Six Kentucky players participated in last week’s NBA draft combine in Chicago in preparation for the draft later this month, but Ed Isaacson of www.NBADraftBlog.com (@NBADraftBlog on Twitter) has been evaluating the Wildcats’ NBA prospects for months.
Isaacson predicted well before Kentucky’s national championship season ended that Anthony Davis was clearly the No. 1 pick in the draft, with no player even a close second. He shared these insights on UK’s other players going into the draft before the players were measured and evaluated at the combine:
Question: Have the impressions of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist changed any, and do you think there is a chance he could be in the top four picks?
Isaacson: “No, my impression of Kidd-Gilchrist has remained much the same, and I think more people are starting to see things in a similar fashion to me: He will be a great role player for a team, but you don't spend a top-five pick on role players.
“The intangibles are impressive, but they will only get you so far. He can absolutely go in the top four picks, but I think the teams picking two through five have better options.”
Question: What positives and negatives are you hearing about Terrence Jones? Has he helped himself any since the end of the season?
Isaacson: “The concerns with Jones have remained largely the same since the season ended: 1. Will he play with a consistent effort? 2. he needs to realize he is effective around the basket, not shooting jumpers, and 3. offense is fun, but he needs to put a lot of work into becoming a better defender.
“The positives also have remained similar: He has a NBA body, he is a skilled scorer around the basket, he runs the court very well for his size, and he is a strong rebounder when he puts in the effort.
“Jones is really just getting started on his pre-draft tour of teams, but he is one player that is really going to need to make a good impression during interviews with team personnel.”
Question: Where does Marquis Teague seem to be fitting into the draft projections now that teams are taking a close look at him? What are seen as his weaknesses?
Isaacson: “Teague has settled into the 18 to 25 range in most draft projections, but that could still fluctuate in the next few weeks, especially because of his weaknesses.
“He is an average shooter and has difficulty creating his own shot; his decision-making, while improved, is still a far way from that of a NBA point guard; and while he was running the dribble-drive offense very well by the end of the season, he really needs to show that he can more complex offenses.”
Question: Has Doron Lamb helped himself with any pre-draft workouts or interviews? Do you still see him as solid second round or maybe now in first round?
Isaacson: “While there is a lot of attention paid to pre-draft workouts, the truth is they matter very little. Teams will use them to try and confirm what they already believe about a player, but rarely will team's make any decisions based on the workouts. At the combine, Lamb will have a great opportunity to meet with teams and let them get a better idea about who he is.
“In my mind, he is still a high second-round pick, but let's be honest, there is rarely a difference in talent between the last few picks of the first round and first 10 or so of the second round, so all Lamb needs is one of those teams picking 28 to 30 to think he fits them best to turn him into a first-round pick.
“If a team has a good point guard and post player who can draw the defense to the paint, Lamb could be a good fit as a shooter off the bench.”
Question: Where does Darius Miller now seem to fall in the draft, and what factors work for or against a four-year player now?
Isaacson: “Here is the one Kentucky player who has changed my mind. The more I have gone back and watched Darius, the more impressed I become. The draft situation is similar to Lamb: He falls in that high second-round range that can easily turn into the end of the first.
“I recently wrote an article about how teams are valuing their second-round picks more, and as anyone who follows the draft (knows), the second is always very senior-heavy. In most cases, what separates a lot of talented second-round picks from equal or even less-talented first-rounders is upside.
“While a team always hopes for an immediate payoff from their picks, your first-round picks should be made with a decent projection of who that player can be three to five years down the line.
“It's why I hate the ‘bust’ label used on first-round picks. Often the player has done nothing but live up to their abilities, but the team just projected wrong. Sorry for the tangent.
“So while fourth-year players may be low on upside, they are often very high on skill, experience, and leadership, which gives them a chance to have an impact on a team early, sometimes even long before the team's first-round pick.”
Isaacson predicted well before Kentucky’s national championship season ended that Anthony Davis was clearly the No. 1 pick in the draft, with no player even a close second. He shared these insights on UK’s other players going into the draft before the players were measured and evaluated at the combine:
Question: Have the impressions of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist changed any, and do you think there is a chance he could be in the top four picks?
Isaacson: “No, my impression of Kidd-Gilchrist has remained much the same, and I think more people are starting to see things in a similar fashion to me: He will be a great role player for a team, but you don't spend a top-five pick on role players.
“The intangibles are impressive, but they will only get you so far. He can absolutely go in the top four picks, but I think the teams picking two through five have better options.”
Question: What positives and negatives are you hearing about Terrence Jones? Has he helped himself any since the end of the season?
Isaacson: “The concerns with Jones have remained largely the same since the season ended: 1. Will he play with a consistent effort? 2. he needs to realize he is effective around the basket, not shooting jumpers, and 3. offense is fun, but he needs to put a lot of work into becoming a better defender.
“The positives also have remained similar: He has a NBA body, he is a skilled scorer around the basket, he runs the court very well for his size, and he is a strong rebounder when he puts in the effort.
“Jones is really just getting started on his pre-draft tour of teams, but he is one player that is really going to need to make a good impression during interviews with team personnel.”
Question: Where does Marquis Teague seem to be fitting into the draft projections now that teams are taking a close look at him? What are seen as his weaknesses?
Isaacson: “Teague has settled into the 18 to 25 range in most draft projections, but that could still fluctuate in the next few weeks, especially because of his weaknesses.
“He is an average shooter and has difficulty creating his own shot; his decision-making, while improved, is still a far way from that of a NBA point guard; and while he was running the dribble-drive offense very well by the end of the season, he really needs to show that he can more complex offenses.”
Question: Has Doron Lamb helped himself with any pre-draft workouts or interviews? Do you still see him as solid second round or maybe now in first round?
Isaacson: “While there is a lot of attention paid to pre-draft workouts, the truth is they matter very little. Teams will use them to try and confirm what they already believe about a player, but rarely will team's make any decisions based on the workouts. At the combine, Lamb will have a great opportunity to meet with teams and let them get a better idea about who he is.
“In my mind, he is still a high second-round pick, but let's be honest, there is rarely a difference in talent between the last few picks of the first round and first 10 or so of the second round, so all Lamb needs is one of those teams picking 28 to 30 to think he fits them best to turn him into a first-round pick.
“If a team has a good point guard and post player who can draw the defense to the paint, Lamb could be a good fit as a shooter off the bench.”
Question: Where does Darius Miller now seem to fall in the draft, and what factors work for or against a four-year player now?
Isaacson: “Here is the one Kentucky player who has changed my mind. The more I have gone back and watched Darius, the more impressed I become. The draft situation is similar to Lamb: He falls in that high second-round range that can easily turn into the end of the first.
“I recently wrote an article about how teams are valuing their second-round picks more, and as anyone who follows the draft (knows), the second is always very senior-heavy. In most cases, what separates a lot of talented second-round picks from equal or even less-talented first-rounders is upside.
“While a team always hopes for an immediate payoff from their picks, your first-round picks should be made with a decent projection of who that player can be three to five years down the line.
“It's why I hate the ‘bust’ label used on first-round picks. Often the player has done nothing but live up to their abilities, but the team just projected wrong. Sorry for the tangent.
“So while fourth-year players may be low on upside, they are often very high on skill, experience, and leadership, which gives them a chance to have an impact on a team early, sometimes even long before the team's first-round pick.”
