Any professional draft is filled with surprises and locks alike. Grading one only hours after it ends is bordering on nonsense. But, so is goes the way we gorge ourselves on sports. Athletes are still wearing the suit they were drafted in yet we’re ready to call them busts or surefire successes.
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Chad Ford is almost directly responsible for this immediate, knee-jerk reaction grading scale. He at least acknowledges this to be the case, though. Friday, he released his draft grades with a much-needed caveat. Afterwards, he gave the Los Angeles Lakers draft night a “B+.” His thinking:
"… I still believe that Emmanuel Mudiay has the slight edge as a prospect and that they left the second-best player in the draft, Kristaps Porzingis, on the board at No. 2. One Lakers source admitted they thought Porzinigs had the most upside of anyone in the draft, but they just didn’t have the stones to take him."
Well, if I had to give Chad’s grade a grade, I guess I’d give it a “C” for iffy logic.
If you’re going to knock the Lakers for duplicating skills sets with Nance and Julius Randle, you can’t also knock the Lakers for letting Kristaps Porzingis (by many accounts a power forward) slip to the New York Knicks.
Ford also says a source told him the Lakers just didn’t have the “stones” to take the mysterious Latvian, but credited them for taking Russell over the surer talent in Jahlil Okafor. I understand those are two separate points, but it’s hard to blame a franchise for not reaching on someone only Ford considered so highly.
Ford is famous for two things at this point: He LOVED Darko Milicic and was proven to have gone back in previous mock drafts to change his opinions and draft orders. Chad, you work in forum most call guesswork at best anyway. Why cheat?
Here’s a fun wager: if Kristaps turns out to follow in Darko’s footsteps, Chad should change his last name to Fordingis.
*Mic drop*