CHICAGO -- We noted who helped themselves in the first day of 5-on-5s, interviews and athletic testing at the NBA draft combine, and we've broken down how players fared in the measurements.
Here's what we learned on Friday, the second (and final) day of action, including new info on several potential lottery picks.
Latest draft buzz
Perhaps the most difficult player to accurately rank right now is Cal's Jaylen Brown. Brown told reporters in Chicago that his range was "1 through 10." That's right, he thinks he's in the mix for the No. 1 pick. I spoke with a couple of teams who believe he's a top-five pick, which isn't far off Brown's assessment. However, a number of others have him in the teens to early 20s.
Several teams that had him in for interviews this week were not impressed with how he handled himself. "He was the worst interview we had this week," one NBA GM said. "By far, the worst interview. I know he hasn't hired an agent yet, but he was arrogant and didn't show a real feel for the game when we asked him basketball questions. He hurt himself more than anyone here."
Other teams are more concerned about game film of Brown. "He's a 6-foot-7 power forward who thinks he's a wing," one GM said. "His feel and ability to create for himself just aren't there. I love the body and athleticism and I agree he wasn't in an ideal situation at Cal, but I'd have a hard time taking him ahead of the top-10 guys on our board."
Our last Big Board 7.0 (updated April 26) moved Malachi Richardson up to No. 20. We may have him too low.
Richardson told NBA teams in interviews on Friday that he had decided to keep his name in the draft. While that's disappointing to Syracuse fans, a number of NBA executives seem delighted by the news. Richardson, they say, could end up in the lottery.
Why the sudden rise in his draft stock? His strong play in the NCAA tournament was some of it. But a lot had to do with the fact that scouts weren't really focusing on him. He wasn't considered a one-and-done, so the evaluation wasn't as intense as it was for other freshmen.
Once teams went back to the film, they loved what they saw. He's a big wing with a massive 7-foot wingspan. He's very athletic (he measured a 38-inch vertical) as well.
Most importantly, he's one of the few guys in this draft with the size, speed and skills to get his own shot. Not only does he have a quick first step that allows him to blow by defenders, but he's also got deep range on his jump shot. He only shot 35 percent from 3, but scouts attribute the so-so shooting numbers to shot selection more than shooting form.
"He can really shoot the basketball," one GM said. "He just took a lot of bad shots. He's wild. His decision making still isn't there, but the talent level and physical tools to get it done are there. I think he's got some star potential."
While not every team sees it (a few still have him in the 30s), it looks more and more like his range is somewhere between No. 12 and No. 20. In other words, right now we have him at his floor. Look for a big bump in our next Big Board on Monday.
Poor Caris LeVert. The Michigan senior was once projected as a late-lottery to mid-first-round pick. However, injuries his junior and senior year have taken their toll.
NBA teams were hoping that LeVert's leg would be healed enough to participate in the combine. Alas, he showed up to interviews in a walking boot and told teams it would be another six weeks before he could start doing light work on the court. That means he won't be able to do draft workouts, nor will he likely be available for summer league. His earliest availability, if everything heals, looks like training camp. That's going to take a pretty big hit to his draft stock.
Players who helped their draft stock on Friday
Two more 5-on-5 games went down on Friday. Here's a look at the players who impressed.
Cheick Diallo, F, Fr., Kansas
For a second straight day, Diallo played much more like a top-10 high school recruit than the rarely used and rarely effective player we saw as a freshman at Kansas. He scored nine points, grabbed 10 points, made a nice turnaround jumper and changed a number of other shots in the paint. He was super active on both ends.
He's raw. Really raw. He lacks the strength or feel for the game to make an immediate impact in the NBA. He's going to look better in a more unstructured, pick-up type game environment than in an offensive system. That's what held him back at Kansas. But there are few players with his size, length, athleticism and motor.
Diallo had been testing the waters. He announced on Friday that he was keeping his name in the draft and hiring an agent. Look for him to go somewhere in the No. 20 to No. 35 range.
Patrick McCaw, F, So., UNLV
McCaw has been a secret favorite of many scouts all year. After a so-so performance on Thursday, he came alive on Friday, scoring 14 points, dishing out four assists and picking up a couple of steals.
McCaw is another one of those playmaking wings who excel passing the ball and getting others involved. And unlike several other playmaking forwards (read Ben Simmons and DeAndre Bembry), he's further along on his jump shot.
While he didn't shoot it particularly well in the games, he shot 13-for-25 in the 3-point shooting drills. He needs to get stronger and may be less ready than Bembry, but he's got a real shot at landing in the first round.
Chinanu Onuaku, F/C, So., Louisville
Onuaku might not be the most polished prospect in the draft, but he's got an awesome NBA body and plays physically. He rebounds, alters shots and is still just 19 years old. For a team looking for a physical, shot-blocking enforcer to come off the bench, he might be worth a pick late in the first round or early second.
Onuaku is also testing the draft waters. He could certainly benefit from another year at Louisville, especially offensively. But if he declares this year, he should get drafted.
Jaron Blossomgame, SF, Jr., Clemson
Blossomgame is another underclassman testing the waters. After a nondescript performance on Thursday, it looked like it might be in his best interest to return to Clemson for his senior season. However, he was much better on Friday, scoring 16 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and shooting 3-for-3 from beyond the arc.
Blossomgame has prototypical size for his position, he's a very good athlete and he shot 45 percent from 3 as a junior and 15-for-25 from NBA 3 in the drills.
In a draft where teams are desperately looking for shooters, I think Blossomgame may have a chance to crack the first round.
Joel Bolomboy, PF, Sr., Weber State
Bolomboy did two things that really stood out to scouts. First, he tested as possibly the best athlete in the draft. He proved he was the most explosive big, and his shuttle drills and 3/4 court sprint put him in the top three in the entire camp.
Second, he showed off both his rebounding ability and his ability to stretch the floor with a jumper that is a little flat but goes in.
He's still a bit unpolished, and 22 years old, but when you take into account his size, length, athleticism and motor, he's a very intriguing prospect. I'm not going to go so far as to put him in the first round yet, but if he climbed that high, it wouldn't surprise me.
Michael Gbinije, F, Sr., Syracuse
Gbinije also made his case Friday. His combination of athleticism (he finished No. 1 in the 3/4 sprint and had a 37.5 inch vertical), passing acumen and shooting ability make him another interesting playmaking wing. He had 17 points, four assists and four steals on Friday.
I think his age -- he's almost 24 -- will keep him from getting drafted in the first round, but I think he'll likely see his name come off the board in the No. 30 to No. 45 range.
Sheldon McClellan, SG, Sr., Miami
McClellan was the last person to earn an invite to the combine. He was an alternate that got the call after Wayne Selden injured his knee. He made the most of his trip here.
He measured with a 41.5-inch vertical and scored a Friday high 22 points and shot 3-for-5 from 3. With his body and athleticism, he might be able to sneak into the second round after his performance here.
Several other players also played well on Friday, including Oakland's Kay Felder, Maryland's Robert Carter, Providence's Ben Bentil, Maryland's Jake Layman and St. Joseph's Isaiah Miles.
The All-Go-Back-To-School Team
Now, for the bad news. Despite the excellent play of a number of prospects here, it won't be easy to get into the first round.
By my count, 25 college players that were invited to the combine didn't even play in the 5-on-5s -- because they believe that they are likely first rounders. Most of them are probably right.
Add in another four or five international players likely to go in the first round and there just aren't a lot of spots (or maybe no spots) left.
For some players (and especially some agents), that's not a huge issue. In fact, many agents believe there are advantages to sliding into the second round. Those prospects are not tied to the rookie scale. Agents can negotiate whatever deal they want for their players. Those taken in the early 30s especially have an advantage, sometimes, over players taken in the 20s.
However, slide out of the 30s, and the odds are no longer in your favor. That math will be especially troublesome for a number of underclassmen who are testing the draft waters. By my count there are a whopping 79 players who are still undecided about whether they will be in the draft.
Of those 79, only 15 of them were even invited to the combine. That should be the writing on the wall for the remaining 64 players who weren't invited. The chances of getting drafted are slim to none for them.
And of the 15 remaining in the combine? Many of them struggled -- and a few were awful -- this week. It's time for them to strongly consider returning to school. The chances that they will be first round picks are almost zero. And the chances that the go in the first 10 picks of the second round also look very small.
So who's on the All-Go-Back-To-School Team?
Maryland's Melo Trimble, Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes, Purdue's Caleb Swanigan, Kentucky's Marcus Lee, Memphis' Dedric Lawson and Indiana's Troy Williams all are at risk of not getting drafted. All of them struggled this week.
Unless they want to spend the next year in the D-League or Europe, they should go back to college. All of them have enough talent to improve their draft stock with another year of school.
Several others should strongly consider going back to school. North Carolina's Justin Jackson, Villanova's Josh Hart, Mississippi State's Malik Newman and Seton Hall's Isaiah Whitehead didn't have great weeks. All of them have enough talent to go in the first round. But the odds could improve dramatically with another year in school. If they stay, they are much more likely to find themselves somewhere in the second round.
The first-round bubble players that face a tougher decision are Bentil, Blossomgame, Onuaku, and New Mexico's Pascal Siakam. When our new Big Board comes out on Monday, Bentil will stay in the top 30, and the other three will be just outside the top 30, in the No. 31 to 40 range. With strong workouts they could move into the first round.
And, as mentioned, getting drafted in this range isn't a disaster.
Who's the best athlete in the draft?
The NBA also runs players thorough a series of athletic tests. While this is a major deal for NFL teams (at the NFL combine), NBA teams don't put much stock in it.
They were especially leery of some of the numbers this year when about 30 percent of the players in the draft measured with unusually small standing reaches. Many of the players had been measured in other venues and a number showed up significantly shorter (try two to four inches) than in past measurements.
Since maximum verticals are determined by taking a player's standing reach and then subtracting it from their jump, they believe the standing verticals may be inflated for some players.
Nevertheless, here are the top performers in each category.
Maximum vertical leap (with steps) high scores: Kay Felder (44 inches), Demetrius Jackson (43.5), Dorian Finney-Smith (41), Shelden McClellan (41), Jaron Blossomgame (40.5)
Maximum vertical leap (with steps) low scores: Dedric Lawson (28 inches), Caleb Swanigan (29), Daniel Hamilton (29), Diamond Stone (29.5), Robert Carter (30.5)
Standing vertical leap (no steps) high scores: Dorian Finney-Smith (38.5 inches), Demetrius Jackson (37.5), Joel Bolomboy (37.5), Damian Jones (36), Kay Felder (35. 5)
Standing vertical leap (no steps) low scores: Dedric Lawson (22.5 inches), Isaiah Miles (24), Robert Carter (24.5), Georges Niang (25), Caleb Swanigan (26), Daniel Hamilton (26)
Three-quarter court sprint fastest scores: Michael Gbinije (3.12 seconds), Perry Ellis (3.13), Marcus Paige (3.15), Kay Felder (3.15), DeAndre Bembry (3.17), Joel Bolomboy (3.17)
Three-quarter court sprint slowest scores: Robert Carter (3.65 seconds), Dedric Lawson (3.65), Jarrod Utoff (3.5), Chinanu Onuaku (3.5), Diamond Stone (3.5)
Shuttle run fastest scores: Malcolm Brogdon (2.64 seconds), Marcus Paige (2.69), Melo Trimble (2.77), Taurean Prince (2.80), Jake Layman (2.82)
Shuttle run slowest scores: Dedric Lawson (3.39 seconds), Cheick Diallo (3.3), A.J. English (3.27), Jaron Blossomgame (3.26), Isaiah Miles (3.25)
Lane agility fastest scores: Joel Bolomboy (10.26 seconds), Wade Baldwin (10.45), Sheldon McClellan (10.45), Denzel Valentine (10.51), Malachi Richardson (10.56)
Lane agility slowest scores: Caleb Swanigan (12.8 seconds), Dedric Lawson (12.48), AJ English (12.27), Nigel Hayes (12.11), Stephen Zimmerman (12.08)
Bolomboy, McClellan and Felder are the three players with the best case for the best athlete tested at the combine. All of them are super-elite athletes in all categories.
On the other hand, Lawson, Swanigan and Carter looked very nonathletic in virtually every category.
There weren't a lot of other surprises. Gonzaga's Kyle Wiltjer, who is widely considered by scouts to be a terrible athlete, actually tested surprisingly well across the board. He's still not a great athlete, but his test suggest he's not quite as bad as he looks on the court.
Kansas' Perry Ellis, another non-athlete by NBA standards, also tested surprisingly well, including a 38-inch max vertical and the second fastest three-quarter court sprint.
Vanderbilt's Wade Baldwin's excellent scores, across the board, should help his cause. He already has elite size and strength for his position and his athletic numbers were on par with all of the quicker guards in the draft.
Note that several prospects including Ben Simmons, Brandon Ingram, Jamal Murray, Kris Dunn, Buddy Hield, Henry Ellenson, Jakob Poeltl, Jaylen Brown, Skal Labissiere, Deyonta Davis, Malik Beasley, Anthony Barber (injury), LeVert (injury), and Selden (injury) didn't participate.
For a complete look at every score, go here.
What's next?
Check back on Monday when our Big Board 8.0 breaks down the buzz from Chicago for everyone in our top 30.
Then it's the NBA draft lottery on Tuesday evening at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. We'll have an updated draft lottery guide with draft odds and projected top three picks for each team on Tuesday.
After the lottery results on Tuesday night, we'll have an updated Mock Draft 7.0 for the first round with team-specific needs.
And keep following along as we run a number of workout confidential features following the top draft prospects in private workouts in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Cleveland.