NBA Draft experts still unsure of Bam Adebayo’s stock

Bam Adebayo’s draft stock has been pretty inconsistent ever since he declared. He’s looked to be as high up as mid-to-late first round, but has also fallen back into the early second round in some mock drafts.

Ben Roberts of the Lexington Herald-Leader spoke with DraftExpress’ Jonathan Givony to get some insight on Adebayo’s up-and-down stock.

“There’s really no consensus about him at all,” DraftExpress.com’s Jonathan Givony told the Herald-Leader this week. “Some teams really like him. I’ve heard some teams say they see him in that 15-25 range. Whereas other teams say they have him more in the second round, maybe the first few picks of the 30s.”

This draft is loaded with big men, which hurts Adebayo. He’s got plenty of company at his position this year. And on top of that, the NBA seems to be getting smaller.

Givony pointed out that there is a relatively small market for big guys right now in the NBA to begin with — “Every team has like three or four guys on the bench that never play,” he said — and wondered aloud whether teams would just decide to pick the best available talent (likely a big) in those spots, or try to fill other needs by drafting a guard, wing or hybrid forward a little earlier than they normally would.

Givony said that Adebayo seems pretty limited in his ability, from what teams have seen so far.

“It’s mostly the fact that he’s an undersized center, who isn’t an exceptional shot blocker or rebounder,” Givony said. “He doesn’t stretch the floor. Can he improve in that regard? Can his basketball IQ get better? Can his awareness get better? Those are the things teams are going to be asking themselves.”

Givony also spoke about Isaiah Briscoe and Isaac Humphries, neither of which are expected to be drafted.

Givony loves Briscoe’s competitiveness, and thinks he had a good combine, being the only Wildcat that participated in 5-on-5.

“I thought he played well. I definitely think he had a positive Combine,” said Givony. “He scored very efficiently in transition, he moved the ball fairly well. He didn’t make a lot of shots, and that’s one of the concerns teams have. Not a whole lot different than what we already knew, but he definitely did not hurt himself.

“He gets after it on defense. He’s got really, really long arms (a 6-9 wing span). He has a very strong frame. And he’s tough. He’s a tough dude. The fact that he can guard multiple positions, I think that’s going to be what he hangs his hat on.”

Defense has always been Briscoe’s strength. As for Humphries, it’s very unlikely he’ll get drafted after not being invited to the combine. Givony says that’s not a good sign for Humphries, but also says Humphries could go back home to Australia and have plenty of opportunities.

“Absolutely. He’s 7 feet tall, he’s fairly skilled and he’s very young,” he said. “He was the best player in his age group in Australia, so if they’re not going to sign him, I don’t know who they’re going to sign.”