How far has the draft stock of Andrew and Aaron Harrison fallen?
ESPN’s Chad Ford said Wednesday in a chat that if the NBA Draft were held today, neither guard would be selected:
“After the horrific outing they had in front of scouts against Louisville, it’s going to be tough. You never base things off one game, and scouts aren’t, but that game exposed so many of their flaws. Aaron is a shooter who can’t hit shots. Andrew is a point guard who struggles to protect the ball and make good plays. I think UK would be much stronger with Tyler Ulis and Devin Booker starting. I don’t think that will happen. I think John Calipari can get away with playing the twins equal minutes because of weak competition in the SEC. That will keep the twins from becoming discontent. But as far as NBA guys go — virtually all of them believe that Booker and Ulis are better NBA talents. Right now I don’t have either Harrison in my Top 60 which means they’d go undrafted if the draft were held today.”
Those comments echo what an NBA scout told SNY.tv following the Louisville game. He said the twins “both struggled” while the 5-9 Ulis “the was the best player on the floor.”
Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com, who sees mores games than any draft guru, currently has Andrew Harrison as the No. 39 pick and Aaron at No. 45.
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Both Ford and Givony currently have a 1-2-3 of Duke’s Jahlil Okafor, China’s Emmanuel Mudiay and Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns.
As we indicated here earlier, the 6-5 Mudiay may pull a Dante Exum and not play another game in China and just end up preparing for the NBA Draft. Why do anything else when you’re projected as the No. 2 pick?
“I think it this point there’s a very good chance that Mudiay won’t be playing in China anymore and he’ll end up doing what Dante Exum did and just prep for the draft,” Ford wrote. “There’s no incentive for him to really play. He’s going to be a Top 5 pick even if he never plays another game. And there are risks that he could get hurt or come back and really struggle. I’d be really surprised to see him back out on the court in China. Not impossible, I’d just be surprised.”
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If the NBA Draft were held today, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Knicks and the Minnesota Timberwolves would have the three worst records in the NBA and have the best shots at Okafor, Mudiay and Towns.
