Tag: alan griffin

Live tracker: Here is where the top undrafted free agents have signed

The 2021 NBA draft has come and gone but the draft cycle still continues for a bit longer as the undrafted free agents find their new homes.

The 2021 NBA draft has come and gone but the draft cycle still continues for a bit longer as the undrafted free agents find their new homes.

While the following prospects didn’t get to hear their name called by the commissioner or deputy commissioner on Thursday night, they can find solace in the fact that their path to the pros is far from over. It’s not unheard of for an undrafted free agent to carve out a role for themselves in the NBA.

Some notable names, including Gonzaga’s Joel Ayayi and G League Ignite’s Daishen Nix, will join the fraternity of undrafted basketball players who hope to still make a name for themselves in the NBA.

Here is where the best remaining prospects have landed so far, according to reports:

A roundup of NBA sleepers draft analysts are higher on than others

Who owns the most real estate on Davion Mitchell Island? Who is buying stock in Sharife Cooper?

Everyone loves Cade Cunningham. It’s not a hot take for an analyst to say that Cunningham is their favorite player in the class. That’s not particularly interesting to read, either.

But what is fascinating, however, is when an analyst deviates from the norm and ranks someone significantly higher than where the prospect falls in other rankings. What does that tell us about their individual scouting process and what they value? Further, what does that tell us about the potential draftee?

Some folks call it “buying stock” in a player. Others, like ESPN’s Zach Lowe or The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, call it owning real estate on a player’s island. I like to refer to it as a “draft crush” when I wind up higher than consensus in my evaluation of a player.

My process is ridiculously tedious but the results can be fairly useful. I’ve tracked the evolution of more than sixty unique mock drafts, big boards and draft models from trusted analysts and popular accounts on Twitter.

Each placement is assigned a value based on Kevin Pelton’s draft pick trade value chart. I do this because, as Pelton notes, the difference in relative value between the No. 5 overall pick and the No. 7 overall is much more stark than, say, that of the No. 45 pick and the No. 47 pick.

After composing an aggregate score based on each ranking, I can see where each analyst strays from the pack.

I’ll leave the conclusions drawn from these results up to the reader. But if nothing else, this can eventually be used as a bragging point if one writer was higher than consensus on a draftee who eventually ends up outperforming his draft position.

2021 NBA Draft Big Board 5.0: Final rankings of the Top 100 prospects

With just over a week left until the 2021 NBA draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, it’s officially the most wonderful time of the year! 

With just over a week left until the 2021 NBA draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, it’s officially the most wonderful time of the year!

That means that after a slew of surprising early entry withdrawals impacted the worlds of both college and international basketball, the next generation of NBA talent is getting closer to entering the league. As players finalize their place on big boards in front offices, I wanted to offer my opinion on how I think those rankings should look.

Note that our list is certainly going to look different from the lists at ESPN, The Athletic, Bleacher Report and other publications. Player evaluation is an inexact science. Part of the process is being willing to admit when you were wrong about a player.

But avoiding group-think and ending higher than consensus on a player is how an NBA team ends up selecting them in the draft. With that in mind, here is who I would target if I were running a front office.

Lakers conduct draft workouts with six participants Wednesday

The Los Angeles Lakers worked out six prospects Wednesday for the NBA draft process.

The NBA draft always takes plenty of work in advance in order for teams to be confident with their selections when the draft clock begins ticking.

The Los Angeles Lakers have the No. 22 overall pick in this year’s draft, barring any trades.

With the draft date of July 29 fast approaching, the Lakers are continuing the evaluation process by conducting individual workouts with players.

Los Angeles also interviewed several players at the NBA draft combine in June, like Corey Kispert of Gonzaga, Trey Murphy III of Virginia and more.

Los Angeles’ preparation continued Wednesday as they worked out six prospects, via Ryan Ward of Lakers Nation:

These players aren’t projected to be first-round draft pick options for the Lakers, and it’s uncertain if they’ll go in the second round, too.

The Lakers could be doing more due diligence to add talent to the South Bay Lakers of the G League or during Summer League in Las Vegas.

From those six players, Giorgi Bezhanishvili and Cody Riley are small-ball big men, which are the type of players usually playing center in the G League.

Matt Coleman, LJ Figueroa, Alan Griffin and Jason Preston are all guards capable of knocking down 3-pointers on solid volume.

Preston is arguably the best prospect L.A. could add to evaluate further. At Ohio this past season, he averaged 15.7 points, 7.3 assists, 7.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals while shooting 51.4 percent from the field on 12.4 attempts and 39 percent from deep on 4.1 attempts. He’s listed as 6’4″, making for an intriguing player.

Preston talked with Lakers media after his session and had this to say, via Ryan Ward:

Los Angeles’ roster doesn’t comprise of many young prospects, so with the limited cap space L.A. is dealing with this summer, trying to find hidden gems could be a worthwhile investment.

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Did he stay or did he go? Tracking the biggest NBA draft decisions

All prospects who declared early entry for the 2021 NBA draft without foregoing their collegiate eligibility had until July 7 to withdraw.

All prospects who declared early entry for the 2021 NBA draft without foregoing their collegiate eligibility had until July 7 to withdraw.

While the official date from the league is not actually until July 19, the NCAA has mandated the deadline of July 7 for players who wish to play college basketball next season.

Prospects who declared as early entry candidates but were just “testing the waters” often opt to return to the collegiate ranks so as to improve their draft stock for the subsequent year instead. But there are several reasons why a player might be even more willing to return to college for another campaign than usual.

For example, seniors have the option to use another year of eligibility because of the massive impact of COVID-19. Others may be interested in playing another year of college in front of fans after last season was met with many restrictions.

Meanwhile, all NCAA athletes also now have the ability to profit from their name, image and likeness (NIL) for the first time. This offers an avenue to collect some money while still in college without needing to fully commit to turning pro.

Here are the latest updates about who is still testing the waters, who will be turning pro and who will be returning to the NCAA.

Did he stay or did he go? Tracking the biggest NBA draft decisions

All prospects who declared early entry for the 2021 NBA draft without foregoing their collegiate eligibility had until July 7 to withdraw.

All prospects who declared early entry for the 2021 NBA draft without foregoing their collegiate eligibility had until July 7 to withdraw.

While the official date from the league is not actually until July 19, the NCAA has mandated the deadline of July 7 for players who wish to play college basketball next season.

Prospects who declared as early entry candidates but were just “testing the waters” often opt to return to the collegiate ranks so as to improve their draft stock for the subsequent year instead. But there are several reasons why a player might be even more willing to return to college for another campaign than usual.

For example, seniors have the option to use another year of eligibility because of the massive impact of COVID-19. Others may be interested in playing another year of college in front of fans after last season was met with many restrictions.

Meanwhile, all NCAA athletes also now have the ability to profit from their name, image and likeness (NIL) for the first time. This offers an avenue to collect some money while still in college without needing to fully commit to turning pro.

Here are the latest updates about who is still testing the waters, who will be turning pro and who will be returning to the NCAA.

Did he stay or did he go? Tracking the biggest NBA draft decisions

All prospects who declared early entry for the 2021 NBA draft without foregoing their collegiate eligibility had until July 7 to withdraw.

All prospects who declared early entry for the 2021 NBA draft without foregoing their collegiate eligibility had until July 7 to withdraw.

While the official date from the league is not actually until July 19, the NCAA has mandated the deadline of July 7 for players who wish to play college basketball next season.

Prospects who declared as early entry candidates but were just “testing the waters” often opt to return to the collegiate ranks so as to improve their draft stock for the subsequent year instead. But there are several reasons why a player might be even more willing to return to college for another campaign than usual.

For example, seniors have the option to use another year of eligibility because of the massive impact of COVID-19. Others may be interested in playing another year of college in front of fans after last season was met with many restrictions.

Meanwhile, all NCAA athletes also now have the ability to profit from their name, image and likeness (NIL) for the first time. This offers an avenue to collect some money while still in college without needing to fully commit to turning pro.

Here are the latest updates about who is still testing the waters, who will be turning pro and who will be returning to the NCAA.

Texas makes final six of Illinois transfer

Texas has made the final six for Illinois transfer Alan Griffin. The sophomore guard would add incredible depth to Smart’s team in 2020-2021.

Returning 100% of their production next season, Texas is going to be one of the most experienced teams in the country next season. Shaka Smart could be looking to add experience, bringing in a transfer.

Sophomore Alan Griffin is leaving Illinois after two full seasons in Champaign. The guard from Ossining, NY has narrowed his list down to six schools, with Texas making the cut. Other power conference members Miami, Syracuse, Iowa State, and Arizona join the Longhorns, while mid-major school Dayton is also in the mix.

Griffin improved greatly from his freshman year, averaging 8.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. His three-point percentage went up 11%, shooting 41% on the year.

If he were to transfer to Texas, Griffin would add to a loaded roster the Longhorns have at guard. He would join Coleman, Jones, and Ramey, and create incredible depth for the 2020-2021 season.

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