Celtcis GM Danny Ainge tells Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald that he isn’t sure that the team could find a premier scorer in this year’s draft. “There are a lot of good players in this draft, guys that can be starters and guys that can play major roles on really good teams,” Ainge said. “But I’m not sure that there are those 20-to-25-point-a-game guys.” Here’s more from the draft:
- Adi Joseph of USA Today notes some of the more remarkable measurements taken at the combine. Joseph thinks LaQuinton Ross‘s draft stock will take a hit due to his poor conditioning being evident in drills and tests
- UCLA guard Jordan Adams interviewed with the Magic at the combine today, reports Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link).
- NBA scouts are high enough on Aaron Gordon for Paul Coro of azcentral.com to consider the forward a “surefire” lottery pick.
- Numerous NBA sources lead Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com to believe that James McAdoo could slide out of the draft completely. McAdoo is currently projected as a late second-rounder.
- Noah Vonleh has been generating positive buzz during the combine, but Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders tweets that he hasn’t gotten the sense that Julius Randle is in danger of being surpassed by the fellow big on teams’ draft boards.
- Mark Deeks of Hoop365.com looks at the factors leading a player like the 7’5″ Sim Bhullar to leave school early and declare for the draft, despite not being projected to be selected.
- While some of the scouting benefits of the pre-draft combine are diminished when elite prospects skip the event, Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer says that the gathering still holds value as a networking event for front office executives looking to discuss trades and make hires.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.
Having a guy who can shoot the 3 at a high level is more valuable than a guy who can defend. There is no reason that Doug McDermott can’t do what Kyle Korver, Shane Battier, and Mike Miller do. Worth a top 10 pick? Probably not, but 11-15 sure why not.