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Portland Trail Blazers: Potential second round steals in the NBA Draft

By Spencer Poole

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 20: (L-R) NBA Draft prospects Kevin Porter Jr., Nicolas Claxton, Sekou Doumbouya, Goga Bitazde, Keldon Johnson, Nassir Little, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Rui Hachimuri, Jarrett Culver, Cam Reddish, Coby White, Zion Williamson, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Ja Morant, De'Andre Hunter, Darius Garland, Brandon Clarke, Romeo Langford, Jaxson Hayes, Tyler Herro, Bol Bol, PJ Washington, Matisse Thybulle and Mfiondu Kabengele stand on stage with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver before the start of the 2019 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 20, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 20: (L-R) NBA Draft prospects Kevin Porter Jr., Nicolas Claxton, Sekou Doumbouya, Goga Bitazde, Keldon Johnson, Nassir Little, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Rui Hachimuri, Jarrett Culver, Cam Reddish, Coby White, Zion Williamson, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Ja Morant, De'Andre Hunter, Darius Garland, Brandon Clarke, Romeo Langford, Jaxson Hayes, Tyler Herro, Bol Bol, PJ Washington, Matisse Thybulle and Mfiondu Kabengele stand on stage with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver before the start of the 2019 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 20, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /
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Lesley Varner (left), Texas- Rio Grande Valley, Photo by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images
Lesley Varner (left), Texas- Rio Grande Valley, Photo by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images /

Scouting Report. Forward. Texas-Rio Grande Valley. Lesley Varner II. 34. Pick Analysis. 2. player

After starting with a big name player who is projected to go a bit higher than the Portland Trail Blazers second-round pick, it is only fair to take a look at someone who is barely on anyone’s draft boards.

Lesley Varner II was on nobody’s radar before this season. While he was a decent starter at a mid-major school, he lacked the shooting touch to truly succeed in the modern game.

His senior season at Texas-Rio Grande Valley flipped that script on its head. After shooting 29 percent from three his junior season, Varner blossomed into a true deep range deadeye. He shot over 40 percent from deep and improved his free throw percentage by a mind-boggling 24 percent.

Offensively Varner is very much a jump shooter for better or worse. With the ball in his hands, he is more often than not going to be pulling up before reaching the rim. This often leads to him settling for low-efficiency pull-ups but he still hits them at an effective rate. In iso situations, this is especially notable as he rarely takes his man off the drive and instead prefers to fall away into a mid-range shot.

Varner does get to the rim a healthy amount off of cuts. He is adept at cutting towards the basket off the ball and drawing fouls when going up. His senior season he shot nearly five free throws per game at an 87 percent clip, leading his team in both categories.

As a playmaker, Varner doesn’t offer all that much. He is a not-flashy yet effective passer, who can make the simple passes routinely. Combined with a low turnover rate, Varner’s lack of strong playmaking isn’t too much of a negative.

On the defensive end, Varner’s 6’11” wingspan makes him a fairly versatile defender. He has the length and ability to get a healthy number of steals, averaging about two per 36 minutes throughout his college career.

What he lacks on defense is physicality. Varner needs to get stronger to be an effective defender at the next level as he would often get pushed around by larger players. This lack of defensive strength is backed up by his low shot-blocking numbers, only 0.3 per game during his senior season.

Overall, Varner is a very intriguing prospect who brings a combination of skills that are highly coveted in today’s NBA. He was one of just eight players in college basketball last season to average 15 points, 1.5 steals, and shoot 40 percent from deep. That list includes projected top 10 pick Tyrese Haliburton. While he is on very few draft boards, the second round is all about picking up underrated or undiscovered talent and Varner fits that description well.

NBA Comparison: Robert Covington