The NBA Draft Lottery takes place tonight, and with it comes mock drafts, scouting report breakdowns, and over-analysis from fans and media alike over who their teams should select.
With many of the top prospects in the upcoming Draft skipping the Combine in Chicago last week, teams are focusing now more than ever on personal workouts to determine whether or not they want to take select a player.
Unfortunately for teams, this has given agents an inordinate amount of power. Players and their representation are now able to choose when, where and who they will work out for. While there is plenty of game tape on top prospects, one in particular may have an advantage in getting to his team of preference according to Mark Heisler of Forbes.
Then there’s Dante Exum, the No. 4 consensus prospect, who attended the camp, was weighed and measured (he’s 6-4 1/2, 196) and even did drills, showing that he’s very athletic.
However, there’s widespread suspicion that Exum’s agent, Rob Pelinka, who’s also Kobe Bryant’s agent, may not let the Australian point guard work out for anyone but the Lakers. Exum, who has been in Southern California, working out, attending Laker games and meeting the guys, called them his “best option,” although he backed off that last week in Chicago.
If individual workouts are useful, they’re not normally indispensable, after at least one season of college basketball. However, Exum didn’t attend college and has only played internationally at the under-19 level. All anyone has to go off is last spring’s eye-popping performance at the Nike Hoop Summit, which matches the best international 18-years-olds against those of the U.S..
Exum has the advantage of being a relative unknown. While there is game-tape of what he has been able to do in international tournaments, he doesn’t have a full reel of film like the college stars also at the top of the draft. Because of this, Exum could very well not work out for any team other than the Lakers. With GM’s hesitant to draft a player they are unsure of, especially high in the draft where a bust could cost your job, Exum and Pelinka may actually be able to force their way to LA.