May 16, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; James Southerland is interviewed during the NBA Draft combine at Harrison Street Athletics Facility. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

The Bucks will hold their first pre-draft workout today.  According to Andrew Gruman of Fox Sports Wisconsin, those included among the six-player workout are Glen Rice, Jr., James Southerland of Syracuse, Will Clyburn of Iowa State, Tony Snell of New Mexico, Tyrone Gordon of Dakota State University, and Junior Cadougan of Marquette.

Anyone wanting for some wings today?

Glen Rice, Jr. intrigues because of his athleticism, shooting ability and comparisons to his father.  Rice’s maximum vertical leap was measured at 40.5″ at the combine.  He made 57.8% of his two-point shots and 37.9% of his (NBA distance) three-pointers in the NBA’s D-League, where he led the Rio Grande Valley Vipers to a title in his only season.  He could be the Bucks’ shooting guard of the future, but a number of question marks stem from incidents that led to his dismissal from Georgia Tech after two seasons.

James Southerland merits a look because of his combination of size and shooting ability. He converted almost 40% of his three-point attempts in senior season, but he did it in just that: his senior season.  At 23 years old, he is just six months younger than Brandon Jennings.

Southerland’s athleticism may also be something of a question mark.  His maximum vertical leap was measured at 32″ at last week’s NBA combine, where he hit 14 of his 25 shots in the three-point shooting drill.  As Syracuse made their way to the Final Four, Southerland’s defensive skills were masked by the Orange’s reliance on the matchup zone, but that’s presumably something the Bucks got to see for themselves in today’s workout.

Will Clyburn is something of a tweener forward. He doesn’t shoot well enough to space the floor as an NBA small forward, and at 6’7″, 210 lbs., he definitely isn’t large enough to play any bigger positions. After hitting 40.3% of his three-point shots in his final season at Utah, he sat out a year to transfer, then made just 30.8% of his threes in his only season at Iowa State.  Clyburn took part in the NBA’s combine, where his maximum vertical leap was measured at 34.5″.

Tony Snell is athletic.  He finished second at the combine in the agility drill.  He’s lean (4.85% body fat) and light (under 200 lbs.), and his maximum vertical leap was measured at 36.5″.  At 21 years old, he’s also a bit younger than some of the others working out today.

Evaluating his primary skills, he looks like the prototypical San Antonio Spurs-type wing:  he can move his feet on defense, he shoots well from long range with his feet set, and he has a demonstrated ability to pass.  Last season, he made 39% of his threes and averaged 2.9 assists per game.

Gordon is a 6’2″ guard from Division II Dakota State University.  Cadougan was started at guard for Marquette last season.  Neither Gordon nor Cadougan is likely to be selected in the June 27 draft.

December 12, 2011; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry (30) types on the computer for Twitter during media day at the Golden State Warriors Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Of the four major sports leagues, the NBA has embraced has embraced social media the most tightly.  In that spirit, it seems fair to evaluate the influence each team’s social media holds over its audience.  Klout, while not perfect, is the most well known method for measuring such social media impact.

Klout scours social media accounts, such as Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, and measures their data to create a “Klout Score.” Klout scores range from 1 to 100, with higher scores corresponding to a broader online social influence. The data below are broken up by NBA division, with measurements taken in June 2011 and May 2013.

A few notes:  Klout has reformulated its algorithms and measurement scales since 2011, so the scores of 2011 are not directly comparable with the scores of 2013.  Also, the scales aren’t linear — in fact, they’re probably closer to something logarithmic — so a score of 89 is actually better than a score of 88 by a good bit more than 1%.

Atlantic Division

Central Division

Southeast Division

Pacific Division

Northwest Division

Southwest Division 

Other team-based notes and trends:

• There is likely a fair bit of playoff bias in measurements taken in June and May; for example, in 2011, the Mavericks and Heat topped the league during their respective runs to the NBA Finals.  Out of the playoffs in 2013, Dallas finished with a score much closer to the league average.
• With a score of 95, Chicago finished with the highest 2013 score; Portland finished last with a mark of 84.
• Milwaukee, Phoenix, and Utah finished in a surprising tie for the sixth-highest score, following five teams from bigger markets with more television exposure: the Bulls, Lakers, Celtics, Knicks, and Heat.