly. Imitates a lot of Kobe [Bryant's] mannerisms. Very selfish player. Teammates didn't always enjoy playing with him." — NBA scout, Yahoo Sports
21. Kenneth Faried, Morehead State "Every team has room for a player who loves to board and guard. And if he develops his perimeter game, Faried can do that from either forward spot." — NBA.com
22. Tobias Harris, Tennessee "Harris doesn't do any one thing at an elite level, but he is one of the most well-rounded players in the draft." — Chad Ford
"He reminds me of Boris Diaw." — NBA scout, Yahoo Sports
23. Donatas Motiejunas, Lithuania "Is he motivated to play the game of basketball? He has a little attitude, is a little arrogant maybe. You've got to be cocky to play at this level, but you've got to have a motor to play at this level, too." — CNNSI
"He can pass and he moves well, though he is not particularly athletic and will need to add a midrange shot." — The Sporting News
24. Kyle Singler, Duke "A source said the Thunder are very high on Singler and believe that he could be an Andres Nocioni-type player in the NBA." — Chad Ford
25. Jeremy Tyler, Tokyo Apache "If he had played in college, he might have had a chance to be a top-10 pick with his talent." — Chad Ford
26. Nikola Mirotic, Serbia "He has a great ability to score and rebounds well. Has to improve athletically and gain consistency. His challenge is to compete at the highest level in every game and practice" — Alberto Angulo, coach of Real Madrid junior team
27. Reggie Jackson, Boston College "He has all the physical skills required; his decision making and shot selection will be the keys to his progress." — NBA.com
28. Justin Harper, Richmond "[A] pretty good athlete. The Bulls need perimeter shooting, and Harper should be able to give them some." — Chad Ford
"Justin Harper may not have the bulk to be a back-to-the-basket big man, but that doesn't mean he can't be a team's stretch 4 off the bench for years to come. I could see Harper thriving as the next Donyell Marshall." — Brendan Jackson, Celtics Hub, via ESPN
29. Davis Bertans, Latvia "Bertans burst onto the scene with a strong performance in the practices of the Nike Hoop Summit. His actual game performance wasn't particularly great. Turns out that the same was true here at Eurocamp in Treviso, Italy. Bertans did a workout in front of NBA scouts and teams on Sunday and played pretty well....He hit shots, made plays, and showed that he was a better athlete than we give him credit for." — Chad Ford
30. Tyler Honeycutt, UCLA "Honeycutt wasn't a dominating scorer in college, but his versatility should make him a nice fit in Chicago." — Chad Ford
Other prospects:
Jimmy Butler, Marquette "Solid wing defender and an average scorer. Great role player. Will be an excellent teammate and leader like Raja Bell." — NBA scout, Yahoo Sports
Darius Morris, Michigan "Two months ago people weren't talking about him. Now they are." — NBA scout, Yahoo Sports
"There's a little Derek Harper in Darius Morris." — Robert Silverman, Knickerblogger, via ESPN
Josh Selby, Kansas "He was one of the top three players coming out of high school in his class. He can be a sleeper in the right system."— NBA scout, Yahoo Sports
Jordan Williams, Maryland "We had a player named Lonnie Baxter who played on our national championship team. And the one thing that I really liked about Lonnie is that even though he wasn't a great player, he really had great hands. You could throw him tough passes and he could catch the ball. And Jordan had that same ability." — Gary Williams