2015 NBA Draft

Draft Notes: Portis, Mudiay, Winslow

March 23rd, 2015 at 3:42pm CST by Chuck Myron

The draft is still three months and two days away, but with just 16 teams remaining in the NCAA tournament, underclassmen will soon start declaring for early entry as the buildup to draft night intensifies. Here’s the latest on some of the top prospects:

Power forward Bobby Portis said this weekend that he’s leaning toward returning to Arkansas for his junior season, observes Bob Holt of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (hat tip to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress). Portis is the 17th best prospect in Givony’s rankings and No. 14 with Chad Ford of ESPN.com. Eddie Scarito has him 15th in the latest Hoops Rumors 2015 NBA Draft Prospect Power Rankings.
Not surprisingly, Emmanuel Mudiay tops the point guard rankings that TNT’s David Aldridge compiles for NBA.com. He played sparingly in China this season, but even NBA teams that didn’t have anyone scout him in person this year believe that he’s the No. 1 point guard prospect, Aldridge writes. A lot of teams saw him at last year’s Nike Hoop Summit, a Western Conference executive pointed out to Aldridge. Still, there are those who prefer Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell, even for the No. 1 pick, as Aldridge details.
Duke small forward Justise Winslow is the elite prospect who helped himself the most in the opening week of the NCAA tournament, Chad Ford of ESPN.com believes, writing in an Insider-only piece that he thinks Winslow would be the first wing player chosen if the draft were today.

And-Ones: Kilpatrick, World Peace, Ellington

March 21st, 2015 at 11:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

Sean Kilpatrick was in the right place at the right time to get a 10-day contract with the Timberwolves, writes Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune. The short-handed Wolves were looking for a player who could get to Thursday’s game in New York quickly, so they turned to Kilpatrick, who was 45 minutes away in Delaware, where he played for the 87ers of the D-League. Despite missing shootaround, Kilpatrick played 10 minutes. “I was just trying to fit in,” he said. “You just go out there and try to play defense. You want to do the right things to stick out and that’s something I wanted to do.”

There’s more from around the world of basketball:

Metta World Peace will sign with Pallacanestro Cantu of the Italian league, according to his brother, as Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia relays. The one-time NBA player, formerly known as Ron Artest, reached an agreement by phone and will leave Wednesday for Italy, his brother said. World Peace last played in the NBA with the Knicks in 2013/14.
Lakers coach Byron Scott said the team will “absolutely” consider bringing back free agent Wayne Ellington, according to Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Scott noted Ellington’s improved shooting and defense, but said the Lakers still have to set their priorities in the draft and free agency. “He made himself a valuable part of this team,” the coach said. “We don’t know what next year holds. But he has shown 30 teams he knows how to play the game.”
The time may be right for Duke freshman point guard Tyus Jones to enter the NBA draft, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Zagoria quotes an unidentified NBA scout who says, “He should leave because his stock will never be higher.”

And-Ones: Lottery, Monroe, Harris

March 20th, 2015 at 4:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said changes to the draft lottery favored by the majority of teams will likely be postponed because the NBA Players Association recently turned down the league’s smoothing proposal regarding salary-cap increases, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports. The dramatic increase in the salary cap from $63MM to an estimated $90MM during the summer of 2016 makes changes to the lottery system unfeasible, Silver told Houston-based reporters on Thursday. “What I am hearing from some of the general managers in the league is that because it’s unclear how the cap will operate with a massive amount of cap room in ’16 and ’17 and potentially in the year after that it may be premature to change the lottery until we have a better understanding of what the changed behavior will be, so it’s something we are going to continue to look at,” Silver said.

In other news around the league:

The Pistons are unlikely to sign and trade Greg Monroe this summer, David Mayo of MLive.com opines. Mayo doubts that any team interested in signing Monroe, who becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer, would give up anything of value for him. The Pistons would probably have to take back a bad contract to execute such a deal, which makes it unwise for them to make such a move, Mayo continues. The only party who would truly benefit from a sign-and-trade deal would be Monroe, who could get a bigger contract without having to return to Detroit, Mayo concludes.
Dirk Nowitzki is averaging 20.3 points on 52.4% shooting from the field for the Mavericks over the last three games and a less taxing schedule is the primary reason for the veteran forward’s recent outburst, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. Nowitzki said to the team’s beat writers that longer stretches in-between games has made him feel fresher, “Going into the break, I think we had the most games in the league,” Nowitzki said. “Then coming out of the break, we had the shortest break and then we had five games in seven days. A brutal stretch for us, but finally it slowed down a little bit. It allowed us to get a little healthy, mix in some good rest with good work. I think it helped us and helped me.”
The Cavaliers assigned guard Joe Harris to their D-League affiliate, the Canton Charge, Cleveland GM David Griffin announced Friday on the team’s official website. Harris has appeared in 47 games with the Cavs this season, averaging 2.5 points in 9.2 minutes per game. He has played in seven games for the Charge, averaging 17.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 32.3 minutes per game.

Draft Notes: Knicks, Russell, Hunter

March 19th, 2015 at 1:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Today’s 32-game NCAA tournament schedule will draw plenty of eyes from fans and NBA personnel alike, even if the connection between college postseason success and NBA riches isn’t all that strong. Still, it serves as a gateway into the buildup for June’s draft, and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress outlines today’s games from a prospect-focused perspective. We’ll share more draft-related items here as the action heats up:

Knicks president Phil Jackson made it obvious that he’s high on Ohio State combo guard D’Angelo Russell, drawing a fine for complimenting the underclassman’s game, and Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal examines how Russell would fit on the Knicks. There’s a potential for a fit there, but he’s not the typical sort of player Jackson’s teams have had to run their offenses, and his lack of defensive skill would force the team to prioritize stoppers in free agency, Herring opines.
Russell, Jerian Grant, Myles Turner, Devin Booker and R.J. Hunter are the five prospects an SI.com panel of writers believes have the most on the line during the NCAA Tournament.
Hunter, a Georgia State shooting guard, leads a pack of mid-major prospects who have a chance for rare high-profile showcases in the tournament, as Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com examine in an Insider-only piece. Eastern Washington’s Tyler Harvey and Kyle Collingsworth of BYU are others who appear in line to be drafted, according to Ford and Pelton.

Mannix On Porzingis, Johnson, Wildcats

March 18th, 2015 at 8:04pm CST by Charlie Adams

Kristaps Porzingis is reportedly climbing up draft boards, but some scouts still aren’t convinced he’s the real deal, as Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated denotes in his March Madness Big Board. “Is he Dirk Nowitzki or Andrea Bargnani?” one scout asked rhetorically. Mannix passes along NBA scouts’ views on several first-round prospects, and we’ll round up the most notable takes below:

Arizona freshman Stanley Johnson’s frame and defensive instincts have led scouts to compare the 18-year-old forward to Metta World Peace, according to Mannix, who relays that teams will be watching Johnson very closely during the tournament. Johnson’s offensive abilities remain secondary to his defensive prowess, but he’s quietly averaged 14.1 points per night while shooting 36.6% from beyond the arc this year.
Several scouts told Mannix that while Kentucky’s Willie Cauley-Stein lacks superstar potential, there isn’t a safer pick in this June’s draft. The 21-year-old seven-footer has averaged 3.7 blocks per 40 minutes throughout his college career.
Kentucky freshman Trey Lyles’ numbers haven’t been eye-popping this season, but that’s a result of a relative lack of playing time in the Wildcats’ time sharing system. Multiple executives tell Mannix that the 6’10” 19 year old could end up being seen as a steal one day if he falls to late in the first round.

2014/15 NBA Reverse Standings

March 18th, 2015 at 9:58am CST by Chuck Myron

The 2014/15 regular season has only four weeks to go, and as the playoffs near for some teams, many scouts and executives around the league are already drawing a sharp focus on the 2015 NBA draft. They’re no doubt cognizant of the place in the order where their respective teams are slated to pick, and with the Hoops Rumors Reverse Standings, which list the NBA’s 30 teams from worst to first, you can easily follow along, too. We update these standings daily to reflect the outcomes of the games that took place the night before.

The Reverse Standings take into account playoff teams in each conference, so they’re essentially a reflection of what the 2015 first-round order would look like if the lottery goes according to the odds. Traded picks are indicated via footnotes. For instance, the note attached to the Thunder’s pick shows that they’ll send it to the Sixers if it falls outside the top 18 selections. The final four weeks of the season determine the pick’s fate, since the Thunder are in 14th place in the Reverse Standings as the non-playoff team with the best record, but they’re only there because they would lose a tiebreaker for the last postseason berth to Pelicans, who occupy the 18th spot.

The existence of the lottery means there’s no guarantee that teams atop the Reverse Standings will draft in the order in which they finish, but the worse a club’s record, the better shot it has at landing the cream of the 2015 draft class. This year’s top prospects, including Jahlil Okafor, D’Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns, aren’t as highly touted as the elite 2014 draftees were, but there’s still plenty of star potential.

Our Reverse Standings feature can be found at anytime on our right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features.” It’s a great resource not just for monitoring a team’s draft position, but also for keeping an eye on whether or not traded picks with protection will be changing hands in 2015. Be sure to check back often!

And-Ones: Draft, Knicks, Hawes

March 13th, 2015 at 10:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Spencer Hawes‘ first season as a member of the Clippers after inking a four-year, $23MM deal has been a tremendous disappointment, Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times writes. “He’s obviously not had the year we’d like, but it’s a long year. It still is a long year,” coach/executive Doc Rivers said of Hawes. “It doesn’t matter if it’s late in the year. I’ve seen guys have horrible regular seasons and then break out in the playoffs. You don’t know where it’s coming, but we still believe in him just like the other 20 teams that wanted to sign him in the league. It’s there and we have to get it out.” The 26-year-old big man is averaging 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds while only sinking 40.3% of his field goal attempts for the season.

Here’s more from around the league:

The Knicks will need to upgrade at the center position prior to next season and Tommy Beer of Basketball Insiders runs down some free agent big men who New York could target this summer.
Jahlil Okafor continues to occupy the top spot in the latest iteration of Chad Ford of ESPN.com‘s (Insider subscription required) Big Board. The big change in Ford’s 2015 NBA draft rankings is Kentucky big man Karl-Anthony Towns overtaking Emmanuel Mudiay for the No. 2 spot.
Okafor also tops the latest mock draft from Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, with D’Angelo Russell and Towns rounding out Deveney’s top three.

Hoops Rumors Weekly Mailbag 3/8/15-3/13/15

March 13th, 2015 at 9:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

In addition to our weekly chat, which Chuck Myron facilitates every Wednesday, we have added a second opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in this, our weekly mailbag feature. Have a question regarding player movement, the salary cap, or the NBA draft? Drop me a line at HoopsRumorsMailbag@Gmail.com or @EddieScarito on Twitter. Now for this week’s inquiries:

“Can you see the Knicks trading their lottery pick (after the draft) to Sacramento for DeMarcus Cousins since the Kings didn’t rule out trading him at the deadline?” — Rodney M.

I honestly don’t see the Kings parting ways with Cousins, who is one of the most talented big men in the league, unless a schism develops between him and coach George Karl that is deemed irreparable. But if given the chance, that’s a deal that Knicks president Phil Jackson should take immediately. Normally, I’m a big proponent of building teams through the draft, but the Knicks’ situation is a complicated one.

I wasn’t a fan of the Knicks re-signing Carmelo Anthony, and I still believe that New York would have been better served to work out a sign-and-trade for ‘Melo instead of tethering all its hopes to an aging, one-dimensional scorer. But the team is stuck with Anthony for the next few seasons, and to get the most out of team owner James Dolan’s investment in the forward, the Knicks need to acquire talent who can help them win immediately. There isn’t a player in this year’s draft, save for perhaps Willie Cauley-Stein of Kentucky, who could step in from day one and be a solid contributor. But he’s not top three pick material, which is where the Knicks will likely be selecting come June.

So if I’m the Knicks, I would explore all of my options with the pick, including trading it. Though the Kings are unlikely to bite and give up on Cousins without seeing what he can be under Karl’s tutelage. I certainly wouldn’t given his talent level.

“Where do you see JaVale McGee ending up?” — Quincy

The easy answer to this question is that he’ll go to the first team to offer him a player option for 2015/16. McGee doesn’t strike me as being picky at this point. He absolutely needs to catch on somewhere and rehabilitate his rep and value before the end of the season. His next contract hangs in the balance. There are a number of contenders who could absolutely use McGee’s skills on the court, but very few of those franchises likely want to deal with him off of the hardwood, where he has a reputation for being immature and difficult.

But not to cheat you on providing an answer, I would say that he’ll most likely end up in Texas with the Mavs or the Rockets. Both teams are willing to gamble on players with questionable maturity, and both could benefit from more depth in the middle.

“Do you see a chance that any player other than Jahlil Okafor becomes the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft?” — Stephen R.

Is there a chance? Absolutely. In fact, Okafor’s hold on the top pick is becoming more tenuous as the NCAA season wears on. It’s not because Okafor has disappointed, because he’s been exceptional for Duke this season. It’s more about potential. Okafor isn’t an elite athlete, nor a good defender for his size, which will limit his overall ceiling somewhat. He’ll be a fixture in the middle for years to come for the team that drafts him, but that doesn’t mean he’ll end up the best player in this draft. There are a growing number of scouts who believe that Karl-Anthony Towns will end up being the superior player in a few short years. Towns does possess the athleticism to evolve into someone quite special on the court. His offense is a work in progress, but he’s already a superior defender to Okafor. But the Duke big man gets the edge in maturity and overall polish over Towns.

The wildcard in this year’s draft will be the positional needs of the team that wins the NBA lottery. A team like the Sixers, who have Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel in their frontcourt already, may find selecting Emmanuel Mudiay or D’Angelo Russell a more practical choice. Both guards have been mentioned at one time or another as being in contention to go No. 1 overall by various scouts. But barring an injury to Okafor between now and June, I still don’t foresee too many GMs taking a pass on adding Okafor to their roster if given the opportunity on draft night.

“Who do you think will be a sleeper pick in the NBA draft?” — Dustin

This is a funny sort of draft. Just about every player in the second-tier could be considered a sleeper depending on where they are selected. The crop this year is close in so many ways. But I’ll give you a few players who could end up surprising the league.

R.J. Hunter (Georgia State) — Guard
Jakob Poeltl (Utah) — Center
Zhou Qi (China) — Forward
Justin Anderson (Virginia) — Forward/Guard
Robert Upshaw (Washington) — Center

Both Hunter and Poeltl could be mid-to-late first-rounders, though Poeltl may come back for his sophomore season at Utah. Poeltl has a wealth of potential, but needs quite a bit of polish. Coming back for one more season would be a good move, especially given the wealth of big men in this year’s draft.

Hunter is a player who I believe will make a better pro than college player. The kid is fearless and he can and will shoot from anywhere in the arena. He’s hitting under 40% of his field goal attempts this season, which obviously isn’t great. But he’s a player who could turn into a big time scorer off the bench.

Anderson should end up being a mid first round pick as well, and he’s a player with quite a bit of upside and athleticism. As with most college wings, his outside shot needs more consistency, and he needs to figure out how to create his own shot better if he wants to succeed at the next level.

The last two on this list, Upshaw and Qi, are likely second-rounders. Upshaw has first round talent, but with the glut of big men available in this year’s draft, he’ll probably slide a bit as a result. His defense should translate very well to the NBA, but he needs some serious development on offense. Upshaw also has some character concerns. He was dismissed from Fresno State for multiple rules violations before attending Washington. But his talent will make him worthy of a gamble.

Qi is a bit of a wild card. He’s a fantastic athlete with a high skillset. The Chinese big man would be a great draft-and-stash candidate for a patient team. The 19-year-old is scary thin, and would not survive an NBA season until he added some weight and muscle. But Qi just may be the third most talented international player in this year’s draft behind Mario Hezonja and Kristaps Porzingis.

That’s all the space I have for now. I’ll be back next week to answer more of your questions. So please keep filling up my inbox with them in the meantime. Feel free to add to the discussion in the comments section below.

Knicks Notes: Anthony, Roster, Jackson

March 12th, 2015 at 5:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Knicks president Phil Jackson made some comments regarding New York viewing free agents as the primary way it will rebuild the team, which lends some credence to the reports that Jackson was considering trading the Knicks’ 2015 lottery pick, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. “In the present day in the NBA, 19, 20 years old, coming into league, it’s really hard to project what that player will be like in his first contract situation,’’ Jackson said. “So what we’re trying to do what advancement can be made in the short term. How quickly we can get back in the hunt and right away to [compete] for the championship? We know what the first-round pick will mean to us, but we also know we will build the team on free agents. We have 190 players or so who will be free agents. That’s where our priority stands.’’

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Jackson did indicate that he would be willing to be patient with the growing pains of developing a lottery pick, Berman adds. “You get movers and franchise players from the draft,” Jackson said. “We’re rebuilding this team. You have do it that way.’’
The Knicks’ president also relayed that the team isn’t looking to bring in 10 new bodies next season, which means a number of players who aren’t under contract for next season could be re-signed, Berman tweets.
When asked to assess the state of the Knicks, Jackson admitted the season was a lost one, Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com relays (Twitter link). “It feels like it’s a project gone awry,” Jackson said. “This is where we wanted to be at the end of the year, not in the middle of the year.“
The Knicks are hopeful that Carmelo Anthony will resume training this June, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. The timetable ‘Melo was given at the time of his surgery in February was that he would be out for four to six months, and the June time frame would be on the early side of that prognosis, Begley adds.

2015 NBA Draft Prospect Power Rankings 4.0

March 12th, 2015 at 4:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The 2015 NBA draft is a few months away, and the NCAA tournament will play a major part in determining the fates of the 20 players whose names appear on the list below, as well as those who haven’t made the cut just yet. Front offices and scouting departments throughout the NBA are hard at work trying to determine which players they will pin the future of their franchises on, and Hoops Rumors will be doing the same all the way up until June’s draft.

Keep in mind that this list includes both underclassmen and players from overseas, neither of whom are guaranteed to declare for the draft. But just like the NBA scouting departments, we’ll need to be prepared for the possibility that all of these players will be available to hear their names called by commissioner Adam Silver in what will be his second opportunity to be on the stage during the first round.

Here are my current top 20 players in descending order with last month’s ranking in parentheses:

1 (1) Jahlil Okafor-C (Duke/Freshman)

-6’11”, 272 pounds

–DraftExpress Rank: No. 1

–ESPN Rank: No. 1

–Stats: 17.6 PPG, 9.2 RPG, and 1.4 BPG. .668/.000/.524.

Okafor continues to abuse college competition. A true center, he has shown excellent athleticism and remarkable polish on the offensive side of the game. He has an NBA-ready body and will continue to develop into an absolute monster down in the paint. His defense is still a work in progress, which isn’t at all uncommon for a young big. Both Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell continue to gain ground on Okafor, but I still believe it would take a pre-draft injury to unseat the big man from the top spot in this year’s NBA draft.

2 (3) D’Angelo Russell-SG/PG (Ohio State/Freshman)

-6’5″, 176 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 3

-ESPN Rank: No. 4

-Stats: 19.2 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 5.2 APG. .459/.422/.748.

No player has improved his draft stock more than Russell since the beginning of the college season. Though he plays shooting guard at Ohio State, NBA scouts are now viewing Russell as an NBA point guard, which will only serve to increase his draft stock further. The lefty has excellent ball-handling skills, and he’s very effective off the dribble, though he needs to improve upon his ability to finish at the rim if he wants to be an effective pro. “There’s so much to love about his game,” one NBA GM told Chad Ford of ESPN.com about Russell. “Even when he has a bad game, it looks like a good one because every time the ball leaves his [hands], it looks like it’s going in. He plays with such great confidence and has a terrific feel. I think he could be a James Harden-type player at the next level. That’s what kind of scorer and playmaker he could be.”

3 (4) Karl-Anthony Towns-PF/C (Kentucky/Freshman)

-7’0″, 250 pounds

–DraftExpress Rank: No. 2

–ESPN Rank: No. 2

–Stats: 9.7 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 2.4 BPG. .558/.250/.790.

Towns is a player who cannot be judged on his NCAA numbers, thanks to Kentucky’s ridiculous depth. But the big man is all but guaranteed to blow away scouts in his individual pre-draft workouts. There are a number of scouts and GMs who have speculated that Towns will become a superior player to Okafor in a few years, which could place the freshman in the running for the No. 1 overall pick. “You put Towns on any other team in college basketball, maybe with the exception of Duke, and everyone is talking about him as a legitimate player of the year candidate,” one NBA GM told ESPN’s Chad Ford. “His stats, or lack thereof, aren’t an issue of talent, it’s an issue of so much talent on the floor that he can take a back seat.”

4 (3) Emmanuel Mudiay-PG (Guangdong)

-6’5″, 200 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 4

-ESPN Rank: No. 3

-Stats: 18.9 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 6.3 APG. .493/.321/.586

Mudiay, despite not having played in months due to an ankle injury, is still considered the most talented guard in the draft, though Russell is changing that conversation with every game he dominates. Not playing college ball didn’t hurt Dante Exum prior to the 2014 draft, and Mudiay is a more NBA-ready prospect than he was, and it wouldn’t be a complete shock for him to go No. 1 overall, depending on the team selecting first and its needs (ie: the Sixers). Mudiay is almost sure to dazzle in his pre-draft workouts, and he’ll definitely be selected in the top five.

5 (6) Willie Cauley-Stein-C (Kentucky/Junior)

-7’0″, 244 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 7

-ESPN Rank: No. 7

-Stats: 8.9 PPG, 6.4 RPG, and 1.6 BPG. .588/.000/.579.

Cauley-Stein’s decision to return to Kentucky for his junior season is still paying off handsomely for him. He is an absolute defensive monster, and can step into an NBA rotation immediately. The big man is still limited offensively, and that isn’t likely to change anytime soon. I project Cauley-Stein to produce similar numbers to Tyson Chandler, which isn’t a bad thing at all.

6 (5) Stanley Johnson-SF (Arizona/Freshman)

-6’7″, 237 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 5

-ESPN Rank: No. 10

-Stats: 13.9 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 1.5 SPG. .449/.353/.735.

Johnson is an absolute man-child with an NBA-ready body and excellent strength. He reminds me a bit of Larry Johnson (no relation), though he is nowhere near as polished on the offensive end as the elder Johnson was coming out of UNLV. What will continue to make Johnson a question mark is his limited outside game, which to his credit, has been steadily improving as the season wears on. His individual workouts will make or break him as a top 10 pick, but I love his aggressiveness, defense, and rebounding. There isn’t a huge separation between Johnson, Justise Winslow and Kelly Oubre right now. Hopefully their play in the NCAA tournament will provide more clarity for their rankings. I gave Johnson the nod because of his consistency and physical prowess.

7 (8) Kristaps Porzingis-PF (Baloncesto Sevilla)

-7’0″, 220 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 8

-ESPN Rank: No. 5

-Stats: 11.1 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 1.2 BPG. .538/.424/.730.

Porzingis is a likely top five pick, but I still remain unimpressed with his game. He has excellent athleticism, and is a talented three-point shooter, but Porzingis hasn’t necessarily dominated in European competition yet, which raises all kinds of red flags with me. There have been plenty of European players who have entered the league with high expectations based on their physical skills, only to turn out to be draft busts. Porzingis is a project with an extremely high upside, but I would think twice about taking him in the top five. My first instinct was to rank him outside the top 10, but it’s almost assured that some team will take a gamble on him near the top of the draft. Porzingis is being compared to Nikola Mirotic by some scouts, though I don’t believe he has the same level of polish that the Bulls rookie had at the same age.

8 (7) Justise Winslow-SF (Duke/Freshman)

-6’6″, 221 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 9

-ESPN Rank: No. 12

-Stats: 12.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 2.0 APG. .479/.398/.598.

Winslow has seemingly recovered from his uninspiring run to end November, and is once again putting up solid numbers and displaying his wide range of skills and fantastic athleticism. His three-point shooting has improved, which was a big question mark in his game entering the season. NBA teams have little use for wings who can’t spread the floor, and if Winslow can keep it up he’ll secure a spot in the top 10 selections.

9 (9) Kevon Looney-PF (UCLA/Freshman)

-6’9″, 220 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 13

-ESPN Rank: No. 6

-Stats: 12.3 PPG, 9.5 RPG, and 1.0 BPG. .474/.444/.641.

Looney is still rising up the draft boards despite his production tailing off since the first month of the season. The freshman is a bit of a tweener, similar to Aaron Gordon a year ago in that respect, but has a far more polished offensive game than Gordon did at Arizona last season. I’ve continued to be impressed with his ball-handling and passing, and both are skills that will translate well to the pros. Looney probably won’t crack the top five selections, but if that is the case, whichever team he falls to could be getting a steal.

10 (13) Mario Hezonja-SG (Barcelona Regal)

-6’7″, 200 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 6

-ESPN Rank: No. 8

-Stats: 8.6 PPG, 2.0 RPG, and 1.3 APG. .484/.414/.762.

Hezonja is a projected lottery pick, but I’m not sold on his long-term future in the NBA. He’s a possible draft-and-stash pick, which could benefit him since he needs quite a bit more development before making the jump to the NBA. Hezonja is very athletic and can light it up from the outside when he’s “on,” but he’s a poor defender, which doesn’t help his value. He also isn’t putting up eye-catching numbers overseas, which doesn’t bode well for his NBA fortunes. There have also been some red flags raised about his attitude, ability to accept coaching, and overall maturity. These concerns could serve to lower Hezonja’s draft stock around the league.

11 (10) Myles Turner-C (Texas/Freshman)

-6’11”, 242 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 10

-ESPN Rank: No. 9

-Stats: 10.6 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 2.8 BPG. .460/.267/.839.

Turner is a project, but he’s one who could pay dividends for a patient team. He’s a good scorer with range out to the three-point line, but he lacks aggressiveness. Turner is a solid shot blocker, but he needs to improve as a rebounder if he wants to be more than just a rotation player in the NBA. There are also some legitimate concerns regarding his knees due to his odd way of running. Big men tend to break down faster than players at other positions, so long-term health is a definite concern with Turner. The big man’s production has declined steadily since the beginning of the season, but Turner’s upside is too high for him to slide too far down the draft boards.

12 (11) Kelly Oubre-SF (Kansas/Freshman)

-6’6″, 204 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 11

-ESPN Rank: No. 11

-Stats: 9.0 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 0.8 APG. .451/.373/.683.

Oubre’s draft stock had taken a hit since the beginning of the season when he looked lost during the limited playing time he was receiving. The swingman has shown significant growth since the beginning of the season, averaging 13.3 points over his last four contests. The freshman is still maddeningly inconsistent, and disappears on the floor far too often for my tastes. Oubre needs quite a bit of polish, and would greatly benefit from another year in school, but that scenario is highly unlikely.

13 (12) Devin Booker-SG (Kentucky/Freshman)

-6’6″, 195 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 15

-ESPN Rank: No. 13

-Stats: 10.9 PPG, 1.8 RPG, and 1.3 APG. .477/.436/.817.

Booker has certainly come on since the beginning of the season, and he made a name for himself during conference play for Kentucky. He is by far one of the best shooters in the entire draft, which will certainly raise his stock and draft position should he decide to leave school after just one season. Booker isn’t a freakish athlete though, which makes him more of a one-dimensional threat. But with the NBA placing a premium on players who can stretch the floor, that shouldn’t prevent Booker from possibly sneaking into the lottery. The fact that he’s the Wildcats’ best, and possibly only, reliable deep threat, should make the NCAA tournament a great showcase for the young swingman.

14 (17) Jerian Grant-PG (Notre Dame/Senior)

-6’5″, 185 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 14

-ESPN Rank: No. 21

-Stats: 16.8 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 6.7 APG. .494/.331/.754.

Grant is having himself a heck of a season, and may just be the best point guard in college basketball right now. His age may work against him a bit in the draft, such is the NBA world we live in nowadays. But his combination of size, skill, and leadership makes him a solid mid first round selection. Grant needs to improve on his jump shot consistency, and despite his 16.8 PPG average, is more of a pass-first point man at heart. He’ll definitely need to bulk up to be able to guard NBA guards, but whichever team nabs him in June will be getting a very solid player.

15 (15) Bobby Portis-PF (Arkansas/Sophomore)

-6’11″, 242 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 16

-ESPN Rank: No. 14

-Stats: 17.8 PPG, 8.7 RPG, and 1.5 BPG. .563/.423/.748.

Portis has emerged as a potential mid first round pick since the beginning of the season. He’s really been pouring it on lately, having averaged 20.5 PPG over his last four appearances. The big man isn’t an elite athlete, but he’s good enough to have a solid NBA career if he improves his defense and footwork in the post. Portis prefers to launch jump shots rather than mix-it-up in the paint, but with the NBA falling in love with stretch fours, this isn’t necessarily the negative it used to be when profiling big men. I’ve become more enamored with him as a player lately, and as a mid first-rounder he’ll be a good value pick, though he’ll need D-League seasoning before he’ll be ready to step into an NBA rotation.

16 (14) Montrezl Harrell-PF (Louisville/Junior)

-6’8″, 243 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 17

-ESPN Rank: No. 19

-Stats: 15.8 PPG, 9.4 RPG, and 1.3 APG. .573/.243/.585.

It was surprising to see Harrell return to Louisville for his junior season, but the move will likely reward him with a higher draft selection than he would have garnered in 2014. There’s a lot to like about Harrell’s game, but he bears the dreaded tweener tag. He’s neither a true power forward nor a classic small forward. He can score from almost anywhere on the floor and has a high motor. He’s also a very good rebounder and a physical defender. But Harrell lacks a defined NBA position (ie: Derrick Williams and Thomas Robinson), which could end up lowering his draft stock as well as his ceiling as a player.

17 (19) Frank Kaminsky-C (Wisconsin/Senior)

-7’0″, 242 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 12

-ESPN Rank: No. 15

-Stats: 18.4 PPG, 8.1 RPG, and 1.6 BPG. .559/.410/.752.

Kaminsky isn’t likely to become a star in the NBA, nor even an effective starter. But he’ll be able to contribute on the offensive end immediately for whichever team selects him. Kaminsky reminds me quite a bit of the Celtics’ Kelly Olynyk offensively, which isn’t a bad thing at all. Unfortunately, he also shares Olynyk’s weaknesses as a rebounder and defender. As a mid first-rounder, Kaminsky will be a solid pick, though he will have a limited ceiling thanks to his athletic shortcomings. The big man has really been pouring it on lately, logging 23.5 points per game over his last five appearances.

18 (16) Jakob Poeltl-C (Utah/Freshman)

-7’0″, 230 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 19

-ESPN Rank: No. 20

-Stats: 8.6 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 1.8 BPG. .689/.000/.417.

Poeltl has cooled off a bit after a strong start to the season, though he did drop 18 points on Washington last Saturday. The Austrian is a good defender, can rebound very well, and has a fluid and effective mid range game. His stats aren’t eye-popping, but bigs with his combination of size, skill, and athleticism will always have a place in the NBA. Poeltl definitely needs to hit the weight room if he hopes to survive in the NBA paint area, but that could be said of the majority of big men turning pro. His post game also needs quite a bit of work, but don’t be surprised if he ends up becoming a top 20 pick. However, teams may need to wait another season before getting a chance to draft Poeltl. Ford previously noted that Poeltl was leaning towards returning to school for his sophomore season, but the lure of the NBA can be a strong deterrent toward continuing one’s collegiate career.

19 (18) R.J. Hunter-SG (Georgia State/Junior)

-6’5″, 185 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 27

-ESPN Rank: No. 18

-Stats: 19.7 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 3.8 APG. .396/.305/.872.

Hunter has cooled off a bit, but I’m not ready to give up on him just yet. I really like Hunter’s game and his potential, and he strikes me as a player who will make a better pro than college player. Hunter’s not an elite athlete, which could limit his potential somewhat. He’s a very good passer, but his ball-handling needs work for him to be an effective pro. Hunter will also have difficulty guarding the quicker twos in the NBA, but he has the ability to be a valuable contributor as a sixth man. Hunter is one of the players most likely to surprise on draft night with how high he is taken.

20 (20) Tyus Jones-PG (Duke/Freshman)

-6’1″, 184 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 26

-ESPN Rank: No. 25

-Stats: 11.8 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 5.7 APG. .424/.400/.882.

The 18-year-old Jones has shown remarkable poise as a freshman, and he reminds me quite a bit of Tyler Ennis, another player I was extremely high on heading into the 2014 draft. Jones lacks elite athleticism, needs to work on his outside shot, and won’t be ready to play significant minutes his rookie season. But his court vision and basketball IQ will make him a valuable rotation piece in a couple of seasons. Jones’ turnover rate has increased significantly since conference play began, but he has still displayed remarkable on court leadership for a freshman. Jones is the type of player whose value doesn’t always show up in the box score, and he is overshadowed by Okafor and Winslow on a talented Duke squad. But this kid has the potential to be an effective pro, and a mid first round gem for a patient team.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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