BTBP Mock NBA Draft: Editor’s Edition
By Adam McGee
Feb 14, 2015; Colorado Springs, CO, USA; UNLV Rebels forward Christian Wood (5) reacts during the second half against the Air Force Falcons at Clune Arena. The Falcons won 76-75. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
What The Experts Say:
"Wood has the talent of a lottery pick. He has great size, athleticism and skill. But teams seem to be very turned off right now. Teams seem concerned about both his focus and his motor. – Chad Ford, ESPN"
What The Player Says:
"I’m very versatile. If you put a big guy on me I have the ball-handling skills to take him off the dribble, beat him and get a layup. If you put a smaller guy on me I have the ability to post up and finish over him. – Christian Wood"
What BTBP Says:
Wood has witnessed a dramatic slide on many people’s draft boards over the past week or ten days, but he has so much talent that it just seems unlikely he’d be allowed to slide out of the first round.
In fact, I’d guess the chances are very slim that he gets past Portland at 23. The Trail Blazers haven’t had a whole lot of quality depth at the four and five in recent years, and with both LaMarcus Aldridge and Robin Lopez free agents this summer, they may not be drafting just for backups but for fail-safes also.
At 6’11”, during his time in UNLV, Wood showed himself to be potentially capable of stretching out the floor offensively (27.3% from deep), dominating the boards (9.8 per game), and of being a top-class rim protector (2.6 blocks per game). That’s a lot of talent for no team not to decide to take a gamble on.
Does he project to offer an upgrade from Joel Freeland and Meyers Leonard? Do I really need to answer that even?
David Mackay of Rip City Project understands that Wood represents that risk/reward picks don’t get much higher than this, but that could be what forces the Blazers to pull the trigger:
"If the Trail Blazers strike gold with Wood, he could be valuable in their thin frontcourt, but there is still that nagging doubt that after all that polishing they will be left with a very shiny button."
Next: With The 24th Pick Of The NBA Draft The Cleveland Cavaliers Select...