The NBA has released its official 2016 NBA Draft Combine list today.
One name who isn’t on the list of expected attendees is our own Ben Simmons. This shouldn’t however be too much of a surprise to those keeping track.
The NBA Draft Combine is a multi-day showcase which occurs every May before the NBA draft. It’s purpose is to allow NBA coaches, general managers, and scouts to evaluate draft prospects prior to the draft.
It’s common for the players projected for the top two or three picks is to skip the combine. This is a strategy which hopes to gain leverage over NBA teams. Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor skipped last year’s event, while Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, and Joel Embiid skipped 2014’s camp.
Athletes must allow teams to take physical measurements, participate in interviews, undergo shooting drills, take medical tests, go through five-on-five drills and perform various athletic tests. The combine is an invite only event offered only to the players considered likely to be drafted by NBA teams.
Jonathon Givony of DraftExpress noted that Simmons’ camp would be looking to avoid the mandatory medical screening at the event, keeping all of the cards in his hands, as opposed to the NBA teams’.
“Agents would prefer not to have their clients go through the exhaustive medical screening the NBA puts every Combine participant through, especially now that the Combine is held before the official order of the NBA draft is set at the Lottery,” Givony wrote.
“The physical is an incredibly important component to most teams’ decision making process, and is one of the few pieces of leverage agents have.”
There will still be quite a few heavy hitters around, though. Unlike last year, where five of the top nine players on the board did not attend the combine, eight of the top 10 players on the board will be there, which further signifies just how wide open this draft truly is.
One of those will be Australian, Thon Maker who has chosen to attend the combine, with the event likely a significant portion of his pre-draft process. Maker is expected to measure well at the event, so the on-court drills will be the key if he’s to improve his draft stock.
Another Aussie connection (albeit a thin one) that is attending the NBA Draft Combine is Jarrod Uthoff from Iowa University who is a cousin of former NBL big man Dean Uthoff. Uthoff will be hoping that Ben Simmons isn’t the only player in the NBA draft related to an NBL legend.
Beyond Simmons, everyone feels like there is actually something to be gained from the process.
Other quick notes from the combine list.
- China’s Zhou Qi is going to be in attendance. He is currently the No. 36 player on the board, and given the way he measured at Hoop Summit last year (7-2 with a 7-6.5 wingspan) he’ll likely be a major attraction here even if he doesn’t play in the scrimmages.
- Quite a few players here will be trying to make an impression on scouts in order to make a decision as to whether or not they will stay in the draft or return to college.
- Five players played their way here from the Portsmouth Invitational, held last month. They are Elgin Cook, Isaiah Cousins, Isaiah Miles, Dorian Finney-Smith and A.J. English.
- A pair of potential first round picks will not be in attendance: Dejounte Murray and Domantas Sabonis are absent from the combine list. Both have hired agents and will be in the draft.
- The notable players absent from this list, as they were not officially invited: Sheldon McClellan at Miami, Dillon Brooks and Tyler Dorsey at Oregon, Isaiah Briscoe at Kentucky, Vince Edwards at Purdue, Yogi Ferrell at Indiana, Fred VanVleet from Wichita State, Malik Pope from San Diego State, Shawn Long from Louisiana-Lafayette, and Damion Lee from Louisville.
Full List Of Athletes Attending NBA Draft Combine 2016.
Ron Baker, Wichita State
Wade Baldwin, Vanderbilt
Cat Barber, NC State
Malik Beasley, Florida State
DeAndre Bembry, St. Joseph’s
Ben Bentil, Providence
Jaron Blossomgame, Clemson
Joel Bolomboy, Weber State
Malcolm Brogdon, Virginia
Jaylen Brown, California
Robert Carter, Maryland
Marquese Chriss, Washington
Elgin Cook, Oregon
Isaiah Cousins, Oklahoma
Deyonta Davis, Michigan State
Cheick Diallo, Kansas
Kris Dunn, Providence
Henry Ellenson, Marquette
Perry Ellis, Kansas
AJ English, Iona
Kay Felder, Oakland
Dorian Finney-Smith, Florida
Michael Gbinije, Syracuse
Daniel Hamilton, Connecticut
AJ Hammons, Purdue
Josh Hart, Villanova
Nigel Hayes, Wisconsin
Buddy Hield, Oklahoma
Brandon Ingram, Duke
Demetrius Jackson, Notre Dame
Justin Jackson, North Carolina
Brice Johnson, North Carolina
Damian Jones, Vanderbilt
Skal Labissiere, Kentucky
Dedric Lawson, Memphis
Jake Layman, Maryland
Marcus Lee, Kentucky
Caris LeVert, Michigan
Thon Maker, Orangeville Prep Athletic Institute
Patrick McCaw, UNLV
Isaiah Miles, St. Joseph’s
Jamal Murray, Kentucky
Malik Newman, Mississippi State
Georges Niang, Iowa State
Chinanu Onuaku, Louisville
Marcus Paige, North Carolina
Gary Payton II, Oregon State
Jakob Poeltl, Utah
Taurean Prince, Baylor
Zhou Qi, Xinjiang (China)
Malachi Richardson, Syracuse
Wayne Selden, Kansas
Pascal Siakam, New Mexico State
Diamond Stone, Maryland
Caleb Swanigan, Purdue
Melo Trimble, Maryland
Tyler Ulis, Kentucky
Jarrod Uthoff, Iowa
Denzel Valentine, Michigan State
Isaiah Whitehead, Seton Hall
Troy Williams, Indiana
Kyle Wiltjer, Gonzaga
Stephen Zimmerman, UNLV