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NBA Draft 2015: Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Kawhi Leonard all gems taken ouside of Top 10

If you don't have a top pick that isn't the end of the world. Good scouting and development can polish raw gems into brilliant stars.

By AllThatAmar
Harry How/Getty Images

Ideally, if your team is heading for the NBA Draft lottery you want the best chances to make a big splash and get a high pick. The best players are usually picked first, and I don't need to go over the list of Hall of Famers who were picked in the Top 3. That part is obvious. But outside of luck, skill is pretty good. And if you have a smart scouting department and a competent front office you can still get a good player. Right now the Top 10 lotto spots are almost all but guaranteed to go to the New York Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic, Sacramento Kings, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets, and Miami Heat. All of those teams need help, but that doesn't mean that if you are picking outside of the Top 10 you're going to be out of luck.

Here are the #11 to #15 picks from the last 25 drafts.

Draft 11 12 13 14 15
1 1990 Tyrone Hill Alec Kessler Loy Vaught Travis Mays Dave Jamerson
2 1991 Terrell Brandon Greg Anthony Dale Davis Rich King Anthony Avent
3 1992 Robert Horry Harold Miner Bryant Stith Malik Sealy Anthony Peeler
4 1993 Allan Houston George Lynch Terry Dehere Scott Haskin Doug Edwards
5 1994 Carlos Rogers Khalid Reeves Jalen Rose Yinka Dare Eric Piatkowski
6 1995 Gary Trent Cherokee Parks Corliss Williamson Eric Williams Brent Barry
7 1996 Todd Fuller Vitaly Potapenko Kobe Bryant Peja Stojakovic Steve Nash
8 1997 Tariq Abdul-Wahad Austin Croshere Derek Anderson Maurice Taylor Kelvin Cato
9 1998 Bonzi Wells Michael Doleac Keon Clark Michael Dickerson Matt Harpring
10 1999 Trajan Langdon Aleksandar Radojevic Corey Maggette William Avery Frederic Weiss
11 2000 Jerome Moiso Etan Thomas Courtney Alexander Mateen Cleaves Jason Collier
12 2001 Kendrick Brown Vladimir Radmanovic Richard Jefferson Troy Murphy Steven Hunter
13 2002 Jared Jeffries Melvin Ely Marcus Haislip Fred Jones Bostjan Nachbar
14 2003 Mickael Pietrus Nick Collison Marcus Banks Luke Ridnour Reece Gaines
15 2004 Andris Biedrins Robert Swift Sebastian Telfair Kris Humphries Al Jefferson
16 2005 Fran Vasquez Yaroslav Korolev Sean May Rashad McCants Antoine Wright
17 2006 J.J. Redick Hilton Armstrong Thabo Sefolosha Ronnie Brewer Cedric Simmons
18 2007 Acie Law IV Thaddeus Young Julian Wright Al Thornton Rodney Stuckey
19 2008 Jerryd Bayless Jason Thompson Brandon Rush Anthony Randolph Robin Lopez
20 2009 Terrence Williams Gerald Henderson Tyler Hansbrough Earl Clark Austin Daye
21 2010 Cole Aldrich Xavier Henry Ed Davis Patrick Patterson Larry Sanders
22 2011 Klay Thompson Alec Burks Markieff Morris Marcus Morris Kawhi Leonard
23 2012 Meyers Leonard Jeremy Lamb Kendall Marshall John Henson Maurice Harkless
24 2013 Michael Carter-Williams Steven Adams Kelly Olynyk Shabazz Muhammad Giannis Antetokounmpo
25 2014 Doug McDermott Dario Saric Zach LaVine T.J. Warren Adreian Payne
12 10 12 11 11
25 25 25 25 25
48% 40% 48% 44% 44%

For the most part there's about a 40-48% chance of landing a rotation player (or better) by my estimation. Occasionally you'll get a really good play, and rarely an actual star who can change the direction of your franchise. (I see only 7 out of 125 players) Right now the Utah Jazz, Indiana Pacers, Phoenix Suns, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Brooklyn Nets (who are likely to give up their pick to the Atlanta Hawks) are picking in these spots. You can find gold there.

So who are the picks #11 to 20 on my consensus mock draft right now? Kelly Oubre Jr., Kevon Looney, Frank Kaminsky, Devin Booker, Trey Lyles, Bobby Portis, Jakob Poeltl, Jerian Grant, Sam Dekker, and Motrezl Harrell. If all of those guys are on the board when your team is up -- who do you pick?

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