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2016 NBA Draft Big Board 3.0

By Austin Peters

Feb 28, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Brandon Ingram (14) handles the ball against Pittsburgh Panthers forward Sheldon Jeter (21) during the first half at the Petersen Events Center. PITT won 76-62. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 28, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Brandon Ingram (14) handles the ball against Pittsburgh Panthers forward Sheldon Jeter (21) during the first half at the Petersen Events Center. PITT won 76-62. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

As the calendar turns to March, it is time for a new update to the 2016 NBA Draft Big Board. There have been plenty of changes since the last version, and here are some of the things to highlight:

  • For the majority of the season, Ben Simmons has had a solid hold on the top spot in this big board. Now, it seems like the race for the No. 1 pick gets tighter and tighter with each weekend. Simmons has had a few performances where he has mailed it in and it has opened the door for Ingram to shine. LSU is most likely not going to make the NCAA tournament, giving Ingram another chance to prove himself when the whole world is watching. It feels like Ingram is one huge performance in the tournament away from overtaking Simmons in the eyes of fans as the No. 1 pick in June.
  • When we last put together our big board at the beginning of January, Buddy Hield was a fringe first rounder. Hield’s improvement from his junior season was obvious, but had yet to be sustained for a full season. As we enter March, the 22-year-old is still posting ridiculous shooting numbers including a 61.9 True Shooting Percentage while knocking down 47.6 percent of his 3-pointers. While Hield’s Sooners lost four games during February, his production remained steady despite Oklahoma’s lagging results. Hield is still in need of improvement in some areas — it would be nice if he could more consistently beat his man off the dribble, for example. Nevertheless, Hield may be this draft’s best shooter and that alone will make him a very valuable NBA player.
  • Most of our biggest movers since the January iteration of our big board are freshmen who have started to clarify their potential value. Both Kentucky’s Skal Labissiere and Kansas’ Cheick Diallo continue to struggle to find consistent roles on their respective teams. Labissiere has shown flashes of brilliance, including an 11-point, 8-rebound outing against Florida, which is why he remains in the lottery. Other freshmen — Washington’s Marquese Chriss, Michigan State’s Deyonta Davis, and Florida State’s Malik Beasley — have made impressive strides up the board. Both Chriss and Davis are raw but talented bigs with the potential to make significant impacts down the line. Beasley, meanwhile, has become the more prized of the Seminoles’ two freshmen, moving ahead of teammate Dwayne Bacon on our board.
  • This year, more than most, has a strong crop of international players. It will be interesting to see who stays in this draft and who opts to move into the more highly touted 2017 NBA Draft class. Guys like Dragan Bender, Furkan Korkmaz, and Timothe Luwawu all seem like locks to go in the lottery, making it likely they stay in through their deadline. Other players, such as Jonathan Jeanne, Petr Cornelie, Juan Hernangomez, Isaiah Cordinier, and a few others may feel more confident in withdrawing their name this year and moving into next year’s draft. Regardless of the outcome, this deep international pool could see a new record of players taken from foreign countries set this draft. It is not out of the question.

Now, let’s take a look at the pre-March Madness list of the top-60 2016 NBA Draft prospects.

BIG BOARD

  1. Ben Simmons — 6-10, PF, LSU
  2. Brandon Ingram — 6-9, SF, Duke
  3. Dragan Bender — 7-1, PF, Maccabi Tel Aviv
  4. Kris Dunn — 6-4, PG, Providence
  5. Jakob Poeltl — 7-1, C, Utah
  6. Jaylen Brown — 6-7, SF, California
  7. Jamal Murray — 6-5, SG, Kentucky
  8. Henry Ellenson — 6-10, PF, Marquette
  9. Furkan Korkmaz — 6-7, SG, Anadolu Efes
  10. Buddy Hield — 6-4, SG, Oklahoma
  11. Skal Labissiere — 7-0, PF, Kentucky
  12. Timothe Luwawu — 6-7, SG, Mega Leks
  13. Ivan Rabb — 6-10, PF, California
  14. Diamond Stone — 7-0, C, Maryland
  15. Denzel Valentine — 6-6, SF, Michigan State
  16. Demetrius Jackson — 6-1, PG, Notre Dame
  17. Wade Baldwin IV — 6-3, PG, Vanderbilt
  18. Marquese Chriss — 6-9, PF, Washington
  19. Jonathan Jeanne — 7-2, PF, Le Mans
  20. Deyonta Davis — 6-10, PF, Michigan State
  21. Domantas Sabonis — 6-10, PF, Gonzaga
  22. Taurean Prince — 6-7, SF, Baylor
  23. Melo Trimble — 6-3, PG, Maryland
  24. Grayson Allen — 6-4, SG, Duke
  25. Stephen Zimmerman — 7-0, C, UNLV
  26. Damian Jones — 6-10, C, Vanderbilt
  27. Nigel Hayes — 6-8, PF, Wisconsin
  28. Paul Zipser — 6-8, SF, Bayern Munich
  29. Malik Beasley — 6-4, SG, Florida State
  30. Cheick Diallo — 6-9, PF, Kansas
  31. Isaiah Cordinier— 6-5, SG, Denain
  32. Ante Zizic — 6-11, C, Cibona Zagreb
  33. Zhou Qi — 7-2, C, Xinjiang
  34. Gary Payton II — 6-3, PG, Oregon State
  35. Petr Cornelie — 6-11, PF, Le Mans
  36. Juan Hernangomez — 6-9, SF, Estudiantes
  37. Brice Johnson — 6-9, PF, North Carolina
  38. Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk — 6-8, SG, Kansas
  39. Justin Jackson — 6-8, SF, North Carolina
  40. Ivica Zubac — 7-1, C, Mega Leks
  41. Malik Newman — 6-4, SG, Mississippi State
  42. Caris LeVert — 6-7, SG, Michigan
  43. Dwayne Bacon — 6-5, SG, Florida State
  44. Thomas Bryant — 6-9, C, Indiana
  45. Monte Morris — 6-3, PG, Iowa State
  46. Malcolm Brogdon — 6-5, SG, Virginia
  47. Tyler Ulis — 5-9, PG, Kentucky
  48. Isaiah Briscoe — 6-3, PG, Kentucky
  49. Pascal Siakam— 6-9, PF, New Mexico State
  50. Kay Felder— 5-9, PG, Oakland
  51. Jake Layman — 6-9, SF, Maryland
  52. DeAndre Bembry — 6-6, SF, St. Joe’s
  53. Pat McCaw — 6-7, SG, UNLV
  54. Tim Quarterman — 6-6, PG, LSU
  55. Anthony Barber — 6-2, PG, NC State
  56. Jarrod Uthoff — 6-9, PF, Iowa
  57. AJ Hammons — 7-0, C, Purdue
  58. Wayne Selden — 6-6, SG, Kansas
  59. Dorian Finney-Smith — 6-8, SF, Florida
  60. Aleksandar Vezenkov — 6-9, PF, Barcelona

STOCK UP

Bender (+1), Dunn (+2), Poeltl (+3), Brown (+3), Korkmaz (+1), Hield (+18), Luwawu (+2), Rabb (+2), Stone (+5), Valentine (+1), Jeanne (+10), Sabonis (+1), Prince (+3), Trimble (+1), Allen (+6), Zipser (+4), Beasley (+22), Payton II (+5), Cornelie (+2), Ulis (+6), Felder (+2), McCaw (+6), Selden (+2)

STOCK DOWN

Murray (-2), Ellenson (-1), Labissiere (-8), D. Jackson (-4), Zimmerman (-12), D. Jones (-6), Hayes (-1), Diallo (-19), Qi (-12), Mykhailiuk (-11), J. Jackson (-7), Newman (-7), LeVert (-24), Bacon (-8), Bryant (-8), Morris (-2), Briscoe (-25), Layman (-9), Bembry (-5), Quarterman (-6), Hammons (-2), Vezenkov (-10)

NEWCOMERS

Chriss (18), Davis (20), Cordinier (31), Zizic (32), Hernangomez (36), B. Johnson (37), Zubac (40), Brogdon (46), Siakam (49), Barber (55), Uthoff (56), Finney-Smith (59)

PREVIOUSLY RANKED

Troy Williams (31), Allonzo Trier (38), Tyrone Wallace (40), Devin Robinson (41), Daniel Hamilton (44), Kennedy Meeks (45), Marcus Lee (46), Chinanu Onuaku (49), Danuel House (54), Alex Poythress (56), Amida Brimah (57), Georges Niang (58)

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