Update: Who's staying in the draft?
posted: Monday, May 15, 2006 |
We know who has declared for the draft, so NBA executives have changed their focus to a new question: Who's actually staying in the draft?We're still a month away from getting definitive answers, but here is the buzz on some prominent underclassmen who declared but, to preserve their eligibility, didn't hire agents.
Josh Boone,
PF/C, UConn: It looks like Boone is strongly leaning toward keeping his name in the draft at this point, despite the fact that he's not projected by NBA executives as a lock for the first round.
Boone does have the size and athleticism to help him move up in the draft, and the early word from workouts is that he's been impressive.
Bobby Brown,
G, Cal State Fullerton: He hasn't officially hired an agent yet, but there are several indications that it's only a formality at this point. Brown isn't sure what another year at Fullerton really can do to help his draft stock.
He's been working out in L.A., and the word is that he's looked great. Expect him to play in the pre-draft camp. A few NBA execs think he's a sleeper. A great performance in Orlando could prove them right.
Shannon Brown,
SG, Michigan State: Shannon Brown is the best player on this list and the most likely to end up with some first-round love.
He is working out in Chicago and has a major workout in front of 10 NBA teams Thursday. He's been staying away from travel to keep his expenses down in case he returns to school, but chances are he's staying in the draft. The majority of the NBA executives I've spoken with have him in the late teens or early 20s of the first round, and that's high enough to keep Brown in the draft.
Quincy Douby,
SG, Rutgers: No one I've talked to has ever believed Douby was seriously considering going back to school, and the early word is he's considering hiring an agent soon and making it official that he's staying in the draft.
According to one scout who's seen him recently, teams are going to drool over how well Douby strokes the ball.
"I'm not saying he's a better shooter than J.J. Redick," the scout said, "but when you see how well he shoots it, then look at all of the tools he has that Redick doesn't, it makes you wonder why a team would ever take Redick ahead of this kid. I think he's going higher than [most people] think."
We have Douby ranked No. 27 on our Top 100. If Douby shoots well in workouts with teams, that scout might be right.
Jordan Farmar,
PG, UCLA: The early indications are that Farmar is leaning strongly toward keeping his name in the draft.
While it's clear he could use another year of seasoning in college, this is a terrible draft for point guards, meaning Farmar could be one of the guys who benefits from it.
Nick Fazekas,
PF, Nevada: He's not hearing a lot of positives right now, but he's hoping that workouts can show teams he's stronger and more athletic than he looked at Nevada.
Part of Fazekas' problem is that he runs in a way that makes him look awkward. His camp is confident he'll look better in workouts.
However, from what I'm hearing, if the deadline to stay in the draft were today he would be better of heading back to Nevada and spending the summer in the weight room.
Daniel Gibson,
G, Texas: While Gibson doesn't have a lot of fans among NBA executives at the moment, it takes only one.
The scuttlebutt around the league is that he's acting like a guy who's staying in the draft. Right now, he's still a second-rounder on our board, however.
Leon Powe,
PF, California: He has received a clean bill of health from doctors and has been spending the last month in the Bay Area rehabbing his knee and trying to regain the explosiveness he once possessed. So far the feedback we've heard from teams has largely been positive on that end.
The problems for Powe are size (he's closer to 6-foot-7 or maybe even 6-6½) and shooting touch.
On the plus side, Powe's reach can make up some of the size concerns. And from what I've heard, the shooting touch has been better than advertised most days.
He will likely remain one of the two or three toughest players in the draft to project until we hear more specifics from team doctors about his knee. We have him ranked at No. 28, but he could rise 10 spots or fall 10-20 spots depending on what teams think about the long-term health of his knee.
Cedric Simmons,
PF, North Carolina State: A month ago it looked certain that Simmons was going to stay in the draft as a strong first-round candidate whose coach had just bolted.
But the hiring of Sidney Lowe may change that. Lowe is lobbying hard for Simmons to return to school for another season. Lowe, who's been a head coach in the NBA twice, is promising Simmons he can better prepare him for the NBA and help him raise his stock in the next year.
However, Simmons is being pulled by agents and some NBA teams who want him in the draft. It should be interesting to see who wins this tug-of-war. Our money is on the money.
"I feel like if you work hard you're going to get better either way, here at State or in the NBA," Simmons told the Wilmington Star-News.
When asked what the plus-minus of returning to State is, Simmons replied, "There really is no plus-minus -- the plus-minus is money."
P.J. Tucker,
F, Texas: The early word is that he's waiting to see what Gibson does before making a final decision.
But from what we've heard about Gibson, it sounds like he's got one foot in the door.
Tucker is another player who's tough to project. One point of comparison: As undersized power forwards go, Powe is better in almost every area.
posted: Monday, May 15, 2006 |
We know who has declared for the draft, so NBA executives have changed their focus to a new question: Who's actually staying in the draft?We're still a month away from getting definitive answers, but here is the buzz on some prominent underclassmen who declared but, to preserve their eligibility, didn't hire agents.
Josh Boone,
PF/C, UConn: It looks like Boone is strongly leaning toward keeping his name in the draft at this point, despite the fact that he's not projected by NBA executives as a lock for the first round.
Boone does have the size and athleticism to help him move up in the draft, and the early word from workouts is that he's been impressive.
Bobby Brown,
G, Cal State Fullerton: He hasn't officially hired an agent yet, but there are several indications that it's only a formality at this point. Brown isn't sure what another year at Fullerton really can do to help his draft stock.
He's been working out in L.A., and the word is that he's looked great. Expect him to play in the pre-draft camp. A few NBA execs think he's a sleeper. A great performance in Orlando could prove them right.
Shannon Brown,
SG, Michigan State: Shannon Brown is the best player on this list and the most likely to end up with some first-round love.
He is working out in Chicago and has a major workout in front of 10 NBA teams Thursday. He's been staying away from travel to keep his expenses down in case he returns to school, but chances are he's staying in the draft. The majority of the NBA executives I've spoken with have him in the late teens or early 20s of the first round, and that's high enough to keep Brown in the draft.
Quincy Douby,
SG, Rutgers: No one I've talked to has ever believed Douby was seriously considering going back to school, and the early word is he's considering hiring an agent soon and making it official that he's staying in the draft.
According to one scout who's seen him recently, teams are going to drool over how well Douby strokes the ball.
"I'm not saying he's a better shooter than J.J. Redick," the scout said, "but when you see how well he shoots it, then look at all of the tools he has that Redick doesn't, it makes you wonder why a team would ever take Redick ahead of this kid. I think he's going higher than [most people] think."
We have Douby ranked No. 27 on our Top 100. If Douby shoots well in workouts with teams, that scout might be right.
Jordan Farmar,
PG, UCLA: The early indications are that Farmar is leaning strongly toward keeping his name in the draft.
While it's clear he could use another year of seasoning in college, this is a terrible draft for point guards, meaning Farmar could be one of the guys who benefits from it.
Nick Fazekas,
PF, Nevada: He's not hearing a lot of positives right now, but he's hoping that workouts can show teams he's stronger and more athletic than he looked at Nevada.
Part of Fazekas' problem is that he runs in a way that makes him look awkward. His camp is confident he'll look better in workouts.
However, from what I'm hearing, if the deadline to stay in the draft were today he would be better of heading back to Nevada and spending the summer in the weight room.
Daniel Gibson,
G, Texas: While Gibson doesn't have a lot of fans among NBA executives at the moment, it takes only one.
The scuttlebutt around the league is that he's acting like a guy who's staying in the draft. Right now, he's still a second-rounder on our board, however.
Leon Powe,
PF, California: He has received a clean bill of health from doctors and has been spending the last month in the Bay Area rehabbing his knee and trying to regain the explosiveness he once possessed. So far the feedback we've heard from teams has largely been positive on that end.
The problems for Powe are size (he's closer to 6-foot-7 or maybe even 6-6½) and shooting touch.
On the plus side, Powe's reach can make up some of the size concerns. And from what I've heard, the shooting touch has been better than advertised most days.
He will likely remain one of the two or three toughest players in the draft to project until we hear more specifics from team doctors about his knee. We have him ranked at No. 28, but he could rise 10 spots or fall 10-20 spots depending on what teams think about the long-term health of his knee.
Cedric Simmons,
PF, North Carolina State: A month ago it looked certain that Simmons was going to stay in the draft as a strong first-round candidate whose coach had just bolted.
But the hiring of Sidney Lowe may change that. Lowe is lobbying hard for Simmons to return to school for another season. Lowe, who's been a head coach in the NBA twice, is promising Simmons he can better prepare him for the NBA and help him raise his stock in the next year.
However, Simmons is being pulled by agents and some NBA teams who want him in the draft. It should be interesting to see who wins this tug-of-war. Our money is on the money.
"I feel like if you work hard you're going to get better either way, here at State or in the NBA," Simmons told the Wilmington Star-News.
When asked what the plus-minus of returning to State is, Simmons replied, "There really is no plus-minus -- the plus-minus is money."
P.J. Tucker,
F, Texas: The early word is that he's waiting to see what Gibson does before making a final decision.
But from what we've heard about Gibson, it sounds like he's got one foot in the door.
Tucker is another player who's tough to project. One point of comparison: As undersized power forwards go, Powe is better in almost every area.
