There is a growing pessimism among NBA scouts and execs about this year's draft. Virtually every year, about this time, scouts begin to sour a bit on the prospects. By now, virtually everyone has been scouted multiple times and high expectations start colliding head on with reality.
Usually that pessimism dissipates in May and June, as teams get guys into workouts and begin talking themselves into who they will be drafting. But this year, the tide may not turn. None of the players with elite physical tools are having the breakout years we expected, and the players who are having great years don't have said elite tools.
With so much uncertainty at the top of the draft, more and more scouts are out looking for hidden gems. Here's a look at who scouts are buzzing about right now.
To read Chad Ford's breakdown of players scouts are buzzing about this week, including Kawhi Leonard, JaJuan Johnson, Khris Middleton, Tony Mitchell and Charles Jenkins, you must be an ESPN Insider.
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Chad Ford
Chad Ford covers the NBA and NBA draft for ESPN Insider. He also is a frequent contributor to ESPN The Magazine and makes weekly appearances on ESPN Radio and ESPNEWS.
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Fran Fraschilla
Fran Fraschilla is a college basketball analyst for ESPN and ESPN Insider. He formerly was the head coach at Manhattan, St. John's and New Mexico. He has been part of ESPN's NBA draft broadcast coverage each of the past five seasons.
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David Thorpe
David Thorpe is an NBA analyst for ESPN.com's Scouts Inc. and the executive director of the Pro Training Center in Clearwater, Fla., where he oversees the player development program for NBA and college players. David has trained Kevin Martin, Corey Brewer, Omri Casspi, Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, Yi Jianlian, Courtney Lee, Kyrylo Fesenko, Earl Clark, Jrue Holiday, DeJuan Blair and others.
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