The 2012 NBA Draft Combine got underway Thursday in Chicago and will continue through Friday as prospects are tested, weighed and interviewed with hopes of improving their stock for June 28. Former Florida star Bradley Beal's height was a point of contention heading into the combine but the ex-Gator shooting guard surprised everyone when he told reporters he measured in at 6-foot-4, which was on the higher end of expectations. Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio has more news and headlines out of Chicago with the draft exactly three weeks away…
The Nets may be looking to find a way into the first round of this month's draft, but a number of teams are considering moving their first-rounders. According to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (via Twitter), every club besides the Cavs that has multiple first-round picks is trying to trade one of them for a young player. The Blazers, Celtics, Warriors, Rockets, and Hornets all fit the bill, with two first-rounders each. Let's round up a few more of today's draft rumors….
- Teams inquiring on the 10th overall pick are being told by the Hornets that taking on a contract like Emeka Okafor's or Trevor Ariza's won't be enough to land the pick, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein.
Yesterday we heard that Eric Gordon would test free agency despite the Hornets winning the Anthony Davis sweepstakes. Gordon was back at it today, reiterating to John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayne his intentions to listen to offers once he is a restricted free agent on July 1.
Gordon did express some excitement about Davis, comparing his ability to catch lobs to his former teammate Blake Griffin. Gordon added, "I will still be open with my free agency to hear other opportunities. But like I said before, New Orleans has a very bright future to be a championship-caliber team soon."
With the Celtics up big in Boston, here are a few other notes from around the NBA:
Following the Hornets' lottery win, ESPN.com's Chad Ford published his newest mock draft, which includes a handful of interesting scenarios, including Dion Waiters jumping to eighth overall and Austin Rivers slipping to 18th. With less than four weeks until draft day, Ford continues to talk to sources and visit workouts to get a better sense of how things will play out on June 28th. His latest draft blog (Insider link) explores potential options for the top 10 picks and is chock-full of interesting tidbits. Let's round up some of the highlights….
Many members of last year's draft class received recognition for their first NBA seasons today, when the league announced its All-Rookie squads. Kyrie Irving, Ricky Rubio, Kenneth Faried, Klay Thompson, Brandon Knight, Iman Shumpert, and Kawhi Leonard all earned first-team honors due to a three-way tie for the fifth spot. The second team consisted of Chandler Parsons, MarShon Brooks, Derrick Williams, Tristan Thompson, and Isaiah Thomas. Here's the latest on the 2012 draft class that will be eligible for All-Rookie accolades a year from now:
- HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy interviews Kansas forward Thomas Robinson, who says he believes himself worthy of the top overall pick.
- Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio examines Jared Sullinger's potential to succeed at the NBA level.
- The NBA announced all the players who will participate in the Chicago draft combine on June 7th and 8th, and Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com passes along the list. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com points out (via Twitter) that, besides #58 Casper Ware, the top 67 prospects on DraftExpress' top 100 were all invited to Chicago.
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider link) takes note of a few prospects who may have improved their stocks during the weekend workouts in New Jersey. Iona point guard Scott Machado tops Ford's list.
- Teams need to be careful of being wowed by Perry Jones' individual workouts and drafting him too high, one scout tells Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
- 2012 represents the Trail Blazers' most important draft since they selected Greg Oden in 2007, writes Joel Odom of the Oregonian.
- Don't forget to follow Hoops Rumors' Prospect Profile series, where we've taken a closer look at many of the players expected to be drafted in the first round next month.
It's already been an eventful day for draft updates, with news that the University of Kentucky has scheduled a press conference for Tuesday afternoon, likely to announce that five underclassmen will officially enter the draft. While we await that formal announcement, let's check in on a few other draft-related items….
- Junior forward Tony Mitchell has elected to enter the NBA draft, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Mitchell, not to be confused with the North Texas player of the same name, was averaging 13.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per game for Alabama this season before he was suspended indefinitely in February. Mitchell is ranked 71st by DraftExpress.com.
- A number of NBA scouts and executives help TNT's David Aldridge break down the shooting guards in this year's draft class. Aldridge's piece is chock-full of interesting quotes and comes highly recommended.
- Purdue senior Robbie Hummel has hired agent Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports in hopes of being drafted, writes Cliff Brunt of the Associated Press. DraftExpress ranks Hummel 81st among this year's draft prospects.
- In other agent news, Austin Rivers and Jared Sullinger have signed with David Falk, Moe Harkless will hire Happy Walters, and William Buford has hired Herb Rudoy and Ron Shade.
Many of the underclassmen declaring for the draft this week hope to take after Avery Bradley. His success with the Celtics this year defies criticism that he shouldn't have left the University of Texas after only one season in 2010, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. Here's the latest news on NBA hopefuls:
- The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, taking place in Virginia this week, is a showcase for top seniors. It's also when many draft prospects have their measurements taken, which can either help or hurt a player's stock. Jonathan Givony of Draft Express passes on the measurements of all the participants, as well as some observations on some notable dimensions.
- Bob Baptist of The Columbus Dispatch tweets that Jared Sullinger has signed with agent David Falk, and Givony adds via Twitter that Austin Rivers has done the same.
- French big man Rudy Gobert will not enter the draft this year, Givony reports (Twitter link). The 6'11" 19-year-old is second on the Draft Express list of international prospects born in 1992 and projects him as the 15th pick in the 2013 draft.
- Givony tweets that Brazilians Cesar Lima, Lucas Nogueira and Raul Neto aren't entering the draft either, according to their agency. Lima is the No. 2 Draft Express prospect born in 1991, Lucas Nogueira is No. 3 from 1992, and Neto is No. 7 from 1992.
The story of Ohio State sophomore Jared Sullinger is one of the most intriguing as the draft approaches. He could have gone No. 1 overall if he had come out after his freshman season. The latest mock drafts have him going much farther down the line: Draft Express has him going sixth, ESPN's Chad Ford projects him as the 13th pick (Insider link), and NBADraft.net predicts he'll fall out of the lottery completely, landing at No. 15. His fate is one many players will surely cite when they decide to come out earlier than perhaps they should. You may have plenty to gain by staying in school, but there's a lot to lose, too. Last year's No. 1 pick, Kyrie Irving, signed a four-year deal that will give him between $3MM and $4MM more each season than No. 15 pick Kawhi Leonard gets.
What's caused him to slip in the eyes of NBA teams is his lack of athleticism and explosion around the rim. Still, that's been a criticism all along, as witnessed by Josh Cochran's NBADraft.net scouting report from 2009. Jonathan Givony of Draft Express cites his 6'9", 280-pound frame as a problem — he's too small to be a prototypical center, and not agile enough to cover the league's increasingly athletic power forwards. Tommy Dee of Sheridan Hoops cites his difficulty defending taller players as a weakness, yet, as Givony points out, it didn't stop Ohio State from being an elite defensive team in college basketball this year. While it's difficult to draw conclusions about a player's worth based on his team's success in college, the fact that the Buckeyes went to two Sweet 16s and a Final Four during Sullinger's time can't be a knock on him.
Givony points to his polished post game, lack of turnovers and passing ability as some of his positives, and Dee calls him "the most complete post player in the nation." Efficiency is one of his hallmarks, and he makes opposing teams pay at the foul line, knocking down 76.8% of his free throws this year, a plus for a big man. When it's not working down low offensively, he can go outside, too. He took 1.1 three pointers a game and nailed 42.1% of them. He has a midrange game, too, as Dee praises his ability to knock down looks from 15 to 18 feet.
Givony compares him to Kevin Love, and while that's not the kind of analogy being bandied about too often now as Sullinger's stock takes a nose dive, I think it still holds. It would be a challenge for Sullinger, or anyone else, to put up the kind of numbers Love does, but Love's ability to maximize his basketball skills while minimizing his lack of overpowering athleticism provides a blueprint for Sullinger to follow. Love, who was the 5th pick in 2008, would probably be drafted higher if teams had a chance to do it over again, and unless teams brighten their outlook on Sullinger between now and June, the same could be said for him in a few years.
We've already heard today that Jared Sullinger has decided to leave Ohio State early and officially enter this year's NBA draft. We'll track the rest of today's draft-related updates here:
- Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com hears that Villanova junior Dominic Cheek will likely declare for the draft (Twitter link). Cheek's draft prospects don't seem great — he comes in at 208th among ESPN.com's prospect rankings.
- Freshman point guard Trey Burke is expected to leave Michigan and declare for the draft, reports Goodman. Burke ranks just 70th on Chad Ford's top 100 prospects and doesn't show up on DraftExpress.com's list. However, according to Goodman, some NBA execs believe the Michigan freshman has a chance to be taken in the first round due to a weak class of point guards.
- Scouts are divided on Sullinger's pro potential, says Ford in an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com. Some scouts compare the Ohio State big man to Kevin Love, Zach Randolph, or Paul Millsap, but the worry is that he'll end up being more of a Glen Davis type.
- Ford also fielded a number of draft-related questions in an ESPN.com chat this afternoon. Sam Amico did the same for FOX Sports Ohio.
1:50pm: Sullinger has made it official, announcing his decision in a press conference at Ohio State's Value City Arena with coach Thad Matta, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN.com).
11:26am: Jared Sullinger will announce this afternoon that he'll forgo his final two years at Ohio State and enter the NBA draft, tweets Jeff Goodman of CBS Sports.
Sullinger, a sophomore, averaged 17.5 PPG and 9.2 RPG on .519/.400/.768 shooting in 37 games this season, and helped lead Ohio State to a deep NCAA tournament run. The Buckeyes were eliminated by Kansas in the Final Four.
At times, Sullinger was considered a potential top-five pick, though the big man's stock has slipped a little due to questions about his below-the-rim approach. ESPN.com's Chad Ford has Sullinger being picked 13th in his most recent mock draft, while NBADraft.net has him going off the board at ninth overall.