Don’t Trust Chad Ford!
The NBA draft is tomorrow. Reports are rampant that the Sixers lust for Kris Dunn, the point guard out of Providence.
Reports were also swirling that Danny Ainge, the GM of the Boston Celtics, coveted Sixers center Jahlil Okafor.
Obviously, rumors heated up that the Celtics and Sixers were discussing a trade of Okafor and the Celtics #3 overall pick in the draft. To date, nothing has come to fruition. I can’t say I’m surprised. I would think that Okafor would have more value than simply the #3 overall pick.
Okafor would probably be the second player taken in this year’s draft. His presence on this past year’s Duke team would’ve had Brandon Ingram relegated to the team’s 3rd best option after Okafor and Grayson Allen.
Okafor is also a proven talent that translates into 18 points and 7 rebounds, at a minimum at the NBA level. No pick in this draft is a lock to translate into similar production at the NBA level. Some have better odds than others, but there are no 100% locks. Many entire draft classes have been busts.
Logically, one would think that Okafor would be worth more than just the #3 pick. Maybe add a second rounder or another player. That’s probably the Sixers thinking and you can’t blame them. The Celtics must think otherwise since no deal has yet to be made.
Enter Chad Ford. He’s the brains behind ESPN’s Insider. He’s a basketball insider who gained popularity with his draft rankings. Those same draft rankings gained Ford a bit of notoriety after people of reddit and other sites noticed that Ford (or someone else as he denied it) retroactively edited his past draft rankings to reflect players’ successes and failures. Deadspin did a nice piece here on the edits. ESPN acknowledged the edits happened but absolved Ford of any responsibility. (DEADSPIN, again)
Chad got on the Philadelphia airwaves last week on 97.5 the Fanatic to discuss Okafor and the Sixers. The solid 76ers blog the Liberty Ballers did a great recap of the interview here. Basically Ford came on the air to say Okafor has limited value and probably isn’t worth a top 5 pick in the NBA draft.
I think that’s less an indictment on Okafor than it is a realization that center has become a little bit like a running back in the NFL… Especially the sort of player Okafor is, which is a back to the basket, below the rim, not particularly athletic, not going to stretch the floor, doesn’t necessarily play defense big man. That just doesn’t fit the schemes that most NBA coaches are after.
[Nerlens] Noel might actually end up having more trade value because he does some things in the modern NBA, his ability to defend multiple positions, his shot-blocking, his ability to finish on the break, that make him perhaps a more attractive option right now.” (Ford via Liberty Ballers)
And, while most mock drafts (CBS, Hoops Hype, Fox Sports, SI, USA Today) have the Celtics taking a SG or Front Court player, Chad Ford has the Celtics taking Kris Dunn. Yeah, Ford has the Celtics taking a point guard, even though they have an All-Star point guard in Isaiah Thomas and have taken point guards in the first round the past two years. It is worth nothing that Comcast Sportsnet of New England has the Celtics with five combo guards on their radar. None of which are Kris Dunn.
I don’t trust Chad Ford. Not only are his past draft rankings suspect, he is also a Mormon. In fact, he’s a professor at BYU- Hawaii, specializing in conflict resolution. Why does that matter? Danny Ainge, the Celtics GM, is also a Mormon. And, they both have ties to BYU. Ainge attended and played ball at BYU.
This feels all too much like an orchestrated PR effort by Ford to tarnish the image/value of Okafor to help out Ainge, his fellow alum and Mormon. Ford also knows that if the Celtics and Sixers cannot come to a deal for Okafor and the #3 pick, Phoenix at #4 is a great trade partner option for the Sixers if they really want Dunn. That’s a moot point if the Sixers really believe that the Celtics are taking Dunn. So, what does Ford do? He has the Celtics taking Dunn in his latest mock draft in an attempt to convince the public and Sixers brass that they are screwed if they don’t make the deal Ainge. GTFOH!
Be warned! Take everything Chris Ford says in relation to anything involving Danny Ainge with a grain of salt. Theyr’e brothers in faith and both part of the BYU family. As the old saying goes, “A family that prays together, stays together.”