Chad Ford

I stumbled upon a live chat with Chad Ford on ESPN.com this afternoon. Chad is the NBA draft guru for ESPN. He does a pretty good job. Does a lot of homework. Has some access to the right kind of people making the decisions. I got featured in a Bill Simmons chat last summer, and a David Thorpe chat last week, but never with Chad. I decided to fire about 8-10 questions at him. 3 of them got posted. Here were my questions:

JC: Cleveland: If I was a GM and was living in a world where Greg Monroe and Ed Davis are lottery picks, I am trading every pick I own in this year's draft.

Chad Ford: Welcome to the world of the 13 GMs that won't get a chance to draft Blake Griffin with the No. 1 pick. There just isn't a lot of upside in the draft, so teams will reach for young big guys who might be players in a few years. Davis and Monroe qualify.


E. Davis: Chapel Hill: What did I do this season besides be in the right place at the right time for tip ins and and catch and finish uncontested dunk after feeds from great playmakers?

Chad Ford: You're long, athletic, have a great motor, a good nose for the ball and in a draft as weak as this ... that's going to be enough. Clearly Davis is an upside pick, but if you're drafting in the Top 5 ... you aren't really looking for role players.


JC: Cleveland: If Brandon Jennings and Rickey Rubio played against each other tomorrow, who would get the better of that matchup?

Chad Ford: Rubio, hands down.

Questions that did not get answered, probably only because he ran out of time.

JC: Cleveland: What's Blair's ceiling? Is he more Big Baby or Z Bo? Is a Boozer level reachable?

J. Harden: Tempe: Hey Chad, can you put me on a team, where I can mail it in 3 times a week, settle for contested 3's and get my numbers on a bad team? Thanks.

Chris Wallace: Memphis: I LOVE B.J. MULLENS!

JC: Cleveland: Chad, who sticks the longest: Psycho T, Goran Suton, Dante Cunningham or Jeff Adrien?