With the 2016 NBA draft now in the books, the term draft-and-stash will be mentioned quite often in regard to international players and late second-rounders. While some of these athletes will eventually sign with an NBA team, it seems like the majority of them stay overseas and never make it to the league. Those players in the latter category aren’t without value as they become trade assets for the teams holding their rights.
While many players fail to work out the way teams expect them to, they can at least become tradeable assets for teams that don’t want to part with a future second-round pick in a deal. Each team must give up something in a trade, which is why many swaps include top-55 protected second-round picks. Older draft rights held players who clearly will never come over to the NBA are essentially the same as flipping those heavily protected second-rounders, for all intents and purposes.
Listed below are the current unsigned draftees for the teams of the Pacific Division. These listings don’t include players selected in this year’s draft:
Golden State Warriors
- Mladen Sekularac — Selected No. 55 overall in 2002.
Los Angeles Clippers
- Maarty Leunen — Selected No. 54 overall in 2008.
Los Angeles Lakers
- Chinemelu Elonu — Selected No. 59 overall in 2009.
- Ater Majok — Selected No. 58 overall in 2011.
Phoenix Suns
- Alec Brown — Selected No. 50 overall in 2014.
- Dwayne Collins — Selected No. 60 overall in 2010.
- Ron Ellis — Selected No. 49 overall in 1992.
- Milos Vujanic — Selected No. 36 overall in 2002.
Sacramento Kings
- Dejan Bodrioga — Selected No. 51 overall in 1995.
- Bogdan Bogdanovic — Selected No. 27 overall in 2014.
- Arturas Gudaitis — Selected No. 47 overall in 2015.
- Luka Mitrovic — Selected No. 60 overall in 2015.
- Alex Oriakhi — Selected No. 57 overall in 2013.