For many executives this will be their first in-person exposure to a majority of the prospects due to the complicated COVID-19 protocols that were in place this year, which could cause for some fluctuation on team boards as executives get eyes on some prospects for the first time.
In the past, NBA teams needed to spend significant time traveling around the country to watch agency-hosted pro days, which many teams and scouts had complained was a poor allocation of their time.
While plenty of prospects will be participating in the 20 pro days scheduled by 14 agencies, three of the most powerful agencies in the industry — CAA, Klutch and Wasserman — have elected to sit out.
Top-5 prospects Cade Cunningham and Jalen Suggs are among the more high-profile prospects declining invites, joined by projected lottery pick Franz Wagner, projected first-rounder Chris Duarte and potential second-rounders Joel Ayayi and Santi Aldama, who have opted to use workouts or pro days as platforms to improve their draft stock rather than competing in 5-on-5 games at the combine.
Even when accounting for the players who declined an invitation, several international prospects who would surely be considered among the top 120 prospects in the draft were left out, including Gabriele Procida, Ibou Dianko Badji, Hugo Besson, Vrenz Bleijenbergh, Malcolm Cazalon, Amar Sylla, Yoan Makoundou and others who are firmly in ESPN’s latest top-100 draft class ranking for 2021.
Some of the players who were left out will have to hope the NBA approves a large multiteam group workout that is being planned in Minnesota for July 8-11, which might provide much-needed visibility for the many talented international prospects in this class.
This could cause some players to seriously weigh returning to school in an attempt to increase their stock with a more productive season, benefiting from the significantly improved visibility provided by the elimination of COVID restrictions on travel and scouting.
For many of those players, the combine is a make-or-break week of exposure in front of all 30 teams that will play an influential role in their final decision.
If he doesn’t look too far away from being able to help an NBA team during his time in Chicago, he could decide to stay in the draft.
He played only 12 games due to injury and was inconsistent when he was on the floor, so there’s a possibility that he’s a year away from maximizing his draft stock.
A late bloomer who hit his groove in the second half of the season, he could certainly be in line for the type of All-America campaign that would boost his stock firmly into the first round.
Shannon has ideal tools for a wing prospect and is one of the more intriguing perimeter defenders in the draft.
Juzang put together one of the best NCAA tournament runs in the past decade, and few would fault him for trying to ride that momentum into the draft.
One of the more versatile defenders in the draft, Agbaji has inconsistent shooting and limited ballhandling that made it difficult for him to emerge as the go-to offensive option Kansas sorely lacked this season.
One of the best mid-major players in the country, Aldama declined his combine invite but will partake in an agency pro day later in the week, a different strategy from most.
Maybe the most memorable recent performance was by Kyle Kuzma, who knocked down 4 of 5 3-pointers and scored 20 points in 22 minutes in a 5-on-5 game in 2017.
The 6-8, 20-year-old is coming off a big junior season in Malibu: 16.9 PTS, 6.7 REBS, 1.1 BLK in 33.5 MIN while shooting 54% from 2 and 38% from 3.
With his good positional size at 6-4, soft touch and a stellar feel for the game, NBA scouts will be anxious to see what Preston looks like against NBA-caliber athletes on both ends of the floor.
The Portuguese center has a great opportunity to put his disappointing 2019 combine performance behind him and remind NBA scouts why he was one of the most productive bigs in the country this season.
While Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga get most of the buzz, Ignite prospects Daishen Nix and Isaiah Todd have a chance to prove whether their experience against pros in the G League bubble prepared them to hang with college veterans in a 5-on-5 setting.
How Hukporti performs against established collegiate big men such as Luka Garza, Moses Wright or Jericho Sims would give NBA scouts a window into how his game projects to the next level.
The 18-year-old Canadian has a very diverse résumé between Alabama, the U19 Candian National Team, and Basketball Without Borders.
The 5-on-5 action is an ideal opportunity for prospects who played a more limited role at the collegiate level to show they have more untapped potential than scouts were able to see on film.
Was able to watch potential 1st round pick Josh Christopher work out for an hour in LA yesterday.
12 prospect in his high school class, 6-5, 215-pound bucket-getter Josh Christopher is the type of pure hooper who figures to thrive in a scrimmage setting, with the potential to remind NBA scouts of his talent on his way to solidifying his status as a first-round pick.
A projected lottery pick to start the season, 6-9 Texas forward Greg Brown will also be aiming to prove he’s worth a first-round selection with teams closely studying his shooting mechanics and decision-making.
Sixteen of the 40 participants saw minutes in the NBA this past season, including the likes of Terance Mann, Terence Davis, Caleb and Cody Martin, Oshae Brissett, Tacko Fall and Max Strus, all of whom appear on the verge of carving out real NBA careers.
If 2019 is any indication, the 2021 camp will be very much worth scouting for NBA executives despite the fact that they’ll be asked to show up two days early for a week of NBA combine activities that could see them spend as many as 10 days in Chicago.
It will be fascinating to see how that translates to competing against the plethora of NCAA upperclassmen he’ll face in Chicago, first in the G League Elite camp and then again at the NBA combine if he plays well enough to graduate on to the main show.
The Mountain West Conference Player of the Year also had a strong case to be invited straight to the NBA combine but might benefit from the exposure he’ll get in a more featured role, showing scouts his ability to handle the ball, make plays and defend multiple positions.
Huff’s combination of 3-point shooting prowess and rim protection was unique at the college level, especially considering he ranked in the top 10 in the country in dunks.
Playing a confined role at Michigan may have helped mitigate his average ballhandling and lack of awareness on both ends of the floor, but Brown has a chance to show scouts he can do more than that in Chicago.
Still only testing the waters as a junior, Wiggins is 22 and already has his college degree in hand, but he could be returning to a Final Four contender team at Maryland if he withdraws, adding another layer of intrigue to his decision.
Alvarado helped Georgia Tech to an ACC tournament championship and its best season in 15 years thanks to strong defense and playmaking ability and much-improved perimeter shooting.
At 6-11 with a reported 7-8 wingspan, legitimate 3-point range and impressive shot-blocking prowess, Onu is definitely a different caliber of prospect, which earned him an invite to this camp to see whether his production translates against higher-caliber competition.
McLaughlin’s willingness to make the right play will be attractive to scouts as a two-way candidate, but it could work against him if he tends to blend in for long stretches as he has at times in his career.
Liddell might be a year away from maximizing his draft stock but started to show signs of an increasingly versatile offensive game on the perimeter as a passer and a shooter as the season moved on.