NBA Draft prospects whose stock is falling after combine originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The NBA Draft Combine isn’t a stock booster for everyone.
Sometimes, the added information gets in the way of a player’s body of work on the court and drops their stock a bit ahead of the draft. It rarely has an impact on their basketball career, but it does typically have a short-term effect on where they land in the draft.
We’ve already covered a few players who stood out at the combine and helped their case to get drafted early, so here are five players that weren’t exactly helped by the events in Chicago last week.
Daishen Nix: PG, G-League Ignite
Nix isn’t known as the most explosive guard, but he slimmed down significantly since coming out of high school and spending the season in the NBA G-League. With a little less weight to carry around, the hope was Nix would showcase a bit more burst against other prospects.
Nix didn’t exactly do that, as he went 0-for-10 from the floor in five-on-five scrimmages and struggled to beat defenders off the dribble. He did flash some playmaking upside in the two games he played, and his overall feel will be the biggest case for drafting him, but Nix didn’t do a ton to help his stock in Chicago.
Jared Butler: SG/SF, Baylor
Butler was expected to be a lottery pick before the combine, but the wing scorer was a medical flag by the league’s physicians and will need to be cleared in order to play next season. Butler was reportedly diagnosed with a heart condition early in his college career but he was able to play three years at a high level.
If Butler isn’t cleared he won’t be able to play in the NBA, so his draft stock will depend on the ruling from the league’s three-person panel.
Max Abmas: PG, Oral Roberts
Abmas helped himself out quite a bit in the NCAA tournament leading Oral Roberts on a cinderella run to the Sweet Sixteen. Nobody would mistake him with a big guard like Lonzo Ball, but Abmas really came in small at the combine measurements. He’s 5-foot-10 with a 6-1 wingspan and had a disappointing no-step vertical leap.
Small guards can still succeed in the NBA, but for a guy like Abmas, he’ll have to be lights out in every aspect of the game. Those late-first-round projections may turn into mid-second-round by the time draft night rolls around.
Greg Brown: PF/SF, Texas
Before the 2020-21 season, Brown was one of the more intriguing prospects in college thanks to his elite physical tools and athleticism. However, his lone season at Texas didn’t do much for him in terms of sharpening his skills and it was apparent at the combine.
There’s still a lot to like about Brown and what he could eventually do for an NBA team, it’s just going to take some time for him to get there.
Jonny Juzang: SG/SF, UCLA
Juzang is another player who had a big March but struggled at the combine. He shot just 23% from the floor in two five-on-five games without showcasing any playmaking or defensive upside that could have helped distract from the cold shooting display.
Juzang can still return to college and improve his stock that way, which might be a good idea considering the second-round grade he likely has following the combine.