Amin Elhassan, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Scouting says Karl-Anthony Towns, Frank Kaminsky most NBA-ready rookies

NBA, Minnesota Timberwolves, Charlotte Hornets, Philadelphia 76ers, Dallas Mavericks, Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons

Evaluating rookies is a tough proposition in the dog days of summer. We've already watched and rewatched hours of game footage from their collegiate/D-League/international careers, analyzed predraft intel and crossed off names from the draft board.

We then tracked their performances in summer league, where they tried out their skill sets in skeleton systems with quasi-NBA talent as teammates and opponents. But none of this really gives us a good indication of who these players will be when the ball tips in late October, after informal pickup games at the practice facility, training camp and the preseason.

The reality is that not even the first few months of the regular season can give us an accurate depiction of what lies in store for some of these prospects. Noah Vonleh was a lottery pick last season, got stuck on the bench and was eventually shipped out to Portland after only one season in Charlotte. He's also just 19 years old, so to judge his prospects off such a limited body of work is irresponsible.

Rather, what most people care about is rookie readiness. Think of it like buying furniture from IKEA: some stuff comes out of the box ready to be placed in a corner with no assembly required, but many of the cooler items need you to grab that funny little wrench-like tool and unintelligible instruction sheet before attempting to make an armoire out of some wooden planks and pegs.

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