Portsmouth still buzzing with draft rumors
By Chad Ford
NBA Insider
Send an Email to Chad Ford
Friday, April 9
For the second straight day, draft rumors were flying around the NBA's Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (PIT) draft camp, with names such as Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair and Ronny Turiaf mentioned prominently. Here's what we're hearing ...
Sebastian Telfair hasn't impressed NBA scouts in his high-school all-star games.
After two so-so performances in high school all-star games, it appears Sebastian Telfair's stock is plummeting. Several GMs I talked to in Portsmouth were very down on Telfair after watching him play in Chicago and at the Nike Hoop Summit in San Antonio. While they acknowledged Telfair actually ran the point pretty well in both events, his terrible shooting and inability to get to the basket in both games was disturbing.
"He's looked pretty good in the transition game, but what you really look for is a guy who can make things happen in the half-court set," one scout told Insider. "I haven't seen Telfair doing that. He's not going to be able to run in the league that much. I just think he'd be so much better playing a few years for Rick Pitino (at Louisville)."
Take it for what's worth. All it takes is one team in the lottery to fall in love with Telfair. When I talked to him last week, he believed that there were two.
It looks as if Providence forward Ryan Gomes will test the draft waters. Gomes is coming off an incredible season at Providence and has about as much buzz as he's going to get. The scouts I talked to believe he's likely to be drafted somewhere in the late first round, though they acknowledge there's a possibility he could slip into round two.
The issue with Gomes is position. He was a four in college, but at 6-foot-7, he's going to have to transition to the three in the pros. That might be possible. He really improved his perimeter game this season, but scouts still aren't totally sold. If Gomes declares -- the NBA hasn't received his paperwork yet -- he'll probably wait to hire an agent and try to get a better feel for his stock.
Ronny Turiaf likely will declare for the draft, according to a source close to the Gonzaga junior. Turiaf, however, won't hire an agent immediately, preserving his collegiate eligibility, the same source said. Turiaf is in an interesting case. Some scouts love him, others aren't sold. He's competing against other power forwards such as Kris Humphries, Al Jefferson and Lawrence Roberts. Humphries seems to be the clear leader of the four. After that, Turiaf ends up anywhere from second to fourth on the list, depending on the team. My guess is he'd get drafted in the 20s. He has great size, good athleticism and can score in the paint. Those type of players don't come along often.
We may need to add another young international stud to the mix. Sources told Insider Thursday that French forward Johan Petro is mulling declaring for the draft. Petro is a 6-11, 245-pound power forward playing for French team Pau Orthez (the same team that gave the NBA Mickael Pietrus and Boris Diaw).
Petro has played limited minutes for Pau this year, but scouts love his athleticism, length, rebounding and aggressive defense. He's a little raw offensively, but he did average 17.8 ppg for the French national team last summer in the 18-and-under category. I don't know where you'd put him, but from the scouts I've talked to, he's got a pretty good shot to go in the first round.
Another day, another head scratcher. Baylor junior Harvey Thomas announced he'll forego his senior season and enter the draft. Given Baylor's current situation you can hardly blame him ... but still, it's very unlikely Thomas is an NBA first rounder.
By Chad Ford
NBA Insider
Send an Email to Chad Ford
Friday, April 9
For the second straight day, draft rumors were flying around the NBA's Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (PIT) draft camp, with names such as Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair and Ronny Turiaf mentioned prominently. Here's what we're hearing ...
Sebastian Telfair hasn't impressed NBA scouts in his high-school all-star games.
After two so-so performances in high school all-star games, it appears Sebastian Telfair's stock is plummeting. Several GMs I talked to in Portsmouth were very down on Telfair after watching him play in Chicago and at the Nike Hoop Summit in San Antonio. While they acknowledged Telfair actually ran the point pretty well in both events, his terrible shooting and inability to get to the basket in both games was disturbing.
"He's looked pretty good in the transition game, but what you really look for is a guy who can make things happen in the half-court set," one scout told Insider. "I haven't seen Telfair doing that. He's not going to be able to run in the league that much. I just think he'd be so much better playing a few years for Rick Pitino (at Louisville)."
Take it for what's worth. All it takes is one team in the lottery to fall in love with Telfair. When I talked to him last week, he believed that there were two.
It looks as if Providence forward Ryan Gomes will test the draft waters. Gomes is coming off an incredible season at Providence and has about as much buzz as he's going to get. The scouts I talked to believe he's likely to be drafted somewhere in the late first round, though they acknowledge there's a possibility he could slip into round two.
The issue with Gomes is position. He was a four in college, but at 6-foot-7, he's going to have to transition to the three in the pros. That might be possible. He really improved his perimeter game this season, but scouts still aren't totally sold. If Gomes declares -- the NBA hasn't received his paperwork yet -- he'll probably wait to hire an agent and try to get a better feel for his stock.
Ronny Turiaf likely will declare for the draft, according to a source close to the Gonzaga junior. Turiaf, however, won't hire an agent immediately, preserving his collegiate eligibility, the same source said. Turiaf is in an interesting case. Some scouts love him, others aren't sold. He's competing against other power forwards such as Kris Humphries, Al Jefferson and Lawrence Roberts. Humphries seems to be the clear leader of the four. After that, Turiaf ends up anywhere from second to fourth on the list, depending on the team. My guess is he'd get drafted in the 20s. He has great size, good athleticism and can score in the paint. Those type of players don't come along often.
We may need to add another young international stud to the mix. Sources told Insider Thursday that French forward Johan Petro is mulling declaring for the draft. Petro is a 6-11, 245-pound power forward playing for French team Pau Orthez (the same team that gave the NBA Mickael Pietrus and Boris Diaw).
Petro has played limited minutes for Pau this year, but scouts love his athleticism, length, rebounding and aggressive defense. He's a little raw offensively, but he did average 17.8 ppg for the French national team last summer in the 18-and-under category. I don't know where you'd put him, but from the scouts I've talked to, he's got a pretty good shot to go in the first round.
Another day, another head scratcher. Baylor junior Harvey Thomas announced he'll forego his senior season and enter the draft. Given Baylor's current situation you can hardly blame him ... but still, it's very unlikely Thomas is an NBA first rounder.
