21. Phoenix Suns: Ian Mahinmi
A backup for the Mavs team that won a ring in 2011 and later a key reserve for Pacers squads that made the conference finals in 2013 and 2014, Mahinmi was among the players dramatically overpaid in the heavy-spending summer of 2016.
With career per-36 averages of 11.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks, Mahinmi was (and is; he started 35 games for the Wizards in 2019-20) a quality second-string center who might have become more if not for his habit of fouling too often.
22. Denver Nuggets: Martell Webster
Portland took Webster, a 6'7" wing out of Seattle Prep, sixth in 2005, gambling that a player with such a pretty stroke and good size would eventually add more to his game. Webster delivered the shooting, draining 38.2 percent of his threes in 580 career games, but he never developed a complete offensive skill set.
A 24-point quarter against the Jazz in 2008 and a dunk on a young Giannis Antetokounmpo stand out in a career that was mostly spent catching and shooting (and not defending, passing or dribbling).
23. Sacramento Kings: Chuck Hayes
Hayes is the first and only undrafted player to make the top-30 cut. Apologies to Kelenna Azubuike, who was also under consideration. A bruiser who couldn't be dislodged underneath, the ridiculously undersized 6'6" big man led the league in defensive box plus-minus in 2007-08 and could physically manhandle even the strongest opposing post threats. Just watch him refuse to yield against Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph.
Extremely low usage and inefficient from the field and line, Hayes was an offensive zero. But he was a menace on D.
24. Houston Rockets: Jason Maxiell
A little like Hayes in that he gave up size to opposing bigs, the 6'7" Maxiell distinguished himself with athleticism the Chuckwagon couldn't dream of. Once or twice a year, the longtime Pistons backup would vault up to the top of the square to reject a shot in shocking fashion.
Though he only averaged 5.6 points per game, highlight dunks just didn't happen on Maxiell's watch.
25. Seattle Sonics: Andray Blatche
Blatche averaged a career-high 16.8 points per game in 63 starts for the 2010-11 Wizards and had four other double-digit scoring averages in a nine-year career, but he was never efficient enough to make those points matter. Among the 62 players who averaged at least 15.0 points in that 2010-11 campaign, Blatche's true shooting percentage ranked 59th.
Though he didn't contribute to winning, the 6'11" big man had a surprisingly slick handle and could do damage against slower matchups when facing up. He ranks 20th in total points among players drafted in 2005.
26. Detroit Pistons: Francisco Garcia
Garcia spent most of his career on lottery-bound Kings teams, but he was a quality perimeter scorer with toughness to spare. The 6'7" Louisville product posted a positive defensive box plus-minus figure in all but one of his 10 seasons, often defending the opponent's most dangerous wing.
Reliable D like that, plus three years shooting at least 39.0 percent from deep, makes Garcia a rotation-caliber wing. Those are tough to find this late in a draft.
27. Portland Trail Blazers: Ronny Turiaf
Though he only averaged 4.7 points and 3.7 boards for his career, Turiaf lasted 10 seasons on the strength of his hustle and interior defense. The 2.1 blocks per game he averaged in 2008-09 with the Warriors ranked fourth in the league among qualified players.
28. San Antonio Spurs: Hakim Warrick
Best remembered for his career at Syracuse—principally because of a standstill dunk from an obscene distance and a go-go gadget block that secured a national title—Warrick hung around for eight years and finished a surprising 22nd in career win shares among 2005 picks.
Warrick played at least 68 games in six different seasons, posting above-average player efficiency ratings (higher than 15.0) in five of them.
29. Miami Heat: Ryan Gomes
Gomes' 4.6 boards per game make him the best rebounder in this class among drafted players 6'7" or shorter, and he's one of just six players in this class to post a triple-double at any point in his career.
With four seasons averaging at least 10.9 points per game, Gomes was also a decent scoring threat as long as he didn't have to create for himself. His limitations show up in the fact that 68.2 percent of his twos and 98.2 percent of his threes were assisted.
30. New York Knicks: Luther Head
Head was never a regular starter, but he played 80 games in each of his first two seasons, topping out in 2006-07 at 10.9 points per game. He shot a scorching 44.1 percent from three that season and finished his six-year career at 38.8 percent from beyond the arc. Though Frye shot it with much more volume and lasted longer, it's worth noting he and Head had identical career accuracy rates from deep.
NBA teams' social media production values have come a long way since Head's rookie initiation video.
