ESPN NBA Insider Chad Ford gave a rundown on each Kentucky player and where he sits in the upcoming draft on this morning's media conference call. In short, Murray looks like he could end up anywhere in the top 10 and will fit well in any system. Skal is teetering in and out of the top 10 but no team knows for sure if they're going to get a bang for their buck if they pick him. Ulis' hip injury is a concern of varying degrees, but his height still bothers some teams -- expect late first round for Ulis. Poythress is said to have been shooting it well in workouts and could be a solid guy off the bench if he stays consistent, right now projected as a second rounder.
The 2016 NBA Draft begins Thursday, June 23 at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
Here's a look at the latest Draft Express mock draft: LINK
Ford on Jamal Murray: Yeah, Murray will go 3 to 7. He's got a pretty narrow range right now. He's in the mix literally with every single one of those teams with maybe the exception of the Suns. The Celtics are looking at him at three, Wolves are looking at him at 5, Pelicans like him at 6, and Denver even likes him at 7 as a nice backcourt made to Emmanuel Mudiay, and it's a little bit fluid there because he's battling guys that are in the same tier. All of them are very different at what they do, and I think it's going to come down more to team need than it is on necessarily ranking talent. I think as far as talent goes, Murray has the ability to be the best perimeter scorer in this draft. I think he's going to be a 20-point-per-game scorer in the NBA and one of the best shooters in this draft. Defensively I think the concerns are there.
Ford on Skal Labissiere: Labissiere is a little bit harder. I put his range right now at about 7 to 13, so Denver at 7 being the high point, Phoenix at 13 being the low point. I think many of us have projected, and I think it's very accurate, that the Orlando Magic at 11 look like the most likely spot for him to land. His ability to shoot the ball, to stretch the floor, to protect the rim are elite. The question is does he know how to play basketball? Does he have a feel for the game? Does he have the toughness to play in the NBA? Those are all huge questions that when you get to that portion of the draft, I think because there aren't a lot of players left that are sure things, that most of those players are just rotation players now, you start to look at Skal and say, look, if Skal hits, he could be Channing Frye, he might even be better than Channing Frye, and if that's the case, he's worth gambling, even if it ends up being that he can't play and I think that's why I think you'll see Milwaukee at 10, Orlando at 11, Utah at 12 and Phoenix who now have a second first-round pick in the lottery, just go ahead and roll the dice and gamble. I think he's got a really safe range there. How he pans out as a player, man, that -- I really think anybody that says they know is guessing. I think so much of it is going to have to be about his maturity and his mental development and whether that can click because the skills are there.
Ford on Tyler Ulis: As far as Ulis goes, teams are all over the board on him just because of his size. At 5'10", 150 pounds, there's not a lot of precedent for guys that size excelling in the NBA. And people point to Isiah Thomas, but Isiah Thomas is a good 30 pounds heavier than Ulis is, and he's more of a scoring, super athletic stocky guard and there is some precedent for guys like him, Nate Robinson, in that role succeeding in the NBA. Ulis is going to be -- he's going to be a bit of a trend setter there. But he has elite court version. He is probably the best passing point guard in this draft, and I think that intrigues some people.
As far as the hip goes, I'm still trying to collect information on how big of an issue this is.
When you hear those medical reports, it's difficult to ascertain how serious these sorts of things are down the road because they go through these prospects with such a thorough look that any little thing that has happened in your entire life would show up. If you broke your arm in second grade, it would be there on the report, and there might be a certain level of concern about it, how it healed. If it's something small like his hips are tight, the muscles are tight, I'd say that's 80 percent of the NBA, these players struggle with hip tightness, calcification of the hip, things like that.
It could also go the other way. Kevon Looney last year slipped all the way down to 30 last year because there was a concern he would have to have hip surgery, which obviously turned out to be true and he's had it this off-season, and that's obviously a more serious concern.
The feedback I've gotten from teams is they're aware that there's an issue, and there's varying degrees, depending on doctors, conservative nature of things, on how concerned teams are, so it's really hard to pick where Ulis goes. But I think he either goes somewhere in the 20s or he ends up going somewhere in the 30s. But I think he's going to get drafted, and I don't think it's going to torpedo his draft stock.
Ford on Alex Poythress: Poythress, I think he's a possible second-round pick because he's an elite athlete and I think he can defend multiple positions and I actually hear he shot it pretty well in workouts, and that's what he projects as a guy coming off the bench, playing great defense and hitting some spot-up threes. If he can just do that I think he has a long career in the NBA. It's the question about will he be a great three-point shooter that teams are concerned about. He shot it really well his freshman year, kind of went down from there, but I see -- I watched him work out several times in LA. I think I see the potential there for him to become that, and you can't teach his athleticism.
Ford on Calipari's pitch for Murray to go No. 1: None. And he's not going to be the No. 1 pick, and I don't think it carried that much weight. What John Calipari does is have huge influence all season because of the way that he plays his players, the system he runs them in, the access that he gives the NBA teams. He does help players get drafted. There's no question if my kid was an elite prospect, I would send him to Kentucky because I think he's got the best -- that would give him the best shot to go high in the draft.
You look at the terrible season that Skal had and the fact that he's going to be a lottery pick is amazing, and that has a lot to do with John Calipari. But going to a team and saying, you know what, you ought to take him over Ben Simmons, I don't think that that's going to carry a lot of sway.
As far as Jamal goes, I don't think anybody is actually going to debate John, that if you're talking offensively, this kid is special. He can shoot it. He can score off the bounce. He has a scorer's mentality and instinct, and he's not afraid to do his job, and that's a huge plus.
But defensively there are going to be issues in the NBA. There were issues in college, and I think those issues will be compounded in the NBA, and I think that may hurt him via a Kris Dunn, for example, if you're trying to compare those two guys together or Marquese Chriss or Jaylen Brown, all those guys, very elite athletes, and just that questioning, does Jamal Murray have the lateral quickness? I think he's okay vertically and explosively, but does he have the lateral quickness to defend his position in the NBA? And I know that's what every general manager from 3 to 8 is trying to figure out right now, how good is his offense versus his defense?
The 2016 NBA Draft begins Thursday, June 23 at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
Here's a look at the latest Draft Express mock draft: LINK
Ford on Jamal Murray: Yeah, Murray will go 3 to 7. He's got a pretty narrow range right now. He's in the mix literally with every single one of those teams with maybe the exception of the Suns. The Celtics are looking at him at three, Wolves are looking at him at 5, Pelicans like him at 6, and Denver even likes him at 7 as a nice backcourt made to Emmanuel Mudiay, and it's a little bit fluid there because he's battling guys that are in the same tier. All of them are very different at what they do, and I think it's going to come down more to team need than it is on necessarily ranking talent. I think as far as talent goes, Murray has the ability to be the best perimeter scorer in this draft. I think he's going to be a 20-point-per-game scorer in the NBA and one of the best shooters in this draft. Defensively I think the concerns are there.
Ford on Skal Labissiere: Labissiere is a little bit harder. I put his range right now at about 7 to 13, so Denver at 7 being the high point, Phoenix at 13 being the low point. I think many of us have projected, and I think it's very accurate, that the Orlando Magic at 11 look like the most likely spot for him to land. His ability to shoot the ball, to stretch the floor, to protect the rim are elite. The question is does he know how to play basketball? Does he have a feel for the game? Does he have the toughness to play in the NBA? Those are all huge questions that when you get to that portion of the draft, I think because there aren't a lot of players left that are sure things, that most of those players are just rotation players now, you start to look at Skal and say, look, if Skal hits, he could be Channing Frye, he might even be better than Channing Frye, and if that's the case, he's worth gambling, even if it ends up being that he can't play and I think that's why I think you'll see Milwaukee at 10, Orlando at 11, Utah at 12 and Phoenix who now have a second first-round pick in the lottery, just go ahead and roll the dice and gamble. I think he's got a really safe range there. How he pans out as a player, man, that -- I really think anybody that says they know is guessing. I think so much of it is going to have to be about his maturity and his mental development and whether that can click because the skills are there.
Ford on Tyler Ulis: As far as Ulis goes, teams are all over the board on him just because of his size. At 5'10", 150 pounds, there's not a lot of precedent for guys that size excelling in the NBA. And people point to Isiah Thomas, but Isiah Thomas is a good 30 pounds heavier than Ulis is, and he's more of a scoring, super athletic stocky guard and there is some precedent for guys like him, Nate Robinson, in that role succeeding in the NBA. Ulis is going to be -- he's going to be a bit of a trend setter there. But he has elite court version. He is probably the best passing point guard in this draft, and I think that intrigues some people.
As far as the hip goes, I'm still trying to collect information on how big of an issue this is.
When you hear those medical reports, it's difficult to ascertain how serious these sorts of things are down the road because they go through these prospects with such a thorough look that any little thing that has happened in your entire life would show up. If you broke your arm in second grade, it would be there on the report, and there might be a certain level of concern about it, how it healed. If it's something small like his hips are tight, the muscles are tight, I'd say that's 80 percent of the NBA, these players struggle with hip tightness, calcification of the hip, things like that.
It could also go the other way. Kevon Looney last year slipped all the way down to 30 last year because there was a concern he would have to have hip surgery, which obviously turned out to be true and he's had it this off-season, and that's obviously a more serious concern.
The feedback I've gotten from teams is they're aware that there's an issue, and there's varying degrees, depending on doctors, conservative nature of things, on how concerned teams are, so it's really hard to pick where Ulis goes. But I think he either goes somewhere in the 20s or he ends up going somewhere in the 30s. But I think he's going to get drafted, and I don't think it's going to torpedo his draft stock.
Ford on Alex Poythress: Poythress, I think he's a possible second-round pick because he's an elite athlete and I think he can defend multiple positions and I actually hear he shot it pretty well in workouts, and that's what he projects as a guy coming off the bench, playing great defense and hitting some spot-up threes. If he can just do that I think he has a long career in the NBA. It's the question about will he be a great three-point shooter that teams are concerned about. He shot it really well his freshman year, kind of went down from there, but I see -- I watched him work out several times in LA. I think I see the potential there for him to become that, and you can't teach his athleticism.
Ford on Calipari's pitch for Murray to go No. 1: None. And he's not going to be the No. 1 pick, and I don't think it carried that much weight. What John Calipari does is have huge influence all season because of the way that he plays his players, the system he runs them in, the access that he gives the NBA teams. He does help players get drafted. There's no question if my kid was an elite prospect, I would send him to Kentucky because I think he's got the best -- that would give him the best shot to go high in the draft.
You look at the terrible season that Skal had and the fact that he's going to be a lottery pick is amazing, and that has a lot to do with John Calipari. But going to a team and saying, you know what, you ought to take him over Ben Simmons, I don't think that that's going to carry a lot of sway.
As far as Jamal goes, I don't think anybody is actually going to debate John, that if you're talking offensively, this kid is special. He can shoot it. He can score off the bounce. He has a scorer's mentality and instinct, and he's not afraid to do his job, and that's a huge plus.
But defensively there are going to be issues in the NBA. There were issues in college, and I think those issues will be compounded in the NBA, and I think that may hurt him via a Kris Dunn, for example, if you're trying to compare those two guys together or Marquese Chriss or Jaylen Brown, all those guys, very elite athletes, and just that questioning, does Jamal Murray have the lateral quickness? I think he's okay vertically and explosively, but does he have the lateral quickness to defend his position in the NBA? And I know that's what every general manager from 3 to 8 is trying to figure out right now, how good is his offense versus his defense?
