Tonight’s D-League draft features a deeper talent pool than ever, and according to Scott Schroeder of NBA FanHouse, former Mavericks second round pick Nick Fazekas will be the first player selected overall. The Reno Bighorns, coached by former NBAer Eric Musselman, own the No. 1 pick, and will add Fazekas to an already talented group of quasi-NBA players including Donald Sloan, Patrick Ewing Jr., and Marcus Landry.
As Schroeder notes in his report, Fazekas has played in France and Belgium since being cut loose by both the Mavs and the Clippers, but returns a rather coveted prospect. Though Fazekas’ NBA draft stock was never all that high, his D-League profile is perhaps better paralleled by his résumé of statistical projections. Coming out of Nevada, Fazekas was highly touted by John Hollinger’s pre-draft player rater for ESPN.com Insider (which ranked Fazekas as the 7th best prospect in the 2007 draft, just behind Al Horford), and even after a year in the league, Dave Berri (of Wages of Wins fame) continued to sing Fazekas’ praises as a legitimate NBA player. It’s hard to say where exactly Fazekas’ game is now after being removed from NBA competition for a spell, but he was already an interesting prospect before jumping across the pond, and is that and then some as he tops the D-League’s draft board.