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The NBA combine has become a key event for prospects to improve their draft stock during scrimmages, athletic testing, measurements and interviews.
It’s an equally important scouting opportunity for teams to evaluate players on and off the floor.
With the addition of the G League Elite Camp, Chicago will feature even more prospects than usual.
There will be a number of storylines to follow regarding high-profile names, injured players, potential risers, prospects who can return to school and others who’ll be coming from overseas.
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This will be the first year of the G League Elite Camp, a pre-combine event that features the consensus prospects ranked by teams in the Nos. 67-106 range.
It’s meant for players who miss the cut for the actual NBA combine held days later. They now have an opportunity to audition in front of NBA executives from around the league. It’s also a potential launching pad for the top performers, who become eligible for last-minute invitations to the NBA combine, where they can prove themselves during scrimmages against prospects largely expected to go in the second round.
Once the draft is over, we’ll want to look back and see how many Elite Camp participants wound up getting drafted. That would validate the event’s purpose: to give players more chances to be seen and teams extra opportunities to scout.
Our top prospects expected to participate include Hofstra’s Justin Wright-Foreman, Auburn’s Jared Harper, Virginia Tech’s Justin Robinson, Siena’s Jalen Pickett and Iowa State’s Marial Shayok.
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The draft’s projected No. 1 pick, Zion Williamson, is expected to attend the NBA combine. However, the main purpose will be meeting with teams. He won’t participate in drills or five-on-fives.
But will he measure or test athletically?
There is a better chance of the former—arguably the more informative assessment since it’s already obvious he’s working with elite quickness, agility and bounce.
No event in Chicago will ultimately affect Williamson’s standing as the nation’s top prospect. But it would be interesting to find out his updated height, weight, length and body fat percentage.
If teams were fishing for a potential concern with Williamson, they’d start by questioning his durability due to the amount of weight and pressure he puts on his knees when cutting and jumping. Any evaluator would want to know if he’s grown or tightened his body since he last measured in at 6’7″, 285 pounds.
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A 7’2″ three-point shooter with ball skills and fluid post moves, Bol Bol was averaging 21.0 points and making a top-five case before he suffered a stress fracture in his foot.
There should be a line out the doctor’s door for medical reports and opinions. Bol won’t be expected to participate in anything outside of measurements and interviews at the combine, but lottery teams will be eager to find out more about his feet and durability.
Bol’s camp will have control of who it chooses to share medical results with, a tactic designed to scare off teams the player may not want to join. Will his camp have anything to reveal? And who’ll receive access?
Also, will Bol tell teams he’s healthy enough to work out for them? Scouts and executives will have plenty of questions and detective work to consider in Chicago.
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A ton of strategy goes into agents’ guidance when positioning their clients for the draft.
It’s always interesting to find out which players choose to participate, as opposed to those who feel they have more to lose than gain by playing. Some executives will echo the notion that skipping events reflects fear and a lack of competitiveness.
Sometimes agents over-strategize. Last year, Mitchell Robinson might have been able to show he’s worth a first-round pick had his former agent advised him to scrimmage instead of sit. The New York Knicks, who selected the center at No. 36, wound up catching a break because Robinson received poor advice.
On the other hand, sometimes it’s wise for prospects to pass on being nitpicked during a 40-minute pickup game in which teams are automatically assigned. Would Jerome Robinson still have been a lottery selection if he struggled against second-rounders in five-on-fives?
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At least one prospect per year uses combine scrimmages to make an impression and improve his draft stock.
Last May, Donte DiVincenzo, Kevin Huerter and Josh Okogie likely shot up certain boards after they glowed in Chicago. Kyle Kuzma stole the show in 2017.
Enough teams put legitimate stock in five-on-fives, which were recently reintroduced to increase prospects’ exposure and add more purpose to the event.
Who will be this year’s scrimmage standouts able to show more in a freer-flowing, looser game than they were during the season?
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Some early entrants attend the combine unsure about whether to stay in the draft or go back to school. Their performance and feedback from teams help them decide.
Players have until May 29 to terminate any contract with an agent and return to college.
Last year, Kevin Huerter was the shining example of a player who took advantage of the NCAA’s expanded flexibility. He flew to Chicago without an agent to keep his options open (this year you can have one until the withdrawal deadline) but wound up wowing during scrimmages, which led to positive feedback from teams. Huerter stayed in the draft, and the Atlanta Hawks took him at No. 19.
Notable invitees who’ll likely just be testing the waters include Utah State’s Neemias Queta, Georgia’s Nicolas Claxton, Florida State’s Mfiondu Kabengele, Kansas’ Devon Dotson and Quentin Grimes and UCLA’s Moses Brown. These prospects all have first-round potential, whether in 2019 or, should they opt for another college season to boost their stock, in 2020.
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Jalen Lecque and Darius Bazley are taking unconventional routes to the NBA combine and draft. They should be highlighted on scouts’ lists, since this could be their first time watching them perform against top college talent and NBA prospects.
A fifth-year high school senior, Lecque turns 19 before the draft. Though he’s committed to North Carolina State, impressing in Chicago will presumably lead to the combo guard skipping college to try mirroring Anfernee Simons’ journey to the league.
It’s still unknown whether Lecque will participate in scrimmages—Simons didn’t and still went in the first round last year. With explosive athleticism and strong legs, you can at least bet on the Brewster Academy alum testing athletically this week.
Scouts have been hesitant to provide confident takes on the 6’4″ Lecque, unsure whether he has the floor game to play point guard or the shooting for a 2. This represents a major opportunity, both for the prospect and NBA teams.
Bazley chose Mitchell Robinson’s plan by skipping college, ignoring the G League and training away from the spotlight. From a draft-stock perspective, that move didn’t help Robinson, who passed on participating at the combine and then fell to the second round.
Bazley will attend looking to showcase his signature versatility as a 6’9″ combo forward with shooting range and ball-handing ability. Scouts will have seen more of him—he played at the McDonald’s All-American Game, Nike Hoop Summit and Jordan Brand Classic—than they have of Lecque.
He isn’t as impressive athletically, however, so it will be interesting to learn his level of participation and how he’ll stack up against NCAA players if he does choose to scrimmage and test.
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Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press
This year’s combine will feature notable prospects from overseas, including an American who participated in Chicago at last year’s event.
Brian Bowen will be back after he spent the season in Australia. The 6’7″, 20-year-old forward played well enough in limited action to earn another invitation. In 15.4 minutes per game, he averaged 6.3 points on 45.1 percent shooting, demonstrating appealing scoring versatility and shooting touch.
A former McDonald’s All-American who also scored 26 points at the 2017 Jordan Brand Classic, Bowen has managed to keep scouts’ attention despite wasting a year in college (suspended by Louisville before transferring to South Carolina and never suiting up) and spending this past season on another continent.
Luka Samanic will also be a draw in Chicago. He’s been on the radar since he was 16 years old and playing in scouted settings like FIBA competition and Eurocamp. This past summer, the 6’10” forward averaged 17 points at the U18 European Championships to emerge as a 2019 draft prospect worth tracking.
He’ll enter the combine playing some of his best ball in the Slovenian SKL, averaging 17 points and shooting 7-of-11 from three over Union Olimpija’s last three games. The 19-year-old big man has an offensive game built for today’s NBA with shooting range and the ability to face up and attack to score on the move.
Samanic will use scrimmages to try building a first-round case with his attractive mix of size, skill and fluidity.
from Update News Topic http://bit.ly/2vYRqrM
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