If you haven't had a chance to look at the NBA predraft measurements, it is a whole lot of information to digest. But maybe we can make some sense of the numbers today. Let's take the two most likely players to be picked by the Jazz at number 3: Brandon Knight and Enes Kanter. Brandon Knight measured only 6' 1.5" without shoes and had a decent 6'6.75" wingspan. I say "only" because we have been hearing about Knight's height and length being big attributes. But comparatively, Jimmer Fredette measured less than an inch shorter and had a smaller wingspan by 2 inches. Knight's height and length are almost identical to Deron Williams' predraft measurements, although Deron was 28 pounds heavier in 2005 than Knight is now.
Chad Ford weighs in on Kanter's combine on his ESPN blog:
"Kanter didn't do anything spectacular, but he was in good shape, played hard, showed some skills offensively and was very good in interviews with teams. He also measured well at 6-11 (in shoes), 260 pounds with a 7-1 wingspan and a 9-1 standing reach. That gives him very good size at the power forward position and makes him a passable (albeit slightly undersized) center as well."
For reference sakes, Al Jefferson's predraft measurements had him listed as only 6'10", but with a 7'2.5" wingspan and 9'2" standing reach. It's important to note that GMs say that wingspan and standing reach are better indicators of size and positional ability in the NBA.
If the Jazz have the opportunity to draft Derrick Williams, he also measured well. Williams is 6'7.25" in socks with a 7'1.5" wingspan and 9' standing reach. Williams has the same predraft height and wingspan as Paul Mlllsap, although the former Arizona Wildcat's standing reach is 3 inches longer. But if you ask Derrick Williams, he is already several years ahead of Millsap's transformation to small forward. From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:
"I'm not a 4, I'm a 3. Whoever picks me will find that out. I'm just a lot more skilled than most people think I am."
So who were the physical specimens and freaks at the combine? Well, Jeremy Tyler had the biggest wingspan at 7'5" followed by Nikola Vecevic at 7'4.5."
Kawhi Leonard measured only 6'6," but had a ridiculous 7'3" wingspan and bigger hands than anyone else except Greg Smith out of Fresno.
Brandon Knight did look very lean as he had the 2nd lowest body fat percentage at 4.3%.
Jordan Hamilton, a smooth shooting small forward out of Texas, measured very lengthy for an NBA 3 at 6'8.5" in shoes, with a 6;10" wingspan and 8'8" standing reach.
Of course there is this guy named Bismack Biyombo who is reportedly 6'9" with a 7'7" wingspan. As Oliver Miller probably used to say, "You can't teach wingspan. Are you going to eat all of that?"
Speaking of athletic freaks, I want to introduce you to who I will think will be the second best point guard out of this draft class, only behind Kyrie Irving. His name is Reggie Jackson and he used to play major league baseball for the Yankees. Actually, he's a junior out of Boston College and he didn't participate in the Chicago combine due to an injury, but reports are that he is 6'3" with a 7' wingspan. He is also over 200 pounds, strong and has natural point guard skills in my book. To me he fits the Jazz system much better than Brandon Knight would.
I think the pass he makes at the 1 minute mark is better than any pass I have seen Brandon Knight make.
Without Basketball John's permission, I would like to continue our SLCDunk mock draft poll. With the 2nd pick, who should the Timberwolves draft?