Chad Ford: Kristaps Porzingis “Not likely to slide past No. 7”

Chad Ford just released his Big Board 11.0 and had this to say about Kristaps Porzings, a potential Detroit Pistons prospect:

"Porzingis just arrived in the United States last weekend and is planning a major workout in Las Vegas for NBA teams on Friday. It will be the only workout Porzingis will do before the draft. He will fly to a few teams and do interviews, but this one workout will likely solidify his stock in one direction or the other. I’ll be there in Vegas to report on the whole thing, but until then, it’s still a little tough to get a great read on his draft stock. He’s in the mix as high as No. 3 to the Sixers. The Magic like him a lot at No. 5 as well. I doubt he would slide past the Kings or the Nuggets at No. 6 or 7."

I had my reservations about whether or not Porzingis would be available when the Pistons pick at eighth. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a plausible scenario in which he fell all the way down to the Pistons like the one below.

I hadn’t really considered the Nuggets to be ‘serious’ contenders for Porzingis, but then again, the Nuggets did say they weren’t going to let a top prospect slide to the Pistons .

The Nuggets have a nice young nucleus down low with Jusuf Nurkic and Kenneth Faried making it hard to see them passing on Justise Winslow or even Mario Hezonja, with no clear-cut answer at shooting guard. While Winslow and Hezonja are considered small forwards, they both offer a nice fit at the two which is a bit of a weakness on the roster and either player’s versatility would be welcomed with Danilo Gallinari’s injury history.

Even if the Nuggets do take Porzingis that would leave the Pistons with Winslow which would be considered a huge win. Of course this is only one possible scenario. The Pistons could also find themselves in a position where they don’t have a chance to draft either player and have to select from the next tier of prospects.

Even in this worst-case scenario, the Pistons are fine. Detroit can still get a player who fits a need and can help right away.

With Cameron Payne shooting up draft boards, and the Kings interest in Willie Cauley-Stein, there’s no reason to panic just yet.

Despite what Ford mocks, I see the Magic going for Justise Winslow. Although they just drafted Aaron Gordon a season ago, his ability to guard power forwards at a high level was put on display last season. The Magic have proven with their selections in the past three drafts that they emphasize defense. Adding Winslow would round out their roster nicely. With the assumption that the Kings take Cauley-Stein, that leaves the Nuggets choosing from Hezonja and Porzingis.

At that point it would likely come down to who they have higher on their big board and weighing their rankings against the team needs.