An NBA executive told Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (via Twitter) that how college players perform in the NCAA tournament plays a large role in how NBA scouts view them leading up to the draft. As more teams secure their spots in March Madness this weekend, let’s take a look at the rumors surrounding this year’s draft class:
- The same exec told Amico that junior LaQuinton Ross and senior Aaron Craft of Ohio State are both on his draft board in the early second round (Twitter link).
- As Jonathan Givony of Draft Express tweets, Andrew Wiggins has surpassed his Kansas teammate Joel Embiid atop his latest mock draft. As we learned last night, Embiid’s back issues will undoubtedly put the microscope on the talented center when it comes time for medical testing at the draft combine.
- Scouts agree with Givony’s projection according to Adam Zagoria, as the SNY insider cites ESPN’s Chad Ford and NBA scouts in a tweet indicating that Wiggins has risen back to the top of many draft boards in light of his 71 combined points in the Jayhawks’ last two games.
- One executive that likely saw Wiggins hang 30 on Oklahoma State yesterday was Lakers’ GM Mitch Kupchak, who is in Kansas City this week for the Big 12 tournament according to Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report. Along with Wiggins and Embiid, Ding mentions the Cowboys’ Marcus Smart as a potential target, also adding that scouting director Jesse Buss (youngest son of Jerry) and assistant scouting director Ryan West (son of Jerry) aid Kupchak in the team’s draft process.
Cray Allred contributed to this post.