The NBA Draft has been around for over seven decades and we still haven't mastered the art yet. Every year there are players that fall at least a dozen spots too low and it's always obvious in hindsight that they should have been drafted higher. Perhaps the most famous example of this is Warriors forward Draymond Green, who fell to pick 35 in the 2012 Draft. Today, Green is one of the most accomplished players in all of basketball and will go down as one of the best defenders of the 2010s.

To their credit, a lot of NBA teams have gotten a lot smarter since then and some of the qualities Green was knocked for in 2012 (positional ‘tweener', too small to defend post-ups, etc…) aren't detrimental in today's game. In fact, being a ‘tweener' has come around to being a strength as teams frequently ask players to play multiple positions in the playoffs for lineup versatility. Wing-sized big men who are as versatile as Green are probably the most valuable non-star players in the NBA.

This is why, instead of falling to the second round where he might have gone 10 years ago, Spanish forward Usman Garuba was selected at 23 by the Houston Rockets. It's funny reading Garuba's DraftExpress scouting profile from 2016 because it almost takes you back to Green's DraftExpress scouting profile in 2011.

Size:

Draymond Green – 6-foot-7 with a 7-foot-1 wingspan

Usman Garuba – 6-foot-8 with a 7-foot-2 wingspan

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Both played power forward before entering the NBA and were terrific rebounders with nimble feet on the perimeter and the ability to play several positions defensively. Offensively, both struggled to shoot the ball, but were good passers. They are also both highly competitive and intelligent basketball players and it's part of why they're such good prospects despite the size and offensive concerns.

It's not a perfect comparison as Green was well ahead of where Garuba is as an offensive player right now. As bad as Green is as a three-point shooter, Garuba is somehow worse and with a more mechanical looking form. Green shot better from the free throw line at Michigan than Garuba did in Spain (68.7% compared to 59.8%), three-point range (36.1% compared to 31.5%), and was just the more aggressive offensive player. Part of this is because Michigan asked significantly more of Green than Spain asked of Garuba. Garuba only played about 16.7 minutes per game for Spain.

“I watch a lot of Bam Adebayo, I like his play style,” Usman Garuba said to CBS Sports last month. “I watch a lot of Draymond [Green] also sometimes. I like when Giannis would grab the rebound and do the fast break, all that stuff. I watch a lot of players. Paul Millsap, when he was in Atlanta, I watch a lot of his films.”

Garuba is still really raw as a prospect and he probably isn't good enough offensively to finish games for any NBA team, even a rebuilding one. This is why a year or two in the G League may be the best option for him. The Rio Grande Valley Vipers can work with Garuba on his shooting form and get him comfortable within basic NBA offensive sets. To his credit, Garuba is an exceptional cutter, so that will serve him quite well as he transitions to the next level.

I'm not here to suggest Usman Garuba is definitely the second coming of Draymond Green. It's naive to project that high of an outcome for anybody in the draft. However, the similarities the two share as prospects are striking and if Houston can get even half of what Green ended up becoming in the NBA, that's a steal for the 23rd overall pick.