Role players are hard to find. Or at least, players entering the college who are readymade to play a role and contribute to a team.
This is one of the biggest tricks of the draft. Everyone that is taken — for the most part — was the star of their college team. Creating a skill set that fits into a NBA role and that distinct possibility they will not become an All-Star is vital to a player’s survival.
As the draft gets later and later, identifying these secondary, supporting skills is critical. Teams take their big swings on all-or-nothing players early in the Draft.