Some Chad Ford tidbits

[colincb]

Very abridged and paraphrased (except the Mudiay quotes) Insider content from the last 2 days:

Most interesting/new stuff was WCS bulking up, Booker apparently finding a floor in the late lottery and the Mudiay stuff.

Willie Cauley-Stein - Getting looks from NYK at 4 but could be late lottery too. [Steve Kyler, BB Insider who is not as high on WCS has said the same] Bulked up considerably recently without losing explosiveness. Minor surprise was his midrange shooting. Has the potential to be DPOY.

Devin Booker - Competing for the title of best shooter in the draft. [Givony confirmed shooting excellence in LA tryout]  Booker's athletic scores were a surprise at combine. Fastest shuttle run, fastest lane agility score, and a solid vertical. Vertical didn't wow, but other two scores did and athleticism showed in workout too. Late lottery.

Dakari Johnson - He's a likely backup center in the NBA who puts in 15 to 20 minutes a night -- think of Ezeli on the GSW. 20s or later.

Cameron Payne - Hot name has sessions scheduled with the Lakers, Knicks and Kings. Kings want a franchise PG and if Russell & Mudiay off the board, Payne's next best.

Rashad Vaughn - Teams beginning to consider in mix with Booker and R.J. Hunter.

Christian Wood - Also of UNLV appears to be sliding.

Tyus Jones hurt his back in Houston session and won't work out for a while. Wouldn't be shocked if the "injury" might be a promise by the Rockets to select him at 18.

Cliff Alexander - Suffered mild MCL sprain in Lakers workout. Should be ready to work out this week.

Emmanuel Mudiay – “After I tweeted I was at the 360 Gym in Reseda on Friday to watch Mudiay work out, my phone began buzzing with texts and phone calls from all over the NBA. I was one of the first people outside Mudiay's inner circle to see him play basketball in months. Everyone had the same question. How did he look? The answer? Better than he looked in practices and games at the Nike Hoop Summit in April 2014, when a number of GMs had him pegged as a top-two prospect in the NBA draft. So good, in fact, that I have no doubt had he stayed at SMU and played for Larry Brown instead of heading to China, he'd be No. 2 (where he debuted on Big Board 1.0) right now, just weeks from the draft. ….While I think Towns is the best prospect in this draft, Mudiay is the next most intriguing physical prospect. He does incredible things for a player his size. And as far as the experience in China? Mudiay has developed both physically and mentally in ways that will be hard for the other top players in the draft to match.”

[tarheelsxxiii]

TP, thanks for sharing. Wish we could slide up for WCS... and NYK fans must be happy to hear about Mudiay.

[colincb]

IF LAL goes for advanced stat darling Russell, Mudiay could be with PHI.

I'm listening to a podcast from Steve Kyler at Basketball Insiders that just went up late this afternoon talking draft saying the same thing about Mudiay that Ford is.  He's a lot more visible than Exum was to a NBA teams.  Until today, I thought he might slide because there's not much film out there and he didn't show at the Combine. No one has a clue about what the Knicks are doing at 4. If he's at 5, it's tough to see ORL taking him though they supposedly love big upside guys (like Gordon [who didn't wow them during 2014-15) and SAC's FO is a mess at 6.

[Denis998]

TP, thanks for sharing. Wish we could slide up for WCS... and NYK fans must be happy to hear about Mudiay.

But leave it to Phil to make the worst possible decision. I really dislike Phil.

[tarheelsxxiii]

TP, thanks for sharing. Wish we could slide up for WCS... and NYK fans must be happy to hear about Mudiay.

But leave it to Phil to make the worst possible decision. I really dislike Phil.

Yea, should be interesting. Seems to have specific preferences for a PG within his system, and maybe not a playmaker like him.

[Future Celtics Owner]

IF LAL goes for advanced stat darling Russell, Mudiay could be with PHI.

I'm listening to a podcast from Steve Kyler at Basketball Insiders that just went up late this afternoon talking draft saying the same thing about Mudiay that Ford is.  He's a lot more visible than Exum was to a NBA teams.  Until today, I thought he might slide because there's not much film out there and he didn't show at the Combine. No one has a clue about what the Knicks are doing at 4. If he's at 5, it's tough to see ORL taking him though they supposedly love big upside guys (like Gordon [who didn't wow them during 2014-15) and SAC's FO is a mess at 6.

Thats why it might pay to trade for the 4th pick before the draft. At worse we get Mudiay, and at best Okafor.
IT has so much value because of his play plus contract size and length that he is a big chip. I know most people consider him a sixth man on CB, but he really is a starter.

To get it done:
IT
take back Jose Calderon's contract(2 years left)
Sully

4

#4 pick
JC