Tony Bradley emphasizes his adaptable game to NBA scouts as the deadline nears on Wednesday.
With the deadline to either stay in or leave the NBA Draft looming, all eyes are on Tony Bradley who is the only (non-senior) Tar Heel left in the draft who hasn't signed an agent. In a recent video, Bradley was asked about what teams he's met with, what he's been able to learn from NBA executives so far, and what he's been able to do thus far in order to impress NBA scouts during the entire process.
So far, Bradley has met with Portland, Oklahoma City, Milwaukee, Boston, Detroit, New York, Houston, and Brooklyn. When asked if he was given any feedback from any of the teams so far in terms of what he may or may not need to work on, Bradley stated that he hasn't heard a lot from the teams he spoke with so far.
He also stated that there was still a bit of time left in the process before he would be able to get the information he needs to make a decision. When the question came up again about whether or not he was going to stay in the draft if he was guaranteed to be a first-round pick Bradley stated, "We'll see. Depends on the feedback I get."
Perhaps the most interesting comments made during the interview by Bradley were about his game. Things got interesting when one reporter asked him about Detroit and if he thought that he would be able to compliment their star center Andre Drummond on the court: "Yeah I feel like I could play next to him, stretch the floor, handle the ball, shoot the three ball, you know stuff like that."
"I am definitely a stretch four. I can play the five too. My game you saw at Carolina is completely different from what I will play in the NBA."
It is fair to wonder how strong Tony Bradley's game is shooting from the perimeter, as he has not been able to show off these skills at UNC. Perhaps more information will be revealed via NBA scouts and executives when they speak to Bradley about where they feel he will be projected at in the draft and what they feel he needs to work on.
During the combine, Bradley managed to measure well, but some of his tests didn’t help his case in elevating his stock into the first round. For leaping ability, Bradley was the second lowest in standing vertical leaping ability and the lowest in maximum vertical leaping ability.
Currently, DraftExpress.com projects Tony Bradley going number 42 in the second round to the Utah jazz.
Meanwhile in Chapel Hill, Roy Williams is left wondering whether or not his five-star center will find his way back to campus. When asked earlier this week about whether or not Bradley staying in the draft would be a good thing, Williams said there's "no question."
"You think about it," he said. "Why would I not want a guy to go? I mean that's just stupid. But yet, people have used that against us."
Williams also made it clear that he he believes that if players are going to stay in the draft they need to be first-round caliber players. Perhaps this is just one reason as to why UNC players tend to stick around after their freshman year more than fellow blue-blood schools.
There is no doubt that the NBA is a whole other animal compared to the college game, and it is important that players are completely up for the task or else they may find themselves moving around in the D-League or into completely different leagues altogether.
The deadline for Tony Bradley to make his decision to stay or leave the draft is May 24th.
