2016 NBA Draft: Why isn't the original Jayhawk receiving any love?

Even though Perry Ellis was one of America’s best forwards, he doesn’t have a lot of buzz surrounding him for the 2016 NBA Draft.

It feels like Perry Ellis has been a member of the Kansas Jayhawks forever.

And now it’s his time to take the next step in his basketball career and head into the NBA.

Ellis’ finished off his college career with an excellent final season. The “old man” in Lawrence averaged 16.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game, while hitting 53 percent of his shots from the floor, and a terrific 44 percent of his three point attempts.

Never the most dynamic athlete, even on his own team, he utilized his superior intelligence and experience to confound opponents. For his efforts, he received unanimous first-team Big 12 and second-team All-American accolades.

Ellis has a knack for the game that you often find with prospects who played all four years in college. He is nearly always in the right spot and was developed enough to get his team a bucket whenever it was needed.

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Much like fellow Big 12 seniors Georges Niang and Buddy Hield, Ellis could often appear unstoppable when he was in rhythm, hitting the right spots on both ends.

Why then, is he one of those guys relegated to a fringe second round projection?

The answer is defense and court awareness.

While he was fine against college guys, he isn’t necessarily the fastest man to try and keep pace with the gazelles that inhabit his position in the NBA.

He is strong enough to bang in the post, though, if he gets the right court composition.

He also isn’t the greatest distributor once he gets a head of steam going into the lane, as evidenced by his low assist rate.

Despite these deficiencies, Ellis has been receiving a decent amount of traction from teams looking for depth in the front court.

Kansas' Perry Ellis has worked out for the Bucks, Suns, Spurs, Hawks, Celtics, Raptors, Knicks, Pelicans and Lakers.
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) June 15, 2016

Ellis has the kind of superior basketball IQ that comes with four years in a high-octane league like the Big 12, and it shows to teams looking for solid role players. He almost always rotates to the right spots on defense and is a tireless worker on both ends.

It is foolish to think he won’t get drafted just because of his age, as he will excel if teams use his versatile, if somewhat old-school, game properly.

The best NBA comparisons I can think of are either Toronto’s Patrick Patterson or San Antonio’s Matt Bonner (no surprise those are two teams that have worked Ellis out).

Both of the professional incumbents are slightly taller than the 6’8″ Ellis, but his game resembles theirs in terms of ability to play backup power forward and hit from range. Both of those guys have managed to stick despite their relatively limited defense, and I think the former Jayhawk could fulfill the same sort of role for a contender like the Raptors or Spurs.

Of the teams that have been attached to Ellis at this stage, I could see the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks (looking to buy a draft pick), and New Orleans Pelicans among those most likely to select him based on current team needs and system fit.

Next: NBA Draft's top five power forwards

None of those teams currently have picks at spots where it would be a possible reach, except New Orleans, who could take a shot at Niang at either 39 or 40.

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2016 NBA Draft: Why isn’t the original Jayhawk receiving any love?

By Doug Winkey | Jun 16, 2016

Even though Perry Ellis was one of America’s best forwards, he doesn’t have a lot of buzz surrounding him for the 2016 NBA Draft.

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