UPDATED
Taking a break from the Andre Iguodala/Rudy Gay talk, some early takeaways from the current NBA Draft Combine going on in Chicago.
If you follow us on Twitter you know from yesterday's updates that again this year, most of the top prospects backed out of the drills portion of the combine, including names like Harrison Barnes, Dion Waiters, Jared Sullinger, Jeremy Lamb and Austin Rivers, all of whom are hardly locked into a top five draft spot.
But there were those who manned up and showed what they could do, including HQ fave Damian Lillard.
Based on various accounts, including those of ESPN.com Draft Guru Chad Ford, Lillard had the most buzz of Day 1 in Chicago thanks to not only his decision to participate in said workouts, (his agent gave him the option not to) but his performance in said competitive format. Lillard apparently shot the ball extremely well and got to the rim in the one-on-one segments with ease, looking like a true lottery pick.
As well, his measurements were quite solid.
Ford reported that Lillard measured 6'1.75" in socks and 6' 2.75" in shoes as well as possessing a 6' 7.5" wingspan and a 8' 0" reach. To put those numbers in perspective, Lillard's wingspan matches combine measurements of guards like Jeff Teague, Devin Harris and Jarrett Jack, and is a hair off from Russell Westbrook and Brandon Roy. He's not particularly tall, but at nearly 6-3 he compares to players like Deron Williams and George Hill and Derrick Rose. Lillard doesn't have the same bulk as those three, so we'll see how he performs strength-wise in today's testing.
We'll be doing a full breakdown of Lillard next week but if the Raps keep this pick, he would be my top option as of now (of course unless a Kidd-Gilchrist or Beal somehow fell that far.)