http://www.courier-journal.com/stor...ft-best-worst-case-uks-four-entries/32638579/
NBA Draft: Best, worst case for UK's entries
Kyle Tucker, @KyleTucker_CJ 9:15 a.m. EDT June 2, 2016
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky’s Jamal Murray, Skal Labissiere and Tyler Ulis are all virtual locks to be selected in the first round, if not the lottery, of the NBA draft on June 23. But what about Alex Poythress?
After a solid-but-not-spectacular senior season with the Wildcats, on the heels of an ACL injury as a junior, the former McDonald’s All-American saw his draft stock seemingly evaporate. He was not invited to last month’s NBA combine, and UK coach John Calipari said Poythress’ agent was postponing workouts for individual teams because his left knee was still not fully recovered from the December 2014 injury.
Despite producing 966 points, 597 rebounds and a healthy highlight reel of vicious dunks in his Wildcats career, the 6-foot-8 forward was not projected by any major mock drafts to be among the 60 players picked this year. And then a funny thing happened recently: ESPN analyst Chad Ford shot Poythress up to No. 50 in his ranking of the top pro prospects.
That would put him very much in position to be selected in the second round.
“I think he might, actually,” Ford said. “I was there with about 100 NBA scouts when he did his workout in Thousand Oaks (Calif., where he’s been working out with other draft hopefuls, including Ulis) last week. He was impressive. He’s the type of kid that I actually think is worth taking a shot on, because you can’t teach the sort of physical gifts that kid has. And I do think Cal taught him how to be a great defender.”
That’s the most optimistic draft analysis of Poythress since his freshman season at Kentucky. It’s also still entirely possible – perhaps even likely – he won’t hear his name called.
To that point, Ford agreed to share with The Courier-Journal his best- and worst-case scenarios for all four Cats in the draft:
JAMAL MURRAY, G, 6-5
► Best Case: No. 3 overall, Boston Celtics. “Boston needs shooting and backcourt versatility, and I know he’s in the mix there with Kris Dunn and probably Marquese Chriss. Those are probably the three guys.”
► Worst Case: No. 8 overall, Sacramento Kings. “Sacramento needs both a point guard and shooting in their backcourt, and I just don’t see any way he slides further than that. I think his other stops are Minnesota at 5 and the Pelicans at 6. So I think he goes 3, 5, 6 or 8.”
SKAL LABISSIERE, F, 7-0
► Best Case: No. 7 overall, Denver Nuggets. “Rare to find athletic guys who can stretch the floor and protect the rim, and Skal can do both of those. He reminds me a lot of (Cleveland Cavaliers forward) Channing Frye and I think in this draft he’s probably worth a pick in that range.”
► Worst Case: No. 15 overall, Denver Nuggets. “Why he might slide is he’s completely unproven at really doing that (making/blocking shots) on a consistent basis in games. So seventh is probably a stretch, but I also could see him going 10th to Milwaukee; 11th to Orlando is a real possibility; Jazz at 12 is a real strong possibility, too.”
TYLER ULIS, G, 5-10
► Best Case: No. 14 overall, Chicago Bulls. “I think he’s the best pure point guard in the draft, and his ability to see the floor and make teammates around him better is extremely appealing, as is his leadership.”
► Worst Case: No. 25 overall, Los Angeles Clippers. “His size is a huge question mark and teams are going to have to talk themselves into taking a 5-10 point guard, and that is a scary proposition for all of them.”
ALEX POYTHRESS, F, 6-8
► Best Case: Early second round. “I don’t think he cracks the first round, but he looked incredible in workouts the other day. He’s got all of his explosiveness back that he didn’t really have this season, and he for sure is a guy who can defend multiple positions on the floor. That’s going to be his calling card and why a team would take him.”
► Worst Case: Undrafted. “Teams hope that maybe over time he’ll transition into a ‘three-and-D’ guy who can defend and at least hit corner threes and spot-up threes. That part of his game is coming along; it’s not where it needs to be, but there’s enough hope there that maybe he could be that sort of player.”
CATS IN THE LATEST MOCK DRAFTS
DraftExpress.com
No. 8 Jamal Murray, Sacramento Kings
No. 11 Skal Labissiere, Orlando Magic
No. 24 Tyler Ulis, Philadelphia 76ers
No. 81 Alex Poythress*
* Only 60 players will be selected in the NBA draft.
ESPN.com
No. 3 Jamal Murray, Boston Celtics
No. 11 Skal Labissiere, Orlando Magic
No. 15 Tyler Ulis, Denver Nuggets
No. 50 Alex Poythress*
* From ESPN’s Top 100 prospects; its mock draft is first-round only.
USA TODAY
No. 5 Jamal Murray, Minnesota Timberwolves
No. 11 Skal Labissiere, Orlando Magic
No. 24 Tyler Ulis, Philadelphia 76ers
* USA Today only projects the first round and doesn’t include Alex Poythress.
NBA Draft: Best, worst case for UK's entries
Kyle Tucker, @KyleTucker_CJ 9:15 a.m. EDT June 2, 2016
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky’s Jamal Murray, Skal Labissiere and Tyler Ulis are all virtual locks to be selected in the first round, if not the lottery, of the NBA draft on June 23. But what about Alex Poythress?
After a solid-but-not-spectacular senior season with the Wildcats, on the heels of an ACL injury as a junior, the former McDonald’s All-American saw his draft stock seemingly evaporate. He was not invited to last month’s NBA combine, and UK coach John Calipari said Poythress’ agent was postponing workouts for individual teams because his left knee was still not fully recovered from the December 2014 injury.
Despite producing 966 points, 597 rebounds and a healthy highlight reel of vicious dunks in his Wildcats career, the 6-foot-8 forward was not projected by any major mock drafts to be among the 60 players picked this year. And then a funny thing happened recently: ESPN analyst Chad Ford shot Poythress up to No. 50 in his ranking of the top pro prospects.
That would put him very much in position to be selected in the second round.
“I think he might, actually,” Ford said. “I was there with about 100 NBA scouts when he did his workout in Thousand Oaks (Calif., where he’s been working out with other draft hopefuls, including Ulis) last week. He was impressive. He’s the type of kid that I actually think is worth taking a shot on, because you can’t teach the sort of physical gifts that kid has. And I do think Cal taught him how to be a great defender.”
That’s the most optimistic draft analysis of Poythress since his freshman season at Kentucky. It’s also still entirely possible – perhaps even likely – he won’t hear his name called.
To that point, Ford agreed to share with The Courier-Journal his best- and worst-case scenarios for all four Cats in the draft:
JAMAL MURRAY, G, 6-5
► Best Case: No. 3 overall, Boston Celtics. “Boston needs shooting and backcourt versatility, and I know he’s in the mix there with Kris Dunn and probably Marquese Chriss. Those are probably the three guys.”
► Worst Case: No. 8 overall, Sacramento Kings. “Sacramento needs both a point guard and shooting in their backcourt, and I just don’t see any way he slides further than that. I think his other stops are Minnesota at 5 and the Pelicans at 6. So I think he goes 3, 5, 6 or 8.”
SKAL LABISSIERE, F, 7-0
► Best Case: No. 7 overall, Denver Nuggets. “Rare to find athletic guys who can stretch the floor and protect the rim, and Skal can do both of those. He reminds me a lot of (Cleveland Cavaliers forward) Channing Frye and I think in this draft he’s probably worth a pick in that range.”
► Worst Case: No. 15 overall, Denver Nuggets. “Why he might slide is he’s completely unproven at really doing that (making/blocking shots) on a consistent basis in games. So seventh is probably a stretch, but I also could see him going 10th to Milwaukee; 11th to Orlando is a real possibility; Jazz at 12 is a real strong possibility, too.”
TYLER ULIS, G, 5-10
► Best Case: No. 14 overall, Chicago Bulls. “I think he’s the best pure point guard in the draft, and his ability to see the floor and make teammates around him better is extremely appealing, as is his leadership.”
► Worst Case: No. 25 overall, Los Angeles Clippers. “His size is a huge question mark and teams are going to have to talk themselves into taking a 5-10 point guard, and that is a scary proposition for all of them.”
ALEX POYTHRESS, F, 6-8
► Best Case: Early second round. “I don’t think he cracks the first round, but he looked incredible in workouts the other day. He’s got all of his explosiveness back that he didn’t really have this season, and he for sure is a guy who can defend multiple positions on the floor. That’s going to be his calling card and why a team would take him.”
► Worst Case: Undrafted. “Teams hope that maybe over time he’ll transition into a ‘three-and-D’ guy who can defend and at least hit corner threes and spot-up threes. That part of his game is coming along; it’s not where it needs to be, but there’s enough hope there that maybe he could be that sort of player.”
CATS IN THE LATEST MOCK DRAFTS
DraftExpress.com
No. 8 Jamal Murray, Sacramento Kings
No. 11 Skal Labissiere, Orlando Magic
No. 24 Tyler Ulis, Philadelphia 76ers
No. 81 Alex Poythress*
* Only 60 players will be selected in the NBA draft.
ESPN.com
No. 3 Jamal Murray, Boston Celtics
No. 11 Skal Labissiere, Orlando Magic
No. 15 Tyler Ulis, Denver Nuggets
No. 50 Alex Poythress*
* From ESPN’s Top 100 prospects; its mock draft is first-round only.
USA TODAY
No. 5 Jamal Murray, Minnesota Timberwolves
No. 11 Skal Labissiere, Orlando Magic
No. 24 Tyler Ulis, Philadelphia 76ers
* USA Today only projects the first round and doesn’t include Alex Poythress.
