2014 NBA draft Big Board 8.0
The men's NCAA season ended on Monday night and the Connecticut Huskies are the national champions.
A lot has happened since our previous Big Board update, which was in February. NBA draft stock has risen and fallen thanks to a number of factors such as injuries, conference play, and performance in the NCAA tournament.
With the season over, teams have a bit of a draft lull. The Nike Hoop Summit is this weekend and we will get a good look at one guy on our Big Board, Clint Capela.
The Portsmouth Invitational is next week, though it's rare for anyone on our Big Board to attend the seniors-only tournament. So for most of these players, it's off to train in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago and New York until the NBA draft combine in mid-May in Chicago.
Until then, here's our eighth Big Board of the 2014 NBA draft.
1. Andrew Wiggins
Wiggins began the season atop our Big Board and he ends the college season in the same spot. He has had his ups and downs and struggled at times to live up to huge expectations. He has weaknesses that need to be improved, but in talking to numerous general managers and scouts, he's atop at least 60 percent of the big boards in the NBA at the moment and looks like he would be the top pick for five of the six teams with the worst records in the league.
2. Jabari Parker
If Parker declares (and it's still an "if" right now), he will carry the label as the most NBA-ready freshman -- maybe even the most NBA-ready of anyone -- in the draft. But teams want huge upside as well this high in the draft, and while Parker is the most likely to come out and win rookie of the year honors, the fear is that his ceiling isn't as high as either Wiggins' or Joel Embiid's. A few teams are still leaning his direction with the No. 1 pick, but other than the Jazz, the rest are long shots. It will be interesting to see if his stock rises if he can get in great shape before the combine. That's one of the biggest knocks on him right now.
3. Joel Embiid
How's the back? That's the biggest question surrounding Embiid right now. The second biggest question: Will he declare? The early word was that he was leaning toward leaving KU, but his hesitation since then has raised some eyebrows. If his back checks out at the combine, he'll again be in the discussion for the No. 1 pick. If it's something small, he might drop a few spots. If teams believe he requires surgery at some point, he could really slide. So for now, it's safe to say Embiid will be the biggest question mark in the draft for the next month.
4. Dante Exum
Exum is in Los Angeles working out with Kobe Bryant's and Dwyane Wade's trainer, Tim Grover. NBA scouts would love to come in and get a peek, but no one can see him until the NBA releases the official underclassmen declaration list sometime in late April. Even then, it's unlikely that more than a couple of teams will get to see him in workouts. There's going to be a dearth of information about him going into the draft, but it doesn't mean he can't play. His agent, Rob Pelinka, is just going to be strategic about which teams get a good look.
5. Julius Randle
Randle finished with four double-doubles in the NCAA tournament and scored in double-digits in every game, but he struggled against UConn in the final, scoring only 10 points on 3-for-7 shooting. The tournament showed Randle's strengths and weaknesses. He can be a beast in the paint, and he moves his feet so well for someone his size and looks NBA-ready. But he struggles to score against length and athleticism at times, and that will become only more pronounced at the next level.
6. Aaron Gordon
Gordon has yet to declare for the draft, but the word around the league is that he will do so. He is a work in progress on the offensive end of the ball (which partially explains why his advanced metrics are so low), but all of the defensive tools he has, combined with elite athleticism and motor, have many scouts on board with him as an Andrei Kirilenko-meets-Blake Griffin forward at the next level.
7. Noah Vonleh
Vonleh might be the one guy on this list who could end up leapfrogging both Gordon and Randle into that top-5 spot. Blessed with size, athletic ability and shooting touch, Vonleh's best comp may be Chris Bosh. You are going to see a lot of teams in the Nos. 4-8 range trying to schedule Randle, Gordon and Vonleh together for workouts. Each player possesses something the other doesn't. It should be epic.
8. Marcus Smart
Smart would have been the No. 2 pick in the draft last year had he come out. Another year at school has dinged his stock a bit, but his late-season surge has put him on very solid ground in the top 10. Some scouts love him, some scouts aren't enamored at all, but Smart's range looks like it's Nos. 4-10 right now.
9. Tyler Ennis
Ennis didn't finish the season as strong as he started, and I know there are some scouts who are starting to get off the bandwagon. But his steadiness as a point guard is pretty rare. I think you see Smart and Exum go ahead of him in virtually every scenario, but after those two are off the board, Ennis doesn't have a lot of competition, and several teams in the late lottery/mid-first round need point guards.
10. Gary Harris
Harris has yet to declare his intentions for the NBA draft; however, he's widely regarded as the second-best 2-guard in the draft behind Wiggins. His lack of size and his inconsistent shooting from deep has hurt his stock a little bit, but his ability to play at both ends of the floor, along with his age (he's younger than both Ennis and Embiid) have scouts projecting him as a top-10 pick. Look for him to go in the Nos. 8-15 range.
