2018 NBA Draft Big Board 1.1: Combine Edition

USATSI_10724989_168384702_lowres

This past weekend dozens of prospects spent their time in Quest Multisport gym testing and scrimmaging in front of NBA teams. They all had the same goal – to improve their draft stock ahead of private team workouts, and ultimately, draft night. Curious to hear how they did? I’ll get right to it, highlighting the prospects that saw their stocks rise and fall over the weekend in my latest edition of the Big Board.

Risers

Luka Doncic: Yes, I know Luka wasn’t at the combine. He was too busy winning a titles against grown men overseas. I have had Luka as my #1 prospect for this draft class for 12+ months, so is he really rising? Yes. Winning a Euroleague title while adding a Euroleague Final Four MVP and Euroleague MVP awards to his trophy cabinet over the past few days only further solidifies his position as the most accomplished prospect of my lifetime – and the diamond of this draft class.

Mohamed BambaA 7-10 wingspan? Need I say more? Bamba still needs to prove that he can be a consistent scoring threat, and improvements to his shooting mechanics will go a long way for his career success. With Rudy Gobert-like length and agility, Bamba projects with a safe floor similar to current-state Myles Turner: a center that can be a disruptive force defensively while finishing at the rim and hitting some 3’s. Mo’s upside is tantalizing if he fills out his body. Broad shoulders but narrow hips will not work against bigs in the NBA, who will hip check him out of rebounding position.

Donte DiVincenzo: Still technically testing the waters so far in the draft process, Donte’s athletic testing and performance at the scrimmage should give him the confidence to leave Villanova. Donte has all the pre-requisite traits to have a successful NBA career with the way the league values shooting, playmaking, and defensive flexibility. As a combo-guard I’m sold on his ability to provide efficient offense while holding his own defensively on the perimeter. Donte deserves strong consideration late in the lottery if he stays in the draft.

Kevin Huerter: Not going to lie, Huerter came out of nowhere for me. He has nice height and decent athleticism but probably won’t be a contributor defensively. That means his professional success depends solely on how efficient he will be on the offensive end. Kevin looked really comfortable playing with some of the higher-rated prospects and has a fluid stroke. Perhaps not quite Kyle Korver but hopefully better than Kyle Singler, it’s possible he becomes this year’s Kyle Kuzma! Huerter should be on the radar for teams looking for complimentary role players that can spread the floor.

Fallers

Deandre AytonFor a prospect being touted as a safe bet, I have some serious concerns. Ayton clearly knows how to score inside and out and will NOT be another Jahlil Okafor. That doesn’t mean he will immediately be a 20-10 machine like many talent evaluators believe. His fluidity is eye-catching and I believe in his stroke when he pops out to 20 feet. I’m open to the idea of him eventually knocking down 3’s. But I’m having a hard time convincing myself that a team can build an above average defensive lineup around him. How many centers on this year’s playoff teams have succeeded without being able to defend the paint AND switch out to the perimeter? Ayton’s struggles in both respects are not to be ignored.

Michael Porter Jr.: A legitimate argument could be made that his younger brother Jontay is the most skilled basketball player in the family. That means Michael needs to be an extremely effective scorer to justify being drafted in the top five of this draft. I’m not a doctor and I don’t have his medical papers, so no need to speculate on his health right now, but it is definitely a concern that teams will monitor closely. Michael will need to prove before June 21st that he can develop the requisite play-making skills to become a multi-faceted offensive player that can accommodate for his potentially limited defensive ceiling. Otherwise why would a team take a risk on him with someone like Miles Bridges possibly available in a trade-down scenario?

Collin Sexton: Notice a theme here? None of the prospects in my fallers category participated in the combine.  All three of them still have  questions about their games that I wish we could have seen answered this weekend. This is nothing against what Sexton accomplished at Alabama this year – he remarkably had one of the best moments of the year playing three-on-five, carried his squad into the postseason, and led them to victory over a tough Virginia Tech team. His performance against NBA-level prospects on Villanova is foreboding for some of his potential struggles in the league. Short and quick waterbug guards are a dime a dozen in the league and most end up as bench scorers. Dennis Smith and De’Aaron Fox are examples of similar prototypes with a more elite package of skills and athleticism coming out of college, and their rookie struggles serve as a somber reminder of Sexton’s uphill battle when he joins the league. He will need to channel that determination he exhibited playing three-on-five to prove the skeptics wrong.

Rank PLAYER POS TEAM AGE HEIGHT WINGSPAN
1 Luka Doncic PG Real Madrid 19.2 6-8 N/A
2 Jaren Jackson PF/C Michigan St 18.7 6-10 7-5
3 Mohamed Bamba C Texas 20 7-0 7-10
4 DeAndre Ayton C Arizona 19.8 7-0 7-5
5 Trae Young PG Oklahoma 19.7 6-2 6-3
6 Marvin Bagley PF/C Duke 19.2 6-11 7-0½
7 Mikal Bridges SF Villanova 21.8 6-7 7-2
8 Wendell Carter Jr. C Duke 19.2 6-10 7-4.5
9 Miles Bridges SF/PF Michigan St 20.2 6-6 6-9
10 Zhaire Smith SF Texas Tech 19.1 6-4 6-10
11 Michael Porter Jr. SF/PF Missouri 19.9 6-10 7-0
12 Kevin Knox SF/PF Kentucky 18.9 6-9 7-0
13 Jontay Porter C Missouri 18.6 6-11 7-0
14 Robert Williams PF/C Texas A&M 20.7 6-10 7-5½
15 Collin Sexton PG Alabama 19.4 6-2 6-7
16 Troy Brown SG Oregon 18.9 6-7 6-10
17 Dzanan Musa SF Cedevita 19.2 6-9 6-8½
18 Mitchell Robinson C N/A 20.3 6-11 7-4
19 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander PG/SG Kentucky 20 6-6 7-0
20 Donte DiVincenzo PG/SG Villanova 21.5 6-5 6-6
21 Lonnie Walker IV SG Miami FL 19.6 6-5 6-10
22 Anfernee Simons PG/SG Team Breakdown 19.1 6-3 6-10
23 Khyri Thomas SG Creighton 22.2 6-4 6-10
24 Jacob Evans SF Cincinnati 21.1 6-6 6-9
25 Hamidou Diallo SG Kentucky 19.9 6-6 7-0
26 Keita Bates-Diop SF/PF Ohio St 22.5 6-9 7-3
27 Chandler Hutchison SG/SF Boise St 22.2 6-7 N/A
28 Jalen Brunson PG Villanova 21.8 6-1 6-4
29 Rawle Alkins SG Arizona 20.7 6-4 6-9
30 De’Anthony Melton PG/SG USC 20.2 6-3 6-8
31 Moritz Wagner C Michigan 21.3 6-11 7-0
32 Shake Milton PG/SG SMU 21.8 6-6 7-0½
33 Aaron Holiday PG UCLA 21.8 6-1 6-7½
34 Grayson Allen SG Duke 22.7 6-5 6-7
35 Kevin Huerter SG/SF Maryland 19.6 6-7 6-7½
36 Tyus Battle SG/SF Syracuse 20.9 6-7 6-9
37 Bruce Brown SG Miami FL 22 6-5 6-9
38 Malik Newman PG/SG Kansas 21.5 6-4 6-6
39 Melvin Frazier SF Tulane 21.9 6-6 7-2
40 Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk SG Kansas 21.1 6-8 6-5
41 Chimezie Metu C USC 21.3 6-10 7-0½
42 Josh Okogie SG Georgia Tech 19.8 6-4½ 7-0
43 Devonte’ Graham PG Kansas 23.4 6-2 6-6
44 Goga Bitadze C Mega Bemax 19 6-11 7-2
45 Jevon Carter PG West Virginia 22.9 6-2 6-4
46 Jalen Hudson SG Florida 22.2 6-5 N/A
47 Isaac Bonga SF Frankfurt 18.7 6-9 7-0
48 Gary Clark SF/PF Cincinnati 23.5 6-8 N/A
49 Trevon Duval PG Duke 20 6-3 6-8
50 Jarred Vanderbilt SF/PF Kentucky 19.4 6-8 7-1
51 Gary Trent SG Duke 19.5 6-6 6-9
52 Tony Carr PG/SG Penn St 20.8 6-4½ 6-8
53 Jerome Robinson PG/SG Boston College 21.5 6-5 6-7
54 Kevin Hervey SF/PF Texas Arlington 22 6-8 7-3½
55 Rodions Kurucs SF/PF Barcelona 20.4 6-10 N/A
56 Elie Okobo PG Pau-Orthez 20.8 6-3 N/A
57 Landry Shamet PG Wichita St 21.3 6-5 6-8
58 Omari Spellman PF/C Villanova 20.8 6-9 7-2
59 Arnoldas Kulboka SF Capo D’Orlando 20.5 6-10 6-11
60 Allonzo Trier SG Arizona 22.5 6-5 6-7
61 Justin Jackson SF/PF Maryland 21.4 6-7 7-3
62 Kostja Mushidi SG/SF Mega Leks 19.4 6-5
63 Brandon McCoy C UNLV 20.1 7-0 7-2
64 PJ Washington PF Kentucky 20 6-8 7-3
65 Shamorie Ponds PG St. John’s 20 6-1 6-3
66 Ray Spalding PF/C Louisville 21.4 6-10 7-5
67 Ethan Happ PF/C Wisconsin 22.2 6-10 6-8
68 Tryggvi Hlinason C Valencia 20.7 7-1 N/A
69 Vincent Edwards SF/PF Purdue 22.3 6-8 7-0
70 Sagaba Konate C West Virginia 20.9 6-8 7-0
71 Jarrey Foster SG SMU 21.7 6-6 N/A
72 Kerwin Roach SG Texas 21.8 6-3 N/A
73 DJ Hogg SF/PF Texas A&M 21.9 6-9 6-10½
74 Kris Wilkes SF/PF UCLA 19.9 6-8 6-10
75 Carsen Edwards PG Purdue 20.4 6-0 6-6
76 Yusuf Sanon PG/SG Olimpija Ljubljana 18.8 6-4 N/A
77 Lindell Wigginton PG Iowa St 20.4 6-2 6-3½
78 Karim Jallow SF Bayern Muenchen 21.3 6-7 6-8
79 Bonzie Colson PF Notre Dame 22.5 6-5 6-11½
80 Kenrich Williams SG/SF TCU 23.8 6-7 6-8
81 Amine Noua PF Villeurbanne 21.4 6-8 N/A
82 Austin Wiley C Auburn 19.6 6-11 7-5
83 Terence Davis SG Mississippi 21.1 6-4 N/A
84 Alize Johnson PF Missouri St 22.2 6-8 6-9
85 MiKyle McIntosh SF/PF Oregon 24.1 6-7 6-10
86 O’Shae Brissett PF Syracuse 20 6-9 6-11
87 Marko Simonovic PF/C Siena 18.7 7-0 N/A
88 Quinton Rose SF Temple 20.4 6-8 6-8
89 Billy Preston PF Igokea 20.7 6-10 7-0½
90 Aleksa Radanov SG FMP 20.4 6-8 N/A
91 Tadas Sedekerskis SF Nevezis 20.5 6-10 6-9½
92 Kostas Antetokounmpo SF Dayton 20.7 6-10 7-2
93 Matur Maker C Team Loaded VA 20.5 6-10 7-2
94 Abdoulaye N’doye PG Cholet 20.3 6-7 7-2
95 Isaac Haas C Purdue 22.8 7-2 7-4
96 Karim Jallow SF Bayern Muenchen 21.2 6-7 6-8
97 Markis McDuffie SF Wichita St 20.8 6-8 N/A
98 Brian Bowen SF N/A 19.8 6-7 6-10
99 Malik Pope SF San Diego St 21.9 6-10 7-2
100 Aric Holman PF/C Mississippi St. 21 6-10 N/A
101 Maximo Fjellerup SF/PF Bahia Blanca 20.6 6-7 N/A
102 Donte Grantham SF Clemson 23.3 6-8 N/A
103 Vasilis Charalampopoulos PF PAOK 21.5 6-9 N/A
104 Viny Okouo C Malaga 21.2 7-2 N/A
105 Vanja Marinkovic SG Partizan 21.5 6-7 6-7
106 Jeffrey Carroll SF Oklahoma St 23.7 6-6 6-6½

Arrow to top