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Salt Lake City — With just over a week before the NBA draft, Jazz Vice President of Player Personnel Walt Perrin joins Rod Zundel to discuss some of the intriguing players of the NBA draft.
Many pundits have classified this year's draft as weak, but Perrin sees it differently, "I see it as a deep draft. I think there's some players here, that will play in the league and have long careers. I just don't know if there's stars in this draft. That's why people think this is a weak draft."
So in our very finite wisdom, we narrowed down some of the more intriguing prospects that the Jazz have worked out.
C.J. McCollum:G, Lehigh, 6-3, 197 lbs
Perrin: "C.J. is a player that is going to convert to a point guard in our league. He was a two-guard at a smaller conference. Very good shooter, very good scorer, knows how to create shots off the dribble. A good passer for the position he played in college. He's going to be a pretty good player I think. He's really one of the better shooters in the draft."
Shane Larkin:PG, Miami, 5-11, 176 lbs
Perrin: "He had the highest vertical at the NBA combine, 44 inches, which is outstanding. He can get up, he's a strong point guard. Real small, 5-11, but he can handle the position."
Is his size a concern?
Perrin: "Not really, we're seeing in the league that they're coming smaller. Nate Robinson had a good year in Chicago, Spud Webb played well, Mugsy Bogues played well, I don't think height has any disadvantage."
Dennis SchroederPG, Germany, 6-2, 165 lbs
Some have compared him to Rajon Rondo, is that fair?
Perrin: "I don't think that's fair. He's got the same body build as Rondo, maybe a little bit shorter. Long arms, big hands. He doesn't play like Rondo, because Rondo is a point guard and great defender. Dennis is more of a scorer than he is a defender right now. He's got to get a lot better defensively. He's a little different than Rondo, just physically he looks like Rondo."
Brandon Davies:F/C, BYU, 6-9, 240 lbs
Perrin: "I think Brandon has really gotten better during his career at BYU. I don't think, going into this year he was considered a very high draft pick. I think the year he had, him playing at PIT (Portsmouth Invitational) and being the Most Valuable Player, coming into the combine and doing pretty well, he's doing fairly well in workouts right now, so I think he's really put himself in a position to be drafted. I think he can play in this league."
Rudy Gobert:C, France, 7-2, 240 lbs
Perrin: "7-2 with a 7-9 wingspan and a 9-5 reach. So he's almost touching the rim, without even jumping. Really a long player, he's very interesting because of his length and his ability to protect the basket."
