Prospect Watch: Christmas, Connaughton on the rise after 2015 NBA Draft Combine
With the 2015 NBA Draft Combine now complete and the two Conference Finals about to begin, it's officially draft season for the fans of 26 teams.
The combine took place last week, with 63 of the more likely names to be drafted in attendance. Five notable top prospects skipped the proceedings altogether and a handful of potential second-round picks didn't receive invites, while most potential first-round picks opted out of 5-on-5 play.
Read More: Full combine measurements, Full athletic testing results
That doesn't mean the combine was for naught. There wasn't a ton of movement within the top 20, with the structure of the tiers therein likely coming down to individual workouts and team preference, but prospects on the first- and second-round bubbles had plenty of opportunity to improve their stock.
We'll have a better idea of who will go where at the top of the draft after Tuesday's NBA Draft Lottery, but here's a look at who helped or hurt their stock the most at the combine, based on top-100 rankings from ESPN's Chad Ford and DraftExpress.
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Rakeem Christmas - The biggest beneficiary of 5-on-5 play, Christmas dominated in scoring 39 points in only 54 minutes. He also measured well enough that he can firmly be considered a center rather than a power forward, and his ability to score in a variety of ways bumped him from the 50-undrafted range into the top 40 on the big boards of both sites.
Jonathan Holmes - Holmes took an even bigger ranking jump than Christmas, with DraftExpress pushing him from No. 83 to No. 30 and ESPN bumping him from No. 82 to No. 56. The former may be an overreaction, but he's a 6-foot-9 small forward and had the second-best 3-point shooting performance at the combine. Coming off of four somewhat disappointing seasons at Texas, he doesn't have the upside of some other wings, but he could become a 3-and-D type off the bench.
Pat Connaughton - The Baltimore Orioles may be the biggest losers from the combine. Connaughton was a fourth-round pick of the O's last summer and posted a 2.45 ERA in 14.2 innings at low-A, but now seems likely to land in the NBA. He posted the second-highest vertical jump ever measured at the combine and was said to interview extremely well. DraftExpress wasn't moved much by his showing but Ford bumped him from No. 71 to No. 42.
Michael Frazier - Frazier is right there with Devin Booker as the draft's best shooter and grades well based on analytics. The combine certainly didn't hurt him, as he scored 31 points over two games and hit 5-of-9 from outside. He went from being ranked outside of the top 50 to inside the top 40 on the boards of both sites.
Jordan Mickey - The 5-on-5 games may not be the be-all and end-all, but blocking 12 shots in two games after averaging 3.3 in two college seasons definitely doesn't hurt Mickey's stock. He measured as more of a four than a center in terms of height, but his length and vertical jump make up for it. He took himself from being a late-second-round flier to on the first-round bubble.
Others on the rise: Richaun Holmes, Rashad Vaughn, Alan Williams, Mouhammadou Jaiteh, Vince Hunter
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Tyler Harvey - It's a bad look when a shooter doesn't shoot well in workouts. Harvey's jumper is his calling card and his best bet to crack the NBA, but he shot 5-of-22 in 5-on-5 action and was said to have displayed poor shot selection, possibly in an attempt to make more shots after starting cold. He still has a chance to get hot in individual workouts, but he went from being a certain second-round pick to firmly on the bubble over the course of a week.
Chris Walker - Walker declaring for the draft drew criticism and, in the words of Ford, "If anyone was written off this weekend, it was Walker." Walker measured well as expected but struggled in game action, and while neither site dropped him out of their top 75 - DraftExpress even bumped him up after he measured well - it seems he'll really have to impress in individual workouts to hear his name called on June 25.
Terry Rozier - A bubble first-rounder, Rozier would have risked hurting his stock by playing 5-on-5 and performing poorly. He played anyway, and while he didn't hurt his stock explicitly, he fell to the mid-second-round on DraftExpress' board and from No. 25 to No. 27 on Ford's. He may slide further in individual workouts, as a lot of what he brings to the table comes out with game action, not gym drills.
Others on the decline: Michael Qualls, Cliff Alexander, Kevon Looney
Robert Upshaw's strange situation
Washington center Robert Upshaw measured out better than almost anyone at the entire combine, posting a 7-foot-5.5 wingspan and a 9-foot-5 standing reach. Those are elite marks, even for a center, and makes him one of the largest players in the draft.
Normally, measuring so well will help a player, especially one on the first-round bubble like Upshaw. But whether it was interviewing poorly with teams - character issues are the number one concern in his profile - or under-performing in other areas, Upshaw actually saw his stock fall. He went from being ranked No. 30 by Ford to No. 38, while DraftExpress gave him a one-spot bump from No. 30 to No. 29.