Every year there is a ton of movement at the top of NBA Draft boards as GM’s and scouts from around the association break down every piece of information they have on the top players available in order to make sure they make the right selection with their picks. That will be the case again in 2016 as teams turn to individual workouts and interviews to complete the process and decide on whom they want to invest in. While a number of players will improve their draft stock over the next couple of weeks there will also be players that hurt their draft stock based on a number of different factors. Here is a look at the four biggest potential fallers in the 2016 NBA Draft class.
PF/C: Skal Labissiere, Kentucky
Freshman
The projected first round pick out of Kentucky will be in the spotlight over the next couple of weeks as scouts and GM’s attempt to figure out where he should be selected. Labissiere was regarded as a top prospect before a disastrous freshman season completely changed to complexion of how high his ceiling truly is. A lack of toughness and feel for the game around the basket are the biggest concerns and the fact that he hasn’t put on a single pound since the 2015 Nike Hoops Summit will be a major concern. At 6’11’’, Labissiere still has a decent frame and it will be interesting to see who is willing to take a chance on him. He will certainly need some strong individual performances over the next couple of weeks to stop his slide with a very real chance that he slides to the bottom third of the first round.
SG/SF: Timothe Luwawu, France
Luwawu got the attention of NBA executives with his phenomenal highlights and mixtapes but teams are bound to dig a lot further before they take a chance on him in the NBA Draft. His three-point percentage has dropped to 35.8-percent and he’s only shooting 40.2-percent from the floor with Mega Leks in the Adriatic League so the buzz around him has calmed somewhat over the last year. Teams will still be very interested to see what he does in individual workouts and they will certainly take the time to figure out what he can bring to the table but the buzz surrounding Luwawu has died down a little bit and it wouldn’t shock anybody if he fell to the second round.
C: Diamond Stone, Maryland
Freshman
Stone had a solid year for Maryland in which he averaged 12.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game but his stock took a hit at the NBA combine when he measured with the second-highest body fat percentage. It also doesn’t help that the NBA has transitioned towards becoming a smaller league with today’s centers asked to either stretch the floor with their shooting or protect the rim with their defense. Stone doesn’t excel in either of those areas and while he has some nice tough around the rim it won’t be enough to prevent him from falling to the middle of the second round.
SG: Melo Trimble, Maryland
Sophomore
Stone wasn’t the only Terrapins player whose stock took a hit as Trimble moved down the board with a poor performance at this year’s NBA combine. He struggled during his initial five-on-five workout and while he played better on the second day there were concerns about the fact that he was plagued by the same inconsistency he struggled with at Maryland throughout last season. Trimble averaged 14.8 points, 4.9 assists and 3.6 rebounds while averaging 32.8 minutes per game for the Terrapins a year ago but there have been a number of reports about the concerns scouts have with his overall game and whether or not he is capable of becoming a more consistent player at the NBA level. He will get the opportunity to stop his slide in the individual workouts over the next couple of weeks but at this point it wouldn’t be a surprise at all if he slid out of the first round as one of several fallers in this year’s NBA Draft class.
