NBA Draft 2018 Prospect Watch: Chandler Hutchison

What the experts say

(as of 5/27/18)

ESPN (Jonathan Givony): 24th

The Ringer (Kevin O’Connor, Jonathan Tjarks, Danny Chau): 22nd

Sports Illustrated (Jeremy Woo): 22nd

Sporting News (Chris Stone): 24th

The Athletic (Sam Vecenie): 22nd

The Stepien (Cole Zwicker): 34th, Tier 6

The Step Back (Brandon Kleen): 27th

Quotes:

Following his decision to bow out of the NBA Draft Combine altogether last weekend, The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie wrote about the buzz surrounding Hutchison with rumors suggesting the Boise State product may have secured a promise from a team picking in the first round at this point in the process:

"“Boise State wing Chandler Hutchison was the best of the bunch, with rumors swirling in Chicago that he decided to stay away after securing a “promise” from a team with a pick in the 20s that it would select him if he’s on the board. Those promises happen fairly rarely this early in the process. The idea behind such a move would be to hide a certain player from other teams, with something of an implicit agreement between the player and the organization to mostly shut down individual workouts. A mature, intelligent kid with long arms and terrific, fluid athleticism, Hutchison was seen as someone who likely would have performed well in a setting like the one in Chicago, raising even further questions about his decision. Hutchison is signed with up-and-coming Priority Sports agent Kieran Piller. Piller, along with Priority’s head agent Mark Bartelstein, has helped place multiple clients in Portland (Zach Collins, Wade Baldwin, Cliff Alexander) and Chicago (R.J. Hunter, Bobby Portis). My bet is that he doesn’t get past Chicago at No. 22 and could end up being picked earlier.”"

 Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated touched on why Hutchison has placed himself in the first round conversation, thanks to the alluring blend of skills and the versatility he offers when on the court:

"“Offering a nice mix of size, athleticism and production, Hutchison took a nice step forward statistically this season as a heavy offensive focal point for the Broncos (he used a whopping one-third of their possessions). He won’t be asked to carry that big a load in the NBA, but his ability to attack the rim on straight-line drives,make an impact on the glass and find gaps in the defense as an off-ball threat are all appealing. He also may have a chance to potentially play as a small-ball four at times, creating more of a mismatch with his quickness. Hutchison doesn’t create especially well off the dribble and has to keep improving as a shooter, but he belongs in the late first-round picture.”"