[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

Until you get caught, I suppose:

http://deadspin.com/espns-chad-ford-has-been-retroactively-editing-draft-bo-1681631642

Pretty weak. I get making retroactive Mock Drafts or admitting to your mistake. We all make them. What I don’t get is going back and changing your Big Board a few years after drafts to try and make yourself look better. Hopefully he just confesses rather than making up an excuse. Wonder what others feel about this. Feel that the draft content for ESPN has been slipping big time, plus they were way off on a lot of things about the draft last year.

I do not know Chad, have seen him only at the Hoop Summit, but I know that his ESPN gig is not his only job. To me, it just seems like he is not really a passionate basketball fan. Might be way off, though every time I have seen him he is schmoozing more than focusing on what is actually going on. He constantly deflects accountability by saying "it is not me saying this, it is scouts". Also know he was the guy that came up with the "Insider" format and got the "draft guru" job that way.

This just seems incredibly unneccessary and is a slap in the face to NBA Draft followers. We are supposed to give the landscape of what we felt was happening at the time leading up to the draft. Anything after that, have something else or make a new article. They could definitely use the content.

[nick5354Participant]

Ultimate crime in terms of ranking and scouting basketball.

It is like that friend who tells you years after “I told you Paul George was going to be a beast” even if they said the complete opposite during draft day and or leading up to the draft.

We all make mistakes, I have a lot. I thought Beasley was going to tear a part the league and got way way to carried away with Fredette and Perry Jones.

Hell, it is one thing to not admit and openly talk about players you stuffed up on, but to change it is even worse.

Really be looking to see if it is indeed true and what Ford and ESPN say about it.

[nick5354Participant]

Ultimate crime in terms of ranking and scouting basketball.

It is like that friend who tells you years after “I told you Paul George was going to be a beast” even if they said the complete opposite during draft day and or leading up to the draft.

We all make mistakes, I have a lot. I thought Beasley was going to tear a part the league and got way way to carried away with Fredette and Perry Jones.

Hell, it is one thing to not admit and openly talk about players you stuffed up on, but to change it is even worse.

Really be looking to see if it is indeed true and what Ford and ESPN say about it.

[agentoaktreeParticipant]

If this is true I am budding with excitement to see what Bill Simmons has to say about this. #FREEDARKO

[agentoaktreeParticipant]

If this is true I am budding with excitement to see what Bill Simmons has to say about this. #FREEDARKO

[butidonthavemoney]

I’m just bummed he took down the blog post in which he stated that Patrick O’Bryant should be considered for the top overall pick. Fortunately, it was insider, so it was copied and pasted everywhere.

 

"If you just sat in a gym watching prospects play, who would leap out at you?

After spending some time in the gym with LSU’s Tyrus Thomas on Friday, I came away pretty convinced that Thomas is one of the best two or three prospects in the draft — maybe the best.

Most NBA GMs agree. It’s not much of reach.

However, after spending an hour in the gym Monday with Bradley’s Patrick O’Bryant, I had a very similar reaction. O’Bryant looks like the kind of prospect who should be a candidate to be the No. 1 pick in the draft.

The only difference? No one has mentioned O’Bryant as a No. 1 candidate.

Let me be the first.As I watched him work out, I had to keep asking myself, why isn’t this guy getting mentioned as a potential top pick in the draft?

Physically, he reminds me a lot of a young Tyson Chandler. Similar size, body and athleticism. 

The difference is that O’Bryant already looks much more polished offensively than Chandler has ever looked. 

Here’s the case for O’Bryant: He’s a 7-footer with long arms. He has a nice frame that easily could carry another 25 or 30 pounds of muscle.

He’s an excellent athlete with springy legs. He runs up and down the floor like a deer. I know that phrase is used too often to describe guys who run well. Here, I mean it more literally. The kid takes long strides, has a bounce in his step and glides effortlessly across the court — it’s truly reminiscent of how a deer runs.

Defensively, he’s good. He rebounds the ball well and is an excellent shot-blocker. 

His ability on the offensive end surprised me. He showed a number of post moves, including a sky hook. That’s right, a sky hook.

Where’d that come from?

"My high school coach was a little old school," O’Bryant said. "He made me shoot 400 of those every practice till my arms fell off. He wanted me to be Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar]."

So why isn’t the 7-0, athletic, coordinated, defensively and offensively gifted center not being mentioned as the potential No. 1 pick?

The Toronto Raptors need a center in the worst way. The Chicago Bulls sure could use one, too. The Portland Trail Blazers are in danger of losing Joel Przybilla, their only decent center. And what about the Atlanta Hawks? Couldn’t they use another big man?

You’d think, but to date, O’Bryant hasn’t worked out for any of those teams. The New Orleans Hornets, Seattle SuperSonics, Boston Celtics and Utah Jazz are the only teams that have worked him out.

I talked to the GMs of two of those teams, and both said they were impressed with O’Bryant’s athleticism and size but felt he was pretty raw and needed to work on his body.

OK. Can’t argue with that. The kid is raw, and he needs to hit the weight room. And he played less than half of the season at Bradley, certainly not a breeding ground for great NBA big men. 

The other knock? Some NBA scouts believe O’Bryant isn’t the most motivated player in the draft. Will he put in all the hard work he needs to become a great player?

All are legitimate concerns for the big guy. But I’m still asking: In a draft supposedly devoid of centers, how could this guy slip through the cracks?

It might not happen much longer. On Wednesday, O’Bryant will have an open workout at the Orlando camp for all 30 teams. 

My prediction: I think at the end of the day, O’Bryant sneaks into the top five on draft night. 

You want upside? No one in the draft at his height has his athleticism and skill."

Classic.

[butidonthavemoney]

I’m just bummed he took down the blog post in which he stated that Patrick O’Bryant should be considered for the top overall pick. Fortunately, it was insider, so it was copied and pasted everywhere.

 

"If you just sat in a gym watching prospects play, who would leap out at you?

After spending some time in the gym with LSU’s Tyrus Thomas on Friday, I came away pretty convinced that Thomas is one of the best two or three prospects in the draft — maybe the best.

Most NBA GMs agree. It’s not much of reach.

However, after spending an hour in the gym Monday with Bradley’s Patrick O’Bryant, I had a very similar reaction. O’Bryant looks like the kind of prospect who should be a candidate to be the No. 1 pick in the draft.

The only difference? No one has mentioned O’Bryant as a No. 1 candidate.

Let me be the first.As I watched him work out, I had to keep asking myself, why isn’t this guy getting mentioned as a potential top pick in the draft?

Physically, he reminds me a lot of a young Tyson Chandler. Similar size, body and athleticism. 

The difference is that O’Bryant already looks much more polished offensively than Chandler has ever looked. 

Here’s the case for O’Bryant: He’s a 7-footer with long arms. He has a nice frame that easily could carry another 25 or 30 pounds of muscle.

He’s an excellent athlete with springy legs. He runs up and down the floor like a deer. I know that phrase is used too often to describe guys who run well. Here, I mean it more literally. The kid takes long strides, has a bounce in his step and glides effortlessly across the court — it’s truly reminiscent of how a deer runs.

Defensively, he’s good. He rebounds the ball well and is an excellent shot-blocker. 

His ability on the offensive end surprised me. He showed a number of post moves, including a sky hook. That’s right, a sky hook.

Where’d that come from?

"My high school coach was a little old school," O’Bryant said. "He made me shoot 400 of those every practice till my arms fell off. He wanted me to be Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar]."

So why isn’t the 7-0, athletic, coordinated, defensively and offensively gifted center not being mentioned as the potential No. 1 pick?

The Toronto Raptors need a center in the worst way. The Chicago Bulls sure could use one, too. The Portland Trail Blazers are in danger of losing Joel Przybilla, their only decent center. And what about the Atlanta Hawks? Couldn’t they use another big man?

You’d think, but to date, O’Bryant hasn’t worked out for any of those teams. The New Orleans Hornets, Seattle SuperSonics, Boston Celtics and Utah Jazz are the only teams that have worked him out.

I talked to the GMs of two of those teams, and both said they were impressed with O’Bryant’s athleticism and size but felt he was pretty raw and needed to work on his body.

OK. Can’t argue with that. The kid is raw, and he needs to hit the weight room. And he played less than half of the season at Bradley, certainly not a breeding ground for great NBA big men. 

The other knock? Some NBA scouts believe O’Bryant isn’t the most motivated player in the draft. Will he put in all the hard work he needs to become a great player?

All are legitimate concerns for the big guy. But I’m still asking: In a draft supposedly devoid of centers, how could this guy slip through the cracks?

It might not happen much longer. On Wednesday, O’Bryant will have an open workout at the Orlando camp for all 30 teams. 

My prediction: I think at the end of the day, O’Bryant sneaks into the top five on draft night. 

You want upside? No one in the draft at his height has his athleticism and skill."

Classic.

[McDunkin]

[McDunkin]

[RUDEBOY_Participant]

saw someone on twitter say thats the difference between a draft reporter and a draft scout….OUCH!!

[RUDEBOY_Participant]

saw someone on twitter say thats the difference between a draft reporter and a draft scout….OUCH!!

[bloodshyParticipant]

However, I’ll reserve any remarks about an individual’s character until after I hear their side of the story. There is more than one conceivable explanation here. 

[bloodshyParticipant]

However, I’ll reserve any remarks about an individual’s character until after I hear their side of the story. There is more than one conceivable explanation here. 

[cabbycabParticipant]

The O’Bryant article is all I need to know about Ford.  Of course my Warriors picked him.  He was as useful as a dead body out on the court.  

[cabbycabParticipant]

The O’Bryant article is all I need to know about Ford.  Of course my Warriors picked him.  He was as useful as a dead body out on the court.  

[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

Called "denial". Here is what ESPN had to say about this:

After reviewing the post on Reddit today, we have found that changes were made manually to Chad Ford’s NBA Draft prospects rankings. We have not been able to determine who made the changes, or when. We have talked to Chad Ford, who strongly denies any involvement, and based on his past work and professionalism, we believe him. Our review will continue but it is unclear at this time if we will be able to ascertain who was responsible.

Got this from USA Today’s "The Big Lead" and another Deadspin:

http://thebiglead.com/2015/01/26/espn-chad-ford-versus-patriots-deflated-balls-mark-brunell-skip-bayless/

http://deadspin.com/chad-ford-says-he-didnt-edit-his-draft-rankings-espn-1681741107

Well, the question is, who did? One thing they are not denying: this happened. The Big Lead brought up a pretty solid point:

But we can tell you who – or at least whose assigned account ID – made an updated edit within any post, both before and after publication. For example, there have been eight saved revisions to this piece at the time I am re-writing this paragraph, most by myself, and Ty Duffy checked it for me and added a saved note at 9:18 a.m. Then, Jason McIntyre jumped in to give it a read and make a tweak or two at 11:21 am. I’m sure, though, ESPN has no way of tracking who posts or edits the things on their website, and most items appear magically without anyone understanding why.

So, yeah. Seems like ESPN should sort of have more of an idea about exactly what happened here. There certainly seems to be a possibility that someone else could have done it. The thing is, though, it says "Chad Ford’s Top 100" on every yearly Big Board you visit. So, if it is not Chad, what does someone else have to gain from doing this? As much as I would like to see Chad actually issue a statement that is not from ESPN, I will state this certainly does not have me convinced. I agree that there is more than one conceivable explanation, just very disappointed in the one given to us at this current point in time. Which to me, is not from Chad Ford and also seems to be, as the Big Lead pointed out, very "Deflate Gate-esque".

[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

Called "denial". Here is what ESPN had to say about this:

After reviewing the post on Reddit today, we have found that changes were made manually to Chad Ford’s NBA Draft prospects rankings. We have not been able to determine who made the changes, or when. We have talked to Chad Ford, who strongly denies any involvement, and based on his past work and professionalism, we believe him. Our review will continue but it is unclear at this time if we will be able to ascertain who was responsible.

Got this from USA Today’s "The Big Lead" and another Deadspin:

http://thebiglead.com/2015/01/26/espn-chad-ford-versus-patriots-deflated-balls-mark-brunell-skip-bayless/

http://deadspin.com/chad-ford-says-he-didnt-edit-his-draft-rankings-espn-1681741107

Well, the question is, who did? One thing they are not denying: this happened. The Big Lead brought up a pretty solid point:

But we can tell you who – or at least whose assigned account ID – made an updated edit within any post, both before and after publication. For example, there have been eight saved revisions to this piece at the time I am re-writing this paragraph, most by myself, and Ty Duffy checked it for me and added a saved note at 9:18 a.m. Then, Jason McIntyre jumped in to give it a read and make a tweak or two at 11:21 am. I’m sure, though, ESPN has no way of tracking who posts or edits the things on their website, and most items appear magically without anyone understanding why.

So, yeah. Seems like ESPN should sort of have more of an idea about exactly what happened here. There certainly seems to be a possibility that someone else could have done it. The thing is, though, it says "Chad Ford’s Top 100" on every yearly Big Board you visit. So, if it is not Chad, what does someone else have to gain from doing this? As much as I would like to see Chad actually issue a statement that is not from ESPN, I will state this certainly does not have me convinced. I agree that there is more than one conceivable explanation, just very disappointed in the one given to us at this current point in time. Which to me, is not from Chad Ford and also seems to be, as the Big Lead pointed out, very "Deflate Gate-esque".

[Author]

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