Rakeem Christmas, J.P. Tokoto emerge on Day 1 of combine
CHICAGO -- The 2015 NBA draft combine made its way from hotel interviews and measurements to the court on Thursday. Hundreds of NBA GMs, scouts and head coaches sat courtside as 36 (mostly second-round) prospects played 5-on-five and a handful of higher-ranked prospects went through shooting drills and athletic testing.
I spent time watching, and talking to as many people as I could, both at the combine and later back at the Palmer House, where NBA prospects, agents and front-office folks were gathered.
Here's what I heard:
Christmas, Tokoto rising
Of the players who decided to play in the 5-on-5 games, a handful really stood out. Syracuse's
Rakeem Christmas was the big winner the past few days. He had an awesome senior season at Syracuse, but most NBA scouts dismissed it because of his age and three previous lackluster years at Syracuse.
Not only were his measurements terrific -- 6-foot-9¾ in shoes, with a crazy 7-5¼ wingspan and 9-2½ standing reach (enough to project as an NBA center) -- but he also came out and dominated in the 5-on-5, scoring 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting, grabbing 6 rebounds and blocking a shot.
"He had an advantage [over his combine competition] as a four-year senior," one NBA GM said. "But that wasn't what set him apart. I felt he showed that he could disrupt shots, attack the rim and play bigger than I felt he did at Syracuse. There aren't many centers in this draft after the lottery, and I think he'll draw a lot of interest for teams in the late first and early second."
Four other players really stood out to scouts and GMs in the opening game: UNC's
J.P. Tokoto, France's
Mouhammadou Jaiteh, Bowling Green's
Richaun Holmes and Louisville's
Terry Rozier. Tokoto showed off his elite athletic ability, skying high for several terrific dunks, hitting a jump shot, and playing terrific defense (three steals in 24 minutes). He had 13 points on 6-for-6 shooting, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. "He really popped," another GM said. "Loved his energy and athleticism and loved that he was confident in his jumper. He's got things to work on, but if you wanted to like him because of his elite defense and high basketball IQ, he gave you plenty to work with today." Jaiteh also was impressive, scoring 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting and grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds. His physical presence in the paint was noted by multiple scouts. "He's much better than I thought he was," one GM said. "I think he's got legit size for the position and felt he had a soft touch around the basket."
Holmes was the MVP of the Portsmouth Invitational and kept the momentum going in 17 minutes of play. He had six points, two rebounds and a day-high five blocked shots. "He's long, he's bouncy, he was everywhere," another GM said. "He really stood out on the defensive end of the court. He's a sleeper."
Rozier also drew praise. He was the highest-ranked player on my Big Board to play, and after a slow start he ended with 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting along with two assists and two steals. "He wasn't awesome," one GM said. "But I loved that he had the confidence to come out here and play. He's a tough, confident kid, and I think we all love that." Other players from the first game who played well included UConn's
Ryan Boatright, Wyoming's
Larry Nance Jr. and Nebraska's
Terran Petteway. In the second 5-on-5 game, UTEP's
Vince Hunter led all scorers with 18 points on 8-for-16 shooting while recording 12 rebounds and three steals. He was especially dominant in the first half of the game and drew lots of wows from scouts. "If you're looking for guys with NBA upside, I thought him and Tokoto were the two that really popped," one GM said. "He played really hard, was everywhere on the floor, and he clearly has NBA athleticism. I'm just not sure whether he can shoot."
Others who drew praise from scouts and GMs in the second game included UCSB's
Alan Williams, LSU's
Jordan Mickey, Florida's
Michael Frazier II and Kentucky's
Andrew Harrison.
Harrison was probably the biggest draw here and played really well, scoring 17 points on 5-for-10 shooting, dishing out five assists with zero turnovers, and collecting two steals and two blocked shots.
"I haven't been a big fan of his all year," one GM said. "But if you take all of that away, he was one of the two or three best players here. He played under control, made some great passes, got to the line relentlessly [7-for-8] and just played with confidence. It was a very good showing."
Mickey had 17 points on 7-for-12 shooting, eight rebounds, two steals and a crazy eight blocked shots in 29 minutes.
"I wish he was a little taller, but he was a monster defensively today, and I think everyone knows he has that ability," one GM said. "But while he can guard 4s in the NBA, I'm not sure he has the offense to play that position in the pros. But he definitely made us want to take another look."
Williams was a beast in the low post, collecting a day-high 15 rebounds to go along with 12 points and two blocked shots. He basically did exactly what he's been doing at Santa Barbara for the last three years. "He's undersized and he plays below the rim," one GM said. "But rebounding translates in our league, and this kid is as good of a rebounder as I've seen in awhile." Frazier was the best sharpshooter of the 5-on-5, hitting 3-for-5 from beyond the arc and ending with 17 points and six rebounds.
Who didn't help themselves
It's pretty hard to hurt yourself in a camp like this. But there was some negativity around the poor shooting performances by Kentucky's
Aaron Harrison and Eastern Washington's
Tyler Harvey. Both players are selling themselves as shooters, but Harrison went 1-for-6 from the field (1-for-3 from 3) and Harvey was 3-for-13 from the field (2-for-9 from three).
"They both were trying too hard and took some bad, quick shots," one GM said. "You want to come out and show what you havem but in this case, I think their aggressiveness hurt them both."
In the spot-up shooting drills, Stanford's
Chasson Randle sported the best numbers from the NBA 3-point line, shooting 18-for-25. Texas'
Jonathan Holmes and Murray State's
Cameron Payne were second at 17-for-25. Virginia's
Justin Anderson, who was a lights-out shooter at Virginia before suffering a wrist injury late this past season, was a disappointing 9-for-25.
Hollis-Jefferson illustrates athleticism
The NBA began the athletic testing portion of the combine on Thursday.
Arizona's
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson tested extremely well in every category (38-inch maximum vertical plus top two in both lane agility and three-quarter-court spent scores). I think he could end up being the best athlete in the draft.
Of the players tested (about half the combine), Notre Dame's
Pat Connaughton wowed with an amazing 44-inch maximum vertical leap. Anderson (43-inch max vert), Green Bay's
Keifer Sykes (43), William & Mary's
Marcus Thornton (43), Boatright (41), Oregon's
Joseph Young (40.5) and Tokoto (40) also posted great scores.
The fastest three-quarter-court sprint scores: Marcus Thornton (3.02 seconds), Hollis-Jefferson (3.12) and Sykes (3.13). The fastest lane agility scores: Sykes (10.5 seconds), Hollis-Jefferson (10.51) and Wisconsin's
Sam Dekker (10.71) .
We'll have a full report over the weekend, once the rest of the players test on Friday.
Notes
In addition to all the on-the-court buzz, there was plenty of off-the-court buzz. Here are a few tidbits that I gleaned from the last few days:
- It seems that most teams have Ohio State's D'Angelo Russell ranked ahead of Emmanuel Mudiay on their boards. We'll have to make a small adjustment to the next Big Board on Monday.
- We may have Kentucky's Trey Lyles ranked too low. I received consistent feedback all week that many teams have him ranked in the top 10, one team as high as No. 6. Lyles has been sitting just outside the lottery for the past few months. I'll make an adjustment in Big Board 10.0 when it drops on Monday.
- Murray State's Cameron Payne is also a hot name, and sources indicate that one team in particular (the Indiana Pacers) is looking seriously at the guard at No. 11. Payne is coming in to work out with the Pacers on Monday along with Notre Dame's Jerian Grant. While a mobile big is also a possibility for the Pacers (they love Willie Cauley-Stein and like Frank Kaminsky), Payne has a big fan club in Indy.
- There seem to be major disagreements among front-office execs on several names. That could lead to some draft instability for Myles Turner (some as high as 5, others in the late teens); Frank Kaminsky (a couple of teams in the 8-10 range, several in the low 20s); Kevon Looney (one team as high as 5, another team in the 30s); Kelly Oubre (two teams in the top 10, several in the 20s); Devin Booker (two teams in the top 10, several in the high teens and early 20s); and R.J. Hunter (two teams in the late lottery, two teams in the second round). When ranges are this variant, guys can fall or rise quickly depending on workouts. While the draft board is pretty set at the top, the middle of the draft is still very much contested.
- Look for the Minnesota Timberwolves to try to package picks 31 and 36 to move up into the mid-to-late first round. They are clearly trying to land workouts for players ranked in the high teens and 20s on our Board.
- On Friday, the NBA combine resumes with more 5-on-5 play plus athletic testing for the players who didn't test on Thursday. Coverage is on ESPN2 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET.
