Craig Smith

While Butler can provide some tenacity at the 3-spot, Smith has no choice with that body but to provide toughness inside. The LA native has been overlooked his entire basketball life but simply continues to produce. Now there's the challenge of being in a rotation behind the top pick in this year's draft, but don't bet against the burly power forward. He'll provide energy and a surprising ability to score the basketball in the stead of Blake Griffin off the bench.

Smith had a somewhat disappointing season after making the NBA All-Rookie second team in 2006-07. While his scoring increased (9.4 ppg from 7.4 ppg), his rebounding decreased and he failed to win significant minutes. He's developing into more of a defensive role player rather than a consistent starter. Smith shows a tenacity for rebounding larger than his 6-7 size, but he's not a shot blocker and moves to the bench against larger lineups. As a result, his playing time seems somewhat limited, especially given the competition at forward.

Smith surprised a lot of people last season as an undersized rookie power forward taken in the second round of the NBA draft. Instead of struggling to make the team, he burst onto the court, scoring and rebounding well enough to earn a spot on the NBA All-Rookie second team. This season, with Kevin Garnett playing in Boston, Smith has the chance to improve on his numbers from a year ago. He’ll likely come off the bench early on, but he has shown a knack for scoring around the rim that should get him minutes on a consistent basis. His size prevents him from ever becoming a strong shot-blocker, but he could potentially contribute as a scorer/rebounder that shoots good percentages from the floor and the line. He dominated in the Las Vegas summer league this year, and he makes a nice late-round sleeper.

Minnesota's 2006 second-round pick (17.6 ppg and 9.4 rpg for Boston College last season) has had an impressive training camp and the second-round pick has a chance to remain on the active roster. He's a long shot to get playing time initially, but he could find a role with the T-Wolves desperate for rebounders in the front court. Smith has toughness and an excellent post game, but isn't tall enough (6-7) to ultimately fill Minnesota's need at power forward or center.