NBA teams have begun to shift away from pure upside players in the draft.

A player like Nassir Little fell last June despite having the tools of a typical lottery pick.

"Teams appear to be relying more on collegiate production and maturity as opposed to pure upside plays that often characterized previous drafts," writes ESPN's Mike Schmitz.

Teams are valuing lower-risk prospects with a definable role more than ever.

"The days of a Thon Maker or Georgios Papagiannis going in the lottery seem to be behind us for now."