Jaylen Brown (Photo : Twitter)
The NBA Draft Combine concluded and for one of the players who attended, it led to more questions than answers.
Jaylen Brown from the California Golden Bears is one of the most polarizing talents in this year's draft. He has tremendous talent but many executives have raised red flags on him.
In an ESPN Insider feature, draft guru Chad Ford showed his post combine assessments on 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," Chad Ford said. "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."
Ford continued: "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.'"
Perhaps the lack of an agent to guide him through the process has hurt him. The NBA is more than just playing basketball so he must be made aware of that. But even with just his on-court performance, there are still questions.
Ford quotes an unnamed GM. "He's a 6-foot-7 power forward who thinks he's a wing. 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."
While Ford recounts those negative comments, it should be noted that there are representatives from all 30 NBA teams in the Combine and some of them had contrasting views.
In NBA.com's post-Combine notes, Brown was the biggest riser. He was placed at no.4 after the consensus top two (Ben Simmons, who did not attend and Brandon Ingram) and Dragan Bender who was still in Europe. The assessment from Scott Howard Cooper:
"Brown has the kind of elite athleticism that translates into a great open-court player, a good rebounder for a wing and the potential to be a high-level defender, all with good size for a small forward."
Cooper also tweeted: "Some good buzz for Cal SF Jaylen Brown at No. 3. 'I'd do it,' one GM said. Others not as certain. Brown one of several candidates there."
Brown is one of the players in the wild mix from picks 3-8. Other players in consideration: Bender, Jamal Murray, Buddy Hield, Kris Dunn and Jakob Poeltl.
