Knicks Notes: Anthony, Chandler, Jackson
Carmelo Anthony gave serious consideration during his free agency this past summer to relocating to Chicago. With the Knicks off to a 5-22 start, second-guessing his decision to return to New York would only be natural, but Anthony won’t allow himself to dwell on what might have been, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com writes. “If I start doing that and saying what if to myself and second-guessing and questioning myself, it won’t be right,” Anthony said. “For me, mentally it won’t be right, so I will not allow myself to sway toward asking myself what if with this situation or that situation. What’s done is done. I kinda don’t look at it. I kinda don’t think about it anymore. That’s in the past for me.”
Here’s more out of the Big Apple:
- Trading Tyson Chandler to the Mavs this past summer is coming back to haunt the Knicks this season, especially since team president Phil Jackson failed to garner an equal return on his most valuable trade asset in the swap with Dallas, Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal opines.
- As the Knicks’ struggles continue, the scapegoating of Chandler as the alleged source of New York’s difficulties last season seems more like a smokescreen by the team with every passing game, George Willis of The New York Post writes. Judging by the warm reception the big man received from his former teammates before and after Tuesday night’s game against Dallas at Madison Square Garden, Chandler seems to be genuinely missed, and New York seems to be dealing with much more internal strife than a season ago, sans Chandler, Willis notes.
- Reflecting back on the trade that sent Anthony from the Nuggets to the Knicks, a Denver executive marveled at how desperate New York’s front office was to obtain a player whom they could have just signed as a free agent a few months later, Frank Isola of The New York Daily News writes. “We were trying to figure out a way to create rosters spots because they were willing to give us anything we wanted,” said a Denver executive involved in the negotiations. “We kept thinking, ‘don’t they realize he’ll be a free agent in July?’ They could just sign him then.” Stripping the franchise of all those assets to obtain ‘Melo is still haunting the team to this day, Isola adds.
Jabari Parker Expected To Miss Rest Of Season
FRIDAY, 8:56am: Parker indeed has a torn ACL that the team expects will keep him out for the remainder of the season, the Bucks announced.
THURSDAY, 9:42pm: Bucks rookie Jabari Parker is expected to miss the remainder of the season with a suspected tear of the ACL in his left knee, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports. The rookie injured the knee during the third quarter of Monday night’s contest against the Suns when his knee buckled during a drive to the basket. This injury now means two of the top three picks in this year’s NBA draft are likely out for the season, including Joel Embiid, who was selected No. 3 overall by the Sixers. The team and Parker’s representatives are conferring on when the surgery will be scheduled for the first-year player, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets.
Milwaukee currently has 15 players on its roster, all of whom are on fully guaranteed contracts, which means the team would need to release a player and eat the remainder of their salary in order to add another player to the squad. With the Bucks currently under the salary cap they would be ineligible to apply for a Disabled Player Exception in order to sign another player.
Parker was the early favorite for Rookie of the Year honors through the first 25 games of the season, averaging 12.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 29.5 minutes per night. His slash line is .490/.250/.697.
And-Ones: Lopez, Matthews, Kings
Though there don’t appear to be any deals currently imminent, there is a tremendous amount of trade discussions going on amongst teams currently, far beyond the traditional mid-December volume, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter links). According to Wojnarowski, the most active franchises in terms of discussions are the Celtics, Pistons, Suns, Timberwolves, Hornets, Clippers, Pacers, Nets, Nuggets, and Rockets.
Here’s the latest from around the league:
- Robin Lopez‘s broken right hand will likely keep him out longer than expected. While the initial prognostication was that the Blazers big man would miss four weeks, Lopez tweeted (hat tip to The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman) that it would be six to seven weeks before he would be back on the hardwood again.
- The Cavs have made numerous attempts to work out a trade with the Blazers for Wesley Matthews, but barring an unexpected free fall in the standings, Portland isn’t expected to deal the swingman, Chris Haynes of The Northwest Ohio Media Group writes. Matthews will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, but the Blazers have every intention of re-signing him, Haynes adds.
- The Kings‘ firing of Mike Malone may provide an unexpected benefit to the franchise, Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders writes. Many expect the Kings to regress under interim coach Tyrone Corbin, and if that occurs the team should be able to hold onto its 2015 first-rounder. Sacramento’s 2015 first round draft pick is owed to the Bulls if it falls outside of the top 10.
Eastern Notes: Pistons, Celtics, Stephenson
Despite the Pistons‘ struggles thus far this season, team owner Tom Gores is happy with the direction that team president Stan Van Gundy has the franchise heading, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. “The hardest part for me actually was Stan wants to win so bad,” Gores said. “He genuinely just wants for us to make progress. So the hardest part for me is I know everybody’s working hard, and when you’re not winning, and you’re working hard, it’s kind of tough. Maybe it’s not going to show on the court every night, but I’m personally so comfortable that he’s doing the right things every single day, and eventually, it’s going to convert to wins.”
Here’s more from the East:
- The multitude of injuries the Heat have endured this season will test Pat Riley‘s patience and willingness not to sacrifice future cap space for a quick fix, Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report writes. Although, Miami’s lack of tradeable assets might make Riley’s decision easier than it would be otherwise, Skolnick adds.
- Based on the Celtics‘ current record (8-14) and their roster composition, it’s far more likely for them to be sellers than buyers on the trade market, Brian Robb of Boston.com writes. Brandon Bass and Jeff Green are especially likely targets since the pair are putting up strong offensive numbers over the first quarter of the season, notes Robb.
- As tempting as it may be for the Cavs to take a run at acquiring Lance Stephenson from the Hornets, Cleveland should steer clear of the mercurial player, Chris Fedor of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. Fedor asserts that Stephenson’s selfish attitude and disruptive locker room personality would far outweigh any good his skills would bring to the Cavs.
- There will be numerous complications involved for the Hornets in trying to rid themselves of Stephenson, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer writes. This is a situation that might require patience, notes Bonnell, since teams often don’t get serious about making an equitable deal until the trade deadline is near.
Western Notes: Crawford, Moreland, Brewer
Clippers guard Jamal Crawford is being mentioned quite a bit in exploratory trade talks, Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio reports (Twitter link). According to Amico, the Kings, Nuggets, and Thunder may take a run at acquiring the veteran guard, though no serious discussions are talking place just yet. In 23 appearances this season, Crawford is averaging 16.0 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 26.7 minutes per game.
Here’s the latest out of the West:
- The Kings have once again recalled Eric Moreland from the Reno Bighorns, their D-League affiliate, the team has announced. This was Moreland’s fifth sojourn of the season to Reno, and in seven appearances for the Bighorns he has averaged 13.7 points and 1.4 assists per contest.
- For the second time this season the Rockets have assigned Clint Capela to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s D-League affiliate, the team announced. The 6’10” rookie has made four appearances for the Rockets this season, recording a total of six rebounds, one assist, a steal and a block in 12 total minutes of playing time. In his first stint with the Vipers, Capela played in six games averaging 9.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.2 blocks in 14.1 minutes per contest.
- The Rockets‘ coaching staff is enamored with Corey Brewer and are still pursing a trade with the Wolves for the swingman, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities tweets. No deal is imminent, Wolfson adds.
- Kevin Durant refuted the notion that players around the league don’t want to play with Kobe Bryant, Sam Amick of USA Today writes. When asked if this perception is why the Lakers have been unable to make a splash in in free agency lately, Durant said, “Excuse my language, but that’s [expletive]. I want to play with a winner every single night, especially somebody who wants to win that bad, who works that hard, who demands a lot, who raises up your level. I’d want to play with a guy like that every day. His style may make people uncomfortable, how he acts and just how he approaches the game, but I love that type of stuff. I think [the accusation] is BS.”
Central Notes: Monroe, Parker, Hansbrough
Greg Monroe is growing weary of the trade rumors surrounding him and the Pistons, Vince Ellis of USA Today reports. “The same thing happened this summer,” Monroe said. “They put that stuff out there, say somebody said it, and then I got to answer for it. I really don’t have time for that. Especially right now. After losing 13 straight and finally getting a couple of games, and then you got to come in here and hear this when you getting ready for a game. At this point, it’s definitely annoying. We’re trying to turn things around here right now, and I gotta come in here and answer to stuff that I absolutely have nothing to do with. It is annoying, yes.”
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- After being drafted by the Bucks with the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s NBA draft, Jabari Parker said that he would like to remain in Milwaukee for his entire career, a statement Parker still stands by, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. “I want to be here as much as possible, I want to stay as long as possible,” Parker said. “I want to just grind it out and see what happens. Even if I were to slump and they wanted to trade me, I would probably want to try and get better so I could stay here.”
- The primary reason for Parker’s comfort level with the Bucks is how team owners Marc Lasry and Wes Edens have sold their vision for the future of the franchise to the young player, Deveney notes. “I feel very comfortable with them [Lasry and Edens],” Parker said. “A lot of times, when you think of ownership, it is almost like you think of slavery. You’re a piece of property. But with them, it is a partnership.”
- Ben Hansbrough will have his D-League rights rescinded by the Grand Rapids Drive, the Pistons‘ affiliate, to accommodate an overseas deal, Gino Pilato of D-League Digest reports (Twitter link). Hansbrough was in training camp with the Bulls this season.
- Larry Drew doesn’t harbor any resentment toward the Bucks after being fired as head coach so that Milwaukee could replace him with Jason Kidd, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. “I’ve seen stranger things happen,” Drew said. “Whether you think it’s fair or not, I don’t really dwell on that. I look back at guys who have been in similar situations and had stuff happen to them. I’ve learned to move on. I don’t any hard feelings about how things happened. Certainly, I wish it could have been handled a little differently [in Milwaukee] but it wasn’t.”
And-Ones: Poythress, Thunder, NBA Draft
Kentucky junior forward Alex Poythress suffered a torn left ACL during practice and will miss the remainder of season, the University announced via their official website. “Our team was devastated for Alex when I told them,” coach John Calipari said. “There were tears throughout the room because this hurt them to the core. How they will respond I really don’t know, but I will do my best to be there for each of these kids. I told them, this is a big blow to our team. No one will be able to replace Alex and what he did for this team. I go back to last year’s NCAA Tournament. Without Alex, we don’t win those games. No one will be able to replace him, but now everybody has to do a little bit more as we try to circle the wagons.” Poythress is currently the 47th ranked college prospect by DraftExpress.
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- The Thunder have once again recalled Mitch McGary and Grant Jerrett from the Oklahoma City Blue, their D-League affiliate, the team announced.
- The 2015 NBA draft is loaded with talented big men, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. Kennedy spoke with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, who believes that the lack of top point guard prospects is opening the door for a lot of bigs to potentially go in the first 30 picks. “I think that part of the reason why you’re seeing so many big men in our [DraftExpress’] top 30 is because this is a really weak class for point guards,” Givony told Kennedy. “There might be one point guard in our top 20 right now and maybe two in the first round, period. That just leaves a lot of spots open for the four other positions, including power forwards and centers. I think that’s why we’re seeing some of these bigs [in the top 30]. But it’s a nice class for big guys too. I do think this draft, as a whole, is much better than advertised so far.”
- Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders ran down which players are his picks for the top 10 prospects in the NBA who are 23 years old or younger. Topping Duncan’s list are Anthony Davis (Pelicans), Kyrie Irving (Cavs), and Jabari Parker (Bucks).
- The Kings have recalled Eric Moreland from the Reno Bighorns, their D-League affiliate, the team announced.
2014/15 Salary Rankings: Centers
Hoops Rumors is in the process of ranking the cap hit for each NBA player by position. I’ve already posted the point guard, shooting guard, small forward, and power forward salary rankings for the 2014/15 campaign. The next spot on the hardwood that I’ll be looking at is the center position for the 2014/15 season.
All told, NBA teams have committed a total of $383,653,157 in cap hits this season to the men tasked with patrolling the paint around the league. The average hit for the five spot this season is a more than respectable $5,048,068, with the Rockets’ Dwight Howard topping the list with a salary of $21,436,721.
It should be noted that teams won’t necessarily pay out every dollar listed here. There are quite a few players who have non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts. Some of those players will be sweating it out all the way until January 7th. That’s when teams must waive players with no specific guarantee date written into their contracts to avoid having to guarantee their salaries for the rest of the season. Most salaries align with cap hits, but that’s not the case for a player like Jeremy Lin, who’s getting close to $15MM from the Lakers this season even though his cap hit is little more than half that amount, because of the contract he signed through the Gilbert Arenas Provision. In addition, incentive clauses that a player either triggers or fails to meet can leave a player with more or less money than his cap hit reflects.
Still, the purpose of this list is to show the relative pay scale by position, which is why all contracts are included in this post. The only deals which were omitted were for players with non-guaranteed deals who were already waived.
The league’s centers are listed below, in descending order of salary:
- Dwight Howard (Rockets) $21,436,721
- Marc Gasol (Grizzlies) $15,829,688
- Brook Lopez (Nets) $15,719,062
- Roy Hibbert (Pacers) $14,898,938
- Tyson Chandler (Mavs) $14,846,887
- DeMarcus Cousins (Kings) $14,746,000
- Al Jefferson (Hornets) $13.5MM
- Andrew Bogut (Warriors) $12,972,973
- Joakim Noah (Bulls) $12.7MM
- Nikola Pekovic (Wolves) $12.1MM
- Al Horford (Hawks) $12MM
- DeAndre Jordan (Clippers) $11,440,123
- JaVale McGee (Nuggets) $11,250,000
- Larry Sanders (Bucks) $11MM
- Marcin Gortat (Wizards) $10,434,782
- Anderson Varejao (Cavs) $9,704,545
- Kendrick Perkins (Thunder) $9,654,342
- Jordan Hill (Lakers) $9MM
- Omer Asik (Pelicans) $8,374,646
- Robin Lopez (Blazers) $6,124,729
- Chuck Hayes (Raptors) $5,958,750
- Enes Kanter (Jazz) $5,694,674
- J.J. Hickson (Nuggets) $5,381,750
- Chris Andersen (Heat) $5,375,000
- Spencer Hawes (Clippers) $5,305,000
- Zaza Pachulia (Bucks) $5.2MM
- Chris Kaman (Blazers) $4.8MM
- Timofey Mozgov (Cavs) $4,650,000
- Joel Embiid (Sixers) $4,427,640
- Samuel Dalembert (Waived by Knicks) $4,051,527
- Cody Zeller (Hornets) $4,030,560
- Ian Mahinmi (Pacers) $4MM
- Kevin Seraphin (Wizards) $3,898,693
- Bismack Biyombo (Hornets) $3,873,398
- Joel Anthony (Pistons) $3.8MM
- Jonas Valanciunas (Raptors) $3,678,360
- Alex Len (Suns) $3,649,920
- Jason Smith (Knicks) $3,278,000
- Joel Freeland (Blazers) $3,013,512
- Kosta Koufos (Grizzlies) $3MM
- Nikola Vucevic (Magic) $2,751,260
- Udonis Haslem (Heat) $2,732,000
- Andre Drummond (Pistons) $2,568,360
- Meyers Leonard (Blazers) $2,317,920
- Brendan Haywood (Cavs) $2,213,688
- Steven Adams (Thunder) $2,184,960
- Vitor Faverani (Celtics) $2,090,000
- Kelly Olynyk (Celtics) $2,075,760
- DeJuan Blair (Wizards) $2MM
- Lucas Nogueira (Raptors) $1,762,680
- Jusuf Nurkic (Nuggets) $1,762,680
- Tyler Zeller (Celtics) $1,703,760
- Ronny Turiaf (Wolves) $1.5MM
- Gorgui Dieng (Wolves) $1,413,480
- Mason Plumlee (Nets) $1,357,080
- Pero Antic (Hawks) $1.25MM
- Clint Capela (Rockets) $1,189,200
- Miles Plumlee (Suns) $1,169,880
- Rudy Gobert (Jazz) $1,127,400
- Festus Ezeli (Warriors) $1,112,880
- Alexis Ajinca (Pelicans) $981,784
- Cole Aldrich (Knicks) $915,243
- Ryan Hollins (Kings) $915,243
- Nazr Mohammed (Bulls) $915,243
- Robert Sacre (Lakers) $915,243
- Henry Sims (Sixers) $915,243
- Greg Stiemsma (Raptors) $915,243
- Dewayne Dedmon (Magic) $816,482
- Justin Hamilton (Heat) $816,482
- Jerome Jordan (Nets) $816,482
- Ognjen Kuzmic (Warriors) $816,482
- Jeff Withey (Pelicans) $816,482
- Hassan Whiteside (Heat) $769,881
- Alex Kirk (Waived by Knicks) $507,336
- Fab Melo (Waived by Grizzlies) $437,080
- Miroslav Raduljica (Waived by Clippers) $300K
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Eastern Notes: Davies, Payton, Heat, D-League
Brandon Davies was asked about the perception that his former team, the Sixers, were tanking in a deliberate effort to land the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Davies denied that was the case amongst the players, and said, “One thing I can tell you in the locker room, we were set on winning. We were just going away. I think the games we played in showed that. We lost some close games against some really good teams.”
Here’s more from the East:
- Nets coach Lionel Hollins was disappointed that the Sixers waived Jorge Gutierrez, whom they had acquired along with Andrei Kirilenko on Wednesday, Pompey tweets.
- When the Magic drafted Elfrid Payton with the No. 10 pick in this year’s draft it appeared the plan was to play him and Victor Oladipo alongside each other, which hasn’t occured much this season, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com writes. But according to coach Jacque Vaughn, things can change as Payton continues to develop, notes Howard-Cooper. “I think overall we’ll see how this combination finds its way,” said Vaughn. “The great thing is I have my eyes, which I always listen to, and I also have stats these days, which I can look at and see how that pairing is doing. A lot of detail will go into it. But there’s no rush from the standpoint of ‘This has to happen now.’“
- The Heat‘s two young big men, Justin Hamilton and Hassan Whiteside, are beginning to impress coach Erik Spoelstra, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel writes. “They both do some nice things and they both do it in a different way,” Spoelstra said. “Justin is a very intelligent, in-the-right-place type of weak-side defender. He does a lot of things that don’t show up in a box score. He reminds me a little bit of a Shane Battier, does a lot of those intangible things. Whiteside is big and he has that great gift of blocking shots, so you know somebody is in there.”
- The Heat have assigned Whiteside and Shabazz Napier to the Sioux Falls Skyforce, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be the first trek of the season to the D-League for both players.
- With both the Lakers and the Knicks struggling mightily this season, and both franchises’ future prospects looking equally bleak, Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony should find a way to become teammates, Paul Newberry of The Associated Press opines. Newberry does acknowledge that the players’ respective contracts would make this a difficult proposition.
2015 NBA Draft Prospect Power Rankings
The 2015 NBA draft is still a long way away, and the remaining four months of NCAA action 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. Still, front offices and scouting departments throughout the NBA are already 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 the current top 20 players in descending order:
1 Jahlil Okafor-C (Duke/Freshman)
-6’11”, 272 pounds
–DraftExpress Rank: No. 1
–ESPN Rank: No. 1
–Stats: 17.1 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 1.5 BPG. .646/.000/.520.
Okafor has certainly lived up to the hype that surrounded him before he set foot on Duke’s campus. A true center, he has excellent athleticism and is remarkably polished on offense for a freshman big man. He has an NBA-ready body and should continue to develop into an absolute monster down in the paint. His defense will need work when he gets to the pros, which isn’t uncommon, but his potential is off the charts. It will take quite a bit to knock him out of the top slot in the upcoming draft.
2 Karl-Anthony Towns-PF/C (Kentucky/Freshman)
-7’0″, 250 pounds
–DraftExpress Rank: No. 3
–ESPN Rank: No. 3
–Stats: 9.1 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 2.8 BPG. .538/.200/.714.
Towns may end up being better in the long run than Okafor, but for now, he is still a project on the offensive end. He can get by in college using his superior athleticism, but he’ll need to develop his post game if he wants to become a star in the NBA. Towns will be fun to watch on the fast break, but in half-court sets he’ll be reduced to alley-oops and putbacks during his rookie campaign. He’s already an intimidating defender, which will translate nicely to the next level, although Towns will need to become more disciplined, or else he’ll be foul-prone, and end up spending more time on the bench than on the hardwood.
3 Emmanuel Mudiay-PG (Guangdong)
-6’5″, 200 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 2
-ESPN Rank: No. 2
-Stats: 18.9 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 6.3 APG. .493/.321/.586
Mudiay took the less conventional route when he passed up a chance to attend SMU and signed with Guangdong of the Chinese Basketball Association instead. Mudiay is easily the most talented guard in the draft, and his size and speed are NBA-ready. The injury to his ankle may shut him down for the rest of the CBA season, since his family has hinted that Mudiay might leave China early to prepare himself for the NBA draft as well as to avoid any further injuries that could damage his draft stock. The 18-year-old could easily become the top pick in the draft, depending on how the ping-pong balls drop when determining the lottery order.
4 Justise Winslow-SF (Duke/Freshman)
-6’6″, 221 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 4
-ESPN Rank: No. 6
-Stats: 12.0 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 2.1 APG. .456/.385/.600.
Winslow is a fast riser on many draft boards thanks to his fantastic athleticism. He’s not a great perimeter scorer, which is a negative for a wing player, though he’s shown the ability to knock down three-pointers thus far this season. Winslow has a solid frame, and he projects as a potentially elite defender. Couple that with his maturity and leadership abilities, and it’s easy to see why so many scouts are so high on this freshman.
5 Stanley Johnson-SF (Arizona/Freshman)
-6’7″, 237 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 6
-ESPN Rank: No. 9
-Stats: 13.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG, and 1.7 SPG. .468/.385/.714.
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 Johnson was coming out of UNLV. The biggest knock on Stanley Johnson is his severely limited outside game. There isn’t much call in the league these days for wings who can’t stretch the floor, so Johnson will need to show significant improvement as the season wears on, or he’ll risk dropping out of the top 10. But I love his aggressiveness, defense, and rebounding.
6 Kristaps Porzingis-PF (Baloncesto Sevilla)
-7’0″, 220 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 9
-ESPN Rank: No. 4
-Stats: 9.5 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 1.3 BPG. .472/.436/.737.
I have only seen limited film on Porzingis, but all the scouting reports that I have read laud the 19-year-old’s offensive skills. I’ve grown to be immediately skeptical of European big men who are projected as lottery picks, due to the large number of draft busts among their ranks, and that holds true for Porzingis. He has an excellent three-point stroke and is surprisingly athletic. He projects as a stretch four who can also play small forward, but Porzingis will struggle mightily on the defensive end. He’s not even close to being strong enough to hold his ground in the post, and he isn’t quick enough to stay with faster wings on the perimeter. 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 judging by the buzz around him, Porzingis will likely be selected much higher than that.
7 Kevon Looney-PF (UCLA/Freshman)
-6’9″, 220 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 8
-ESPN Rank: No. 5
-Stats: 13.9 PPG, 11.2 RPG, and 1.8 BPG. .473/.154/.662.
Looney is rising swiftly up the draft boards thanks to his athleticism and strong early season production. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite players in the draft. Looney’s a bit of a tweener, similar to Aaron Gordon a year ago in that respect. Looney has decent outside range, which I think will improve with practice and coaching. He’s also an excellent rebounder and a plus defender at either forward position, though he’ll need to add some bulk to guard NBA power forwards. I’ve also been impressed with his ball-handling and passing, and both are skills that will translate well to the pros. Looney might not crack the top five selections, but if that is the case, whichever team he falls to could be getting a steal.
8 Myles Turner-C (Texas/Freshman)
-6’11”, 242 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 12
-ESPN Rank: No. 7
-Stats: 11.4 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 2.9 BPG. .509/.308/.853.
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. But his upside is too good for him to go outside the top 10.
9 Cliff Alexander-PF/C (Kansas/Freshman)
-6’9″, 254 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 15
-ESPN Rank: No. 13
-Stats: 9.6 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 1.4 BPG. .550/.000/.702.
Alexander is a bit undersized for his position, but he makes up for it with his 7’3″ wingspan. He possesses a tantalizing mixture of strength and athleticism, and he’s a rampaging beast in the paint. Alexander lacks a mid-range game, and he also doesn’t have a great grasp of nuances yet, which will slow his learning curve down a bit. But he has a ceiling similar to that of Lakers rookie Julius Randle, without the concerns on the defensive end that followed the Kentucky product into the NBA prior to his season-ending injury. Look for Alexander to continue to rise in the draft projections as the season progresses.
10 Willie Cauley-Stein-C (Kentucky/Junior)
-7’0″, 244 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 10
-ESPN Rank: No. 16
-Stats: 10.3 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 1.6 BPG. .618/.000/.633.
Cauley-Stein surprised many when he elected to return to Kentucky for his junior season, especially with the influx of talent the university had arriving this season. But the move should pay off for the 7-footer who reminds me quite a bit of a young Tyson Chandler. Cauley-Stein is very limited on the offensive end, mostly relying on putbacks to score his points. He isn’t as good a rebounder as he should be, though I suspect he’ll improve over time. A team needing a rim protector could do a lot worse than plugging Cauley-Stein into its rotation next season.
11 D’Angelo Russell-SG (Ohio State/Freshman)
-6’5″, 176 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 11
-ESPN Rank: No. 10
-Stats: 18.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 5.4 APG. .482/.442/.750.
Russell is already a polished scorer with a lethal outside touch. 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. Russell also has the ability to play the point for stretches, which will serve to increase his value as a rotation piece at the NBA level. The two main knocks against Russell are that he needs to get stronger and that he has a tendency to disappear for long stretches during games and coast. He has a nice upside and should turn into a solid NBA player in a few seasons.
12 Mario Hezonja-SG (Barcelona Regal)
-6’7″, 200 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 5
-ESPN Rank: No. 8
-Stats: 4.7 PPG, 1.8 RPG, and 1.2 APG. .483/.357/.692.
Here’s another foreign player whom I have seen limited tape on. 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 more development before making the jump to the NBA. Hezonja is very athletic and can light it up from the outside, but he’s a poor defender. 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.
13 Montrezl Harrell-PF (Louisville/Junior)
-6’8″, 243 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 17
-ESPN Rank: No. 15
-Stats: 16.8 PPG, 9.6 RPG, and 1.3 APG. .614/.214/.574.
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, which could end up lowering his draft stock as well as his ceiling as a player.
14 Chris McCullough-PF (Syracuse/Freshman)
-6’9″, 200 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 24
-ESPN Rank: No. 11
-Stats: 14.4 PPG, 8.9 RPG, and 2.4 BPG. .563/1.000/.545.
McCullough is another player shooting up the draft boards after arriving at Syracuse with minimal fanfare and hype. He is extremely athletic, boasts a 7’3″ wingspan, and can jump out of the gym. He’s also a very strong rebounder and should become a defensive force as he matures. I like McCullough a lot, and expect him to finish the year much higher on this list.
15 Rondae Hollis-Jefferson-SF (Arizona/Sophomore)
-6’6″, 212 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 19
-ESPN Rank: No. 22
-Stats: 12.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 1.9 APG. .585/.300/.745.
There’s a lot to like about Hollis-Jefferson’s game and draft potential. As a player, he reminds me of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and not just because of the hyphenated last name. Hollis-Jefferson is extremely athletic, exciting in transition, a good rebounder for his size, and a good defender. But he does come with limitations similar to Kidd-Gilchrist’s, mainly in his lack of a reliable outside game. While he boasts a decent mid-range jump shot, he makes his living attacking the basket, an aspect that doesn’t always translate to the NBA, thanks to the far superior athleticism college players face when making the jump to the pros.
16 Frank Kaminsky-C (Wisconsin/Senior)
-7’0″, 242 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 14
-ESPN Rank: No. 18
-Stats: 16.6 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 2.1 BPG. .539/.424/.683.
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.
17 Caris LeVert-SG (Michigan/Junior)
-6’7″, 200 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 13
-ESPN Rank: No. 17
-Stats: 17.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 4.1 APG. .453/.489/.833.
LeVert is reaping the benefits of Nik Stauskas having departed Michigan for the NBA, and he has the potential to rise up the draft rankings rather quickly if he continues to improve as the season wears on. LeVert is an excellent athlete, has a solid outside game, and can play either wing position. His defense will definitely need some work, and he’ll need to get stronger if he hopes to be able to survive and thrive in the NBA. Still, I wouldn’t be the least bit shocked if LeVert sneaks into the lottery when all is said and done.
18 Dakari Johnson-C (Kentucky/Sophomore)
-6’11”, 263 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 25
-ESPN Rank: No. 25
-Stats: 9.4 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 1.0 BPG. .646/.000/.542.
Johnson’s draft stock will suffer because of Kentucky’s ridiculous depth the last two seasons, but he’s a player who could help quite a few NBA teams in the long run. Johnson isn’t afraid to mix it up in the post area, and he’s an excellent and ferocious rebounder. His post defense is decent enough, though he’s not a great shot-blocker. Johnson is competent around the rim on offense, but he has a very limited array of post moves. He’ll be a serviceable backup in the NBA, but he’ll require significant time in the D-League during his rookie season in order to develop.
19 Kelly Oubre-SF (Kansas/Freshman)
-6’6″, 204 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 7
-ESPN Rank: No. 12
-Stats: 2.8 PPG, 2.1 RPG, and 0.5 APG. .333/.286/.800.
Oubre’s draft stock has taken a hit since the beginning of the season. He hasn’t gained Kansas coach Bill Self’s confidence yet and is only seeing limited minutes. Oubre has looked every bit like a freshman when he has played, and he’s often appeared lost on the court. But he’s a tremendous athletic talent who I believe will figure things out by the end of the season, and he should end up a top-10 pick when all is said and done. Oubre simply has too much talent to slide too far in the draft, though he’s a player who would benefit greatly from another year in school, however unlikely that scenario is.
20 Tyus Jones-PG (Duke/Freshman)
-6’1″, 184 pounds
-DraftExpress Rank: No. 21
-ESPN Rank: No. 29
-Stats: 10.5 PPG, 3.3 RPG, and 5.8 APG. .462/.360/.844.
Jones creeps into the top 20 thanks to his fantastic six-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio and the lack of quality point guards at the top of this draft class, aside from Mudiay. 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 potential lottery sleeper pick.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.