2021 NBA player rankings, Nos. 50-41: We still don’t know how to rank DeMar DeRozan

Now, we’re getting serious. Now, we’re getting into the top 50 NBA players in 2021. This is where we begin to look clairvoyant or (more likely) especially off.

This section of our list featured a little bit of everything, including name-brand All-Stars, emerging youngsters on two of the league’s blue bloods, and the silliest pick of the entire exercise. Plus, our third selection who hasn’t even played a college game, and a point guard with something to prove.

Age in 2021: 31 (12 seasons)

CHRIS GREENBERG: Saying that a 28-year-old All-NBA third team player will still be very good in a few years is the least fun part of this exercise. But that doesn’t mean DeMar DeRozan will slip below the top 50 player in 2021.

I’ll pick him so you don’t have to.

ZITO MADU: I need DeRozan to remain relevant just so he can continue to drive nerds mad.

KRISTIAN WINFIELD: In 2021, there will be a 4-point line and DeRozan will still be shooting 2s.

KOFIE YEBOAH: In 2021 the Adam Silverbot3000 outlaws mid-range jump shots and DeRozan will still be shooting 2s.

CHRIS GREENBERG: But he’ll be making them 2s. Lots of them.

Age in 2021: 23 (4 seasons)

KRISTIAN WINFIELD: In just a few summer league games, Jayson Tatum proved one thing: He can straight-up score. Some say he’s cut from a similar cloth as Carmelo Anthony and Paul Pierce. Others fear he could end up closer to the vein of Tobias Harris. Either way, Tatum is icy offensively and could be the centerfold of the next generation of Celtics.

MATT ELLENTUCK: Tatum’s game seems outdated for the current league to me. He takes a high number of off-balanced shots, often falls into the deep-2 crutch, and goes ISO way more than any team should want. He’s crafty as hell, though, and so young that maybe he can change his game entirely. I hope he gets the attention in Boston he needs.

TOM ZILLER: I think this is somewhat too high given how young he’ll still be in four years, and how he’ll likely have a squeeze for ample minutes on a great team. But if this were a 2023 project, I’d be with it.

We should also note that Kristian picked a teenager, for the record.

CHRIS GREENBERG: Luckily for Tatum (and for Kristian), Brad Stevens has plenty of experience teaching college-age kids and maximizing the talents of NBA players. If Stevens made Evan Turner work, he might just be able to help Tatum justify this selection.

Age in 2021: 25 (4 seasons)

WHITNEY MEDWORTH: My wildest pick of this entire thing and I’m still not mad about it. Yup, I picked that Kyle Kuzma was going to be a top-50 player in the entire league in four years.

He may not even get any playing time with the Lakers in 2018. Then once LeBron and company arrive in town, the Kyle Kuzma experience will really be over.

OR: SUMMER LEAGUE KYLE KUZMA WILL FLOURISH FOREVER.

MIKE PRADA: Well, I’m glad you’re not mad about it at least, because I am.

KOFIE YEBOAH: That’s a bold strategy, Cotton!

TIM CATO: Live every day with the confidence of Whitney falling in love with a summer league standout.

MATT ELLENTUCK: Find someone who trusts you the way Whitney trusts in a rookie she’s known for a handful of summer league games.

RICKY O’DONNELL: If someone didn’t pick a player like Kyle Kuzma in the top 50, why are we even doing this?

KRISTIAN WINFIELD: I don’t think anyone saw Kuzma’s emergence coming. I also don’t think he’ll be top-50 in four years. The Lakers want stars. Stars play at the forward positions. Sorry, Whit.

TOM ZILLER: This is worse than Prada’s old Austin Rivers pick. I didn’t think it could be done. Congrats, Whit.

DREW GARRISON, SILVER SCREEN AND ROLL: Kuzma is still very much an unknown prospect, but much like Lakers fans fawning over his play, it seems he’s already made at least one believer from his outstanding Las Vegas Summer League run.

Age in 2021: 31 (10 seasons)

TIM CATO: Hayward has improved his scoring average every single season in his career. Last year was his most efficient, notching an almost 60 percent true shooting percentage. He’s an underrated defender, too.

He’ll be 31 by the time 2021 hits, and the age decline might start creeping up on him. But hell, I’m not sure we’ve seen Hayward at the best he can be yet.

WHITNEY MEDWORTH: This is a good pick. Hayward’s back with Brad Stevens, once and for all. I think he’ll age well and adapt well to the game as it continues to change over the next four years. And I agree with Tim when he says he’s not sure we’ve seen Hayward at his best yet.

KRISTIAN WINFIELD: I think a 31-year-old Gordon Hayward is a good pick. He’ll still be able to shoot the lights out, still be a smart defender, and still be a competitor. Good pick, Timofey, good pick.

TOM ZILLER: My concern is the gunners coming up behind him. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum might be stealing minutes wholesale within a couple of years. Can Hayward play small ball four consistently?

MATT ELLENTUCK: How good Hayward is at 31 will explicitly be determined by how good his hair still looks. Hope he finds a good barber on the east coast.

Age in 2021: 31 (10 seasons)

KOFIE YEBOAH: It was tough picking Kemba Walker here because it’s not easy diagnosing where his career goes from here. While he just became an All-Star, he’s 27 and there are many point guards who will gun for the top spot in the next few years.

On the other hand, Kemba is a shifty scorer who is the heart and soul of that Hornets team. His steady improvement isn’t something to scoff at.

Will Kemba still be on the Hornets in 2021? Will the Hornets be any good? Trickier questions.

TIM CATO: I, too, have no clue how to predict the rest of Kemba’s career. It does feel last year’s All-Star nod might be his peak, but ...

JOSHUA PRIEMSKI, AT THE HIVE: He dropped 52 on Rudy Gobert and the Jazz once! No. 46 is way too low.

MIKE PRADA: Love Kemba’s game and think he’ll age nicely. This seems about right. That next contract might be a little rough, though.

KRISTIAN WINFIELD: Kemba’s a really good person. I’m pulling for him.

TOM ZILLER: I’m worried about the Hornets, but not about Kemba.

Age in 2021: 24 (5 seasons)

MIKE PRADA: It’s always a crapshoot predicting which young wing players turn into Jimmy Butler and which become Jeff Green, but I have a good feeling about Brown. He played useful minutes for a really good team, he’s already an ace defender against smaller players, he’s flashed some nice passing ability, and he can really get to the cup off spot-up opportunities.

The question is that jump shot, as it is for every young wing. Given his pedigree at the youth levels, his age, and his current franchise, I’m bullish on his stroke developing sufficiently to turn him into one of the better young wings in the game.

TOM ZILLER: Good pick. He could be the best Celtic in four years, and the Celtics should be good.

TIM CATO: I’m pretty sure he’ll never average more than 15 points per game. Still, if you can combine 15 points with his defense, maybe he’s a top-45 player anyway.

RICKY O’DONNELL: I’m selling on Jaylen Brown. I just don’t think he’s a high-feel player. But if anyone can get the most out of him, it’s Brad Stevens.

KRISTIAN WINFIELD: I like Jaylen! I think he can guard three positions and let’s not forget: HE WAS A ROOKIE ON A CONTENDER! He hasn’t even developed yet. Good pick, Prada, good pick.

CHRIS GREENBERG: While the Celtics were looking absolutely overmatched by and terrified of the Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Brown was balling out. He was the only silver lining for Boston on a dark night.

Age in 2021: 25 (6 seasons)

MATT ELLENTUCK: D’Angelo Russell has a new home in Brooklyn, and it’s a match made in heaven. Russell gets to be the star again, and the Nets will do everything in their power to please him.

Russell is a good player who had the misfortune of starting his NBA tenure in a chaotic situation. That obviously stunted his early growth, and the Lakers had Lonzo on their brain for quite some time.

In four years, Russell will be 24, and hopefully by then his strengths as a scorer and playmaker will be developed under the right coaching staff.

ANTHONY PUCCIO, NETS DAILY: Given Kenny Atkinson and Brooklyn’s plan to groom these young players to be ready by this time, Russell should be higher. The consensus in Brooklyn is that Russell is going to be a star and four years should be enough for him to get there.

TOM ZILLER: [whispers] He’s not better than Jeremy Lin.

KRISTIAN WINFIELD: **GASP** Ziller, watch your mouth.

In four years, Linsanity will be an afterthought and Russell will have signed whatever applicable max contract he can to stay in Brooklyn. My guess: four years, $165 million with a player option on year 5.

TIM CATO: That’s a joke, right?

KOFIE YEBOAH: Linsanity will never die.

WHITNEY MEDWORTH: Sometimes you just need a change of scenery.

MIKE PRADA: I have no idea what to make of Russell. I could see him achieving this ranking and more in four years. I could also see him as a backup. Fascinating prospect.

ZITO MADU: My beautiful, troublesome son. There’s a Russell-shaped hole in my heart that Lonzo Ball’s punch-passes can’t fill.

Age in 2021: 23 (3 seasons)

RICKY O’DONNELL: Ayton has ideal size for a center, impressive speed and agility, and striking skill level. He can really shoot the ball from the outside, so much so that he spent most of his high school career telling people he was a wing.

I worry about his rim protection skills as a future full-time center, but there simply won’t be many people who can match up with him offensively.

TOM ZILLER: Shoot your shot, Ricky.

MIKE PRADA: Ricky actually knows these high schoolers, unlike most of us, so I trust this pick.

MATT ELLENTUCK: This man has played zero college basketball games yet and we’ve got him ranked ahead of Gordon Hayward. Sure!

MIKE PRADA: You act like there are never good third-year players in the NBA. They’re not that rare.

KRISTIAN WINFIELD: Another high schooler I’m gonna pass on. Y’all are really letting it fly.

Age in 2021: 23 (5 seasons)

ZITO MADU: The one player who was off-limits for trades, so he has to be good. Everyone on the Lakers is betting on him being good. He got better toward the end of his rookie season and has all the skill to be good.

God, I hope he’s good by 2021.

KRISTIAN WINFIELD: If Zito didn’t pick a Laker, the world would be broken. I think this is about right. Ingram could be an All-Star in four years. And if he’s not, something, somewhere, went terribly wrong.

WHITNEY MEDWORTH: The one pick that made me jealous. I wish I had done this.

MATT ELLENTUCK: I still think Ingram will be better than Ben Simmons and you can go right ahead and at me if you please.

TIM CATO: I briefly thought about taking Ingram in the 20s, even. (Glad I didn’t, but he slipped too far.)

MIKE PRADA: Aren’t we making too much out of one good Summer League game? Ingram’s very young, but he looked quite lost for a lot of his rookie year. This range for him feels about right to me.

DREW GARRISON, SILVER SCREEN AND ROLL: This feels low for Ingram, but so much of his value is based on him developing. It’s tough to confidently project him making a huge impact until his career is in full swing.

Age in 2021: 32 (12 seasons)

TOM ZILLER: Like Steve Ballmer, I am completely unafraid of injury risks. Come at me. (This is where I note I selected both Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.) Who’s gonna take Austin Rivers to complete the new Clippers triumvirate? Where you at, Prada?

LUCAS HANN, CLIPS NATION: This seems a bit low for Griffin, whose play style has surprisingly evolved since he came into the league to be suited to age relatively well.

KRISTIAN WINFIELD: I think Aaron Gordon will be better than Blake Griffin by 2021.

MIKE PRADA: I agree with Kristian. I fear Blake’s history of injuries, combined with bad Clippers juju.

TOM ZILLER: You all say you believe in Aaron Gordon, yet I drafted him at No. 61 while y’all were taking 15-year-olds.

KRISTIAN WINFIELD: I did no such thing.

MIKE PRADA: It’s more that I don’t believe in Blake Griffin’s longevity. And Thon Maker and Jaylen Brown are at least 20, thank you very much.

MATT ELLENTUCK: Y’all are weird as hell for thinking Aaron Gordon is about to be better than Blake Griffin.

MIKE PRADA: Not what I’m saying! I’m saying I think Blake will decline in four years to the point where Gordon doesn’t have to improve all that much to pass him.

KRISTIAN WINFIELD: SMH Matt E, twisting my words.

KOFIE YEBOAH: Bruh it feels like Blake Griffin has been in the league for centuries. I’m just waiting for his movie career to take off at this point.

CHRIS GREENBERG: For what it’s worth, Vince Carter put up 20 points per game in his age-32 season. Also Vince might still be playing in 2021.

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