While We’re Waiting…More on Thursday’s NBA draft

“While We’re Waiting” serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.

“The NBA executive knew about Carrick Felix’s defensive skills, but he wanted to test him, so he asked: How would you go about defending Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade?

“I would shade off him,” said Felix, a former Arizona State standout. “He’s not a bad shooter, but he’s not a great shooter. You want to limit his opportunities to get angles. Number one, it’s hard to keep him in front of you, but you can’t give him an angle to the basket because he’s so good with his Euro-steps and the way he changes his body, so you just got to make sure you stay in front of him so you don’t give him an angle to score.”

As the final hours tick before Thursday’s NBA draft Felix, a 6-foot-6 wing, knows exactly what makes him attractive to NBA teams. His perimeter jumper still might be a work in progress, but his defense, energy and athletic ability make him an intriguing prospect. While many players — especially those drafted in the second round where Felix could land — might need time to adjust to pro basketball, Felix thinks those qualities can get him on the court, sooner rather than later.” [Haller/AZ Central]

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“Cleveland Cavaliers

Grade: A-

Haul: Anthony Bennett, Sergey Karasev, Carrick Felix.

Bennett will contribute right away. He will use his long arms and good touch to immediately set to scoring, putting up great per-minute numbers, as some sort of (and this isn’t a shot) David Lee and Ike Diogu combo. I understand that you don’t draft for need, but I still would have liked to see the Cavs take a chance on Noel while working with their slow and smart rebuilding plan, and while I understand you have to take the best player available in the lottery, the presence of the “pretty good, he’s aiight” Tristan Thompson still has to be considered.

Will Bennett end up being the best player in this draft? Right now, I don’t believe so, because defense matters to me (and the Cavaliers were 27th in defense last year). Because of his overall gifts, though, he’s not far off even in these early stages, and that’s all you can ask for in the crapshoot that was the 2013 NBA draft. Meanwhile,

Karasev is a fine scorer to find waiting on your doorstep with the 19th pick.” [Dwyer/Ball Dont Lie]

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“Sporting an oversized polo shirt and fuzzy facial hair, Anthony Bennett sheepishly strolled over to the gathered media for his interview at the Verizon Center last Thursday. The NBA prospect looked like a deer in headlights. Bennett immediately admitted to being shy, an unenviable characteristic when having to face a hoard of cameras and journalists. Washington, D.C. is not Chicago or New York in terms of sports media, but this is not the Mountain West, either. By the end of the 11-minute session, the 20-year-old gradually opened up about his fear of heights, poked fun at his own shooting stats, and told a funny story about a fan locating him in the lobby of his Chinatown hotel. A college player being green in these situations seems pretty routine, and Bennett didn’t have the benefit of working up a sweat beforehand. Due to surgery on his rotator cuff in mid-May, Bennett did not actually work out for the Wizards, but the UNLV star out of Ontario, Canada, revealed that his recovery was progressing on schedule.” [McGinnis/Truth About It]

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“Fortunately for Ohio State fans, Deshaun Thomas was selected with the 58th pick of the 2nd round. Thus, the Spurs’ selection of Deshaun Thomas ensured that this would be seven straight NBA Drafts in which a Buckeye was selected. The pressing question is if next year will mark eight straight. We already have mock drafts for next year.

There are two Buckeyes of interest for next year’s NBA Draft. One is a graduating senior, the ever controversial (and dreamy) Aaron Craft. The second is LaQuinton Ross, a junior-to-be who could parlay last year’s tournament run into a platform that would facilitate a move to the NBA.
The early consensus is that Ross is a first round pick next year. Though Jonathan Tjarks is quick to note that Ross didn’t really show much last season (and this is true), the void left by Deshaun Thomas should allow Ross to shine. He projects Ross as the 14th pick. This is obviously contingent on Ross being a position of need for whatever team occupies that 14th pick next year. It would still qualify Ross as a “lottery pick” in next year’s NBA Draft.

CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish confines his projections to just the lottery picks in his mock draft. His list does not include LaQuinton Ross. It does, however, include Mitch McGary (#8) and Glenn Robinson III (#11), who play for that particular team up north.” [Vico/Eleven Warriors]