Scott Machado figures to be a second-round pick during Thursday’s NBA Draft, but the former Iona guard feels he deserves to go in the first round.
“Yeah, I do deserve to be a first-round pick,” Machado, who averaged 13.6 points and a Division 1-best 9.9 assists en route to winning the Haggery Award as the New York area’s top player, told SNY.tv Tuesday.
DraftExpress.com currently has the 6-3 Machado going to the Los Angeles Clippers with the No. 23 pick in the second round.
Machado said he was waiting to speak with his agent, Aylton Tesch, to learn more about which teams were heavily interested.
“He was making phoencalls today and [Monday],” said Machado, who played at St. Benedict’s Prep. “It’s still a possibility of going in the first round.
“I just want to go somewhere where I can fit in and help the team out,” Machado said.
Machado is generally projected as a notch below point guards like Damian Lillard of Weber State, Kendall Marshall of North Carolina, Marquis Teague of Kentucky and Tyshawn Taylor of Kansas but Machado could still be a solid NBA backup or starter for 10-12 years.
“He’s a second-round pick,” Seth Davis’ mythical scout, Finch, told SI.com. “The system he played in at Iona made him look pretty good.”
Still, said Machado: “There isn’t much separating [me from Lillard, Marshall, Teague and Taylor].”
Machado said he’s not certain if he will attend the draft or go out to dinner in Manhattan or Queens with his family.
Once the draft is over, he’s looking forward to helping his parents, Luis and Solenir, by repaying them for all they’ve done for him over the years.
“Just paying back my mother for everything she gave me,” Machado said. “All the tuition she paid for schools and all the AAU trips and stuff like that. Sneakers she was buying me.
“All the stuff that she was giving me before I had to get stuff on my own and getting me where I’m at now.”
