The NBA Draft process is beginning to pick up steam as the 2015 NBA Draft Combine has begun taking place in Chicago. Though some players are skipping the combine altogether, most of the top prospects in this year’s draft class are there to at least take place in measurements, athletic testing, and interviews.
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Many players have already begun measuring with D’Angelo Russell, Justise Winslow, and Willie Cauley-Stein among the top-10 prospects to have official measurements via Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times:
NBA combine (in shoes) D'Angelo Russell 6'5", Stanley Johnson 6'6.5", Justise Winslow 6'6.5", Kaminsky 7'0.75", WCS 7'0.5", Tyus Jones 6'2"
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) May 13, 2015
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports also reported wingspans for some top players, as well as their height measured without shoes:
NBA Draft Combine: Caulie-Stein 6-11 1/2 w/o shoes, 7-3 wing; Russell 6-3 1/2, 6-9 3/4; S. Johnson 6-5, 6-11 1/2; Winslow 6-4 1/2, 6-10 1/2
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) May 13, 2015
One thing that stands out for many of the top players in this class is their length as Russell, Winslow, Cauley-Stein, and Stanley Johnson all provide outstanding length for their respective positions. For the latter three, all of whom are known for their defense, this gives teams another reason to believe their skill on that end will translate to the next level.
The NBA Draft Lottery takes place Tuesday May 19 with the Los Angeles Lakers owning the fourth slot. This gives them an 11.9 percent chance of winning the first overall selection and a 37.8 percent chance of moving into the top-three. There is also a 17.2 percent chance the Lakers fall out of the top-five in which case they will send their pick to the Philadelphia 76ers.
[divide]Lakers Nation 2015 NBA Draft Podcast