Cooper’s here. We got through it, everyone.

The horror of the 2024 NBA Draft is in your rearview mirror. Relax.

Of course, it wasn’t as bad as everyone said it would be. If there weren’t any no-brainer superstars in last year’s class, there were, as there are every year in every draft, a couple of surprise standouts (Jared McCain, Jaylen Wells), a few pretty good contributors (Stephon Castle, Zach Edey, Zaccharie Risacher, Alexandre Sarr) and some who flashed in fits and starts (Matas Buzelis, Donovan Clingan, Kel’el Ware, Yves Missi, Dalton Knecht, Ryan Dunn). And someone from among Reed Sheppard, Ron Holland, Rob Dillingham or Nikola Topić is likely to earn a rotational role on their respective teams next season.

But all of those folks, of course, will be overshadowed by the dawning of the Cooper Flagg era in the Association. The all-but-consensus National Player of the Year led Duke to the Final Four, lived up to all the hype and will be the first pick next Wednesday, to the Dallas Mavericks, who somehow overcame insanely steep odds to get the No. 1 pick. There isn’t another player on the board like Flagg. But this year’s draft features multiple prospects who’d likely have been at or near the top of last year’s draft boards. It’s not the best draft ever, but it’s likely to produce more impact players than last season.

So, it’s NBA Draft Confidential time.

For the uninitiated and/or forgetful: just as my NFL colleague Bruce Feldman pairs his annual NFL Draft Confidential with Dane Brugler’s untameable, undefeated, undisputed pre-NFL Draft champion, The Beast, this work is best viewed as a complement to Sam Vecenie’s wonderful and exhaustive annual NBA Draft Guide.

Sam is on this 24/7/365; his detail on the Green Room invites and beyond is unparalleled. But I’ve spent the last couple of months in daily chatter with more than two dozen coaches, NBA executives, scouts and other personnel types who’ve all either seen or coached against this year’s top prospects in person. (I’ve found it’s hard to get a player’s own coach/coaches not to pull their evaluation punches when it comes to their own guys.)

In exchange for anonymity, they tell me the truth, both good and bad, about what they actually think about the players.

As ever, this is not a mock draft. I don’t do ’em. Knock yourself out if you want to read Mocks 4.0-8.0 elsewhere, but no one remembers the handful of times that you’re right; they only castigate you for the many, many more times that you’re wrong about players and where they’re selected. And as we have been in the Lying Season for about six weeks now, you’re all but assured of being very wrong! So why waste my time, and yours? What this is, by contrast, are honest assessments of many (not all!) of this year’s top draft prospects, from the people who know them best, and who have seen them the most.

We are doing the guards today. The wings/forwards (Cooper!!) will go on Thursday, with the bigs on Friday.

Dylan goes electric

If Flagg going to Dallas is a certainty, then Rutgers freshman guard Dylan Harper going next, whether to the San Antonio Spurs (most likely) or someone else who trades up to take him, is about 99 44/100ths percent likely. He measured a little under his listed Rutgers height (what a surprise!) at the Chicago pre-draft combine, coming in at 6-4 1/2. But his measured 6-10 1/2 wingspan means he’ll be more than capable of operating effectively at the next level, and capable of bringing along one of his superpowers — an amazing prowess to get into the paint, and to the rim, and convert. It’s one of the things that makes the son of longtime NBA wing Ron Harper so intriguing as a potential lead guard.

Harper was extremely productive as a pick-and-roll ballhandler for the Scarlet Knights, and like the Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham, the player with whom Harper is often compared, Harper can get pretty much wherever he wants on the court without much difficulty. He’s not the fastest guy with the rock, but he’s big and strong and coordinated, and the ball doesn’t disappear from teammates once it’s in his hands. He’ll pass it. In a league tilting toward lead guards with the size of a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyrese Haliburton or Cunningham, Harper should fit right in at the next level.

But, there are some questions. Harper didn’t shoot it great from deep (33.3 percent on 3-pointers) in his one college season. That usually improves for most in the pros when they get dedicated time putting up hundreds of shots every day in workouts, but it’s something Harper will have to improve. And, despite having another likely high-lottery teammate last season in forward Ace Bailey, Harper and Rutgers finished under .500 and didn’t make the NCAA Tournament. Contrast that with teams like national champion Florida and Final Four participant Duke, which had to serve even more players on their rosters with first-round potential, yet managed to play together and win big.

Harper’s fit with the Spurs, who have the second pick, isn’t the greatest at first blush, either; San Antonio already has a ball-dominant point guard in De’Aaron Fox it just spent a lot of draft capital acquiring from Sacramento four months ago, and another primary guard of the future in Stephon Castle, who earned NBA Rookie of the Year honors this past season. But at two, you take the talent and figure the rest out as you go. Harper is the talent.

Dylan Harper | 6-5 guard | 19 years old | Rutgers

College assistant coach No. 1 (his team played Rutgers): He’s definitely two (after Flagg). I haven’t seen all the international guys, but there’s no American that I’m taking (at) two over Harper. I think he’s the most ready, other than Cooper, of any American player in the country. He has a professionalism about him that’s really uncommon. He knows the game. He plays the right way. He guards. He tries defensively. He can make tough shots. He can play on or off the ball. There’s a lot to like there. … Looks you in the eye, does what his coach asks, with great effort, with joy. Like, (he’s) excited to be coached. Wants to be challenged to be better. Eats it up. That kid’s going to make an All-Star team in the NBA. He tries defensively. And he’s going to get better. He takes pride in not being a target. He don’t want people to put his name on the board and say ‘go at him.’

Eastern Conference scout No. 1: I don’t think he has a real high ceiling, but I think he’ll play, and play for a long time.

College assistant coach No. 2 (his team played Rutgers): Very talented, can go both ways, right, left. Prefers left. Obviously, the bloodlines are there. Is he a one or a two?

College head coach No. 1 (his team played Rutgers): He’s as good as anyone we’ve played against, including Markelle Fultz and Jabari Smith. He’s not as good as Cunningham or Anthony Edwards, who we also played. Really good reads out of pick-and-rolls for his age.

Western Conference executive No. 1: Obviously, like the size for the position. I think he’s going to have to be more of the Cade type. He doesn’t have that elite burst. His thing is he’s big and strong. He’s got to use that to his advantage. His shooting has to get better. But he’s got an understanding and a feel. What I struggle most with is you have him and Ace Bailey, who are quote-unquote top five players in this draft, and you couldn’t post a winning record in college and in the Big Ten. That’s concerning to me. What’s missing there? That’s a little bit of an issue to me, how much he can impact winning. But I can’t put it all on his shoulders. For me, when you’re drafting that high, you’re looking for somebody who could impact winning. Cade didn’t have a great team with him at Oklahoma State, but they went to the NCAA Tournament.

There’s quality at the next level among the guards. If none of them are surefire locks to be all-pro caliber players in the NBA, you can make a case that many have the potential to break through and be at least All-Stars. Three freshmen — Baylor’s V.J. Edgecombe, Texas’ Tre Johnson and Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears — have separated themselves from the pack as the next likely group of guards taken in the mid- to late lottery. Each has questions, but each also has severe talent. Edgecombe is a defensive menace and explosive athlete, with major potential as a switchable two through four type. Johnson is the near-consensus best shooter/scorer at his position in the draft. If every team could use a Jamal Murray or a Devin Booker-type three-level scorer, Johnson’s your man this year. And the 18-year-old Fears, while slight of build, and not the greatest stopper in the world, is viewed by most evaluators as the most electric player in the draft with the ball in his hands.

V.J. Edgecombe | 6-4 guard | 19 years old | Baylor

Western Conference executive No. 2: I think he’s more like Cam Thomas than an all-pro player or something like that. But Edgecombe, to me, has more upside (than Thomas). I like him better offensively — athletically. I like him better defensively. I think he’s more of a versatile, all-around player than Cam is. Probably a little more playmaking. … This kid’s going to score in his own right, too. He isn’t going to be a 12-point-a-game scorer or anything. He’s athletic as hell, so he’s going to get out on the break and get some points there. He’ll do some driving in the half court and get some points there, get fouled. And guys with that profile, who weren’t just horrendous offensive players in college, but who are highly athletic and work at it, they get better offensively in the league. You’ve got unlimited opportunities to work on your game. Everybody’s got practice facilities and the code to get back in. … I’m not saying he’s going to be a perennial all-pro player, but I think he’ll be pretty good. And I’d be surprised if he failed.

College general manager: From the jump, he was a super mature kid. When coaches are talking, eyes on them. Very coachable. Wants to learn, wants to get better. Never late. First in and last to leave. Just things you have to tell guys. Sometimes you’re telling guys who are five- or six-year pros. For him, it came naturally. … Very mature, but there were some things (in FIBA competition) he wasn’t used to, the physicality. If the team has direction and has leadership, he’ll be fine. He’ll be everything they want and more. He’s such a good kid and he’s coachable. At Baylor, they were so quiet at the offensive end in the first half. And in the second half, he just takes over.

Western Conference scout No. 1: From the end of the season until now, his jumper has gotten better. It was flat during the year. … When he came to Chicago and shot, I was like, whoa. He doesn’t have that flat shot no more. He’s gonna be all right. Because he’s so athletic. He can handle the rock and pass the ball. I’m not comparing him to Ant (Anthony Edwards), but whoever gets him is gonna be surprised how he can put the ball on the floor and make plays for others. Look at him at Baylor. He wasn’t hogging. He wasn’t even the main offense. He was scoring, shot it OK. But he always made passes and made plays for others. And he can defend. I think he can guard twos and ones. He’s a combo. Second side ballhandler. I think he’ll be able to guard ones and twos easy. And then, later, against certain threes, if they go small-ball three. He can guard 6-6 guys — some of them. And he’s not gonna back down. He’s a tough kid, comes from a tough area.

Eastern Conference executive No. 1: To me, I think he could be the second-best player in this draft. He’s a little raw basketball experience-wise, but he’s a great kid. Stephon Castle was Rookie of the Year. The biggest reason was he was able to defend right away. This guy can do the same thing. He’s not a bad shooter.

Tre Johnson | 6-5 wing | 19 years old | Texas

Eastern Conference scout No. 1: He has a chance to be one of the top-three players. He has the talent to do it. And I think he has the mindset. He’s been a really hard player to like. I’ve watched him for three years. He’s a hard player to like, because he seems like he’s a selfish player. … He wants to win, and he tries to win, but the only way he thinks he can win is doing it himself. He didn’t have a good team in Texas, but he’s been on some good teams when he was bad. He was on the USA Basketball (U-19) team in Europe. His body language and his game didn’t support all the hype he was getting. But this year, I was at some of his best games. In the end … he’s just f—– good. He can score. On a team devoid of scoring, there’s something to be said for that. … The shot-making is going to give him a chance. It’s going to be about fit for him. Like Brandon Miller, maybe, where he goes to a place and plays really well. But if he goes to a s—-y team, he might look s—-y. If he has a couple of good vets around that can help him and that he respects, he has a chance to be good. Tre is the hardest worker, from everybody I’ve talked to, at Texas.

Eastern Conference scout No. 2: The impressive thing about him is you look at his stats, for a freshman, what he shot, and with the whole scouting report geared to stop him. He can shoot that thing. What they’re talking about Ant (Edwards), that Ant needs to learn how to play with his back to the basket? Tre has that shot in his game. That was impressive, to watch a young guy be able to back a guy down and shoot that. He’s not the best athlete, but when you shoot like that, that’s the great equalizer. He’s not 6-6 or 6-7, but he’ll be able to get his shot off. I’ve seen him, the UConn game, he made a pass that he went baseline, and made a pass to one of his teammates for a wide-open 3. You’ve got to have some selfishness, too. I’d rather have to tune a guy down for being selfish than have to tune him up and say you need to be more selfish. I’ve seen him get off the ball. … I just worry about him playing against more athletic guys off the bounce. But off the catch, one-two dribbles? He’s one of the best doing that.

Western Conference executive No. 2: He’s been the same player his whole life. He’s got to be a guy who gets the ball and gets a lot of shots. He’s going to have the ball, there’s going to be some standing around and watching him. He’ll score in the NBA. I don’t have any doubt. But I wonder how valued a player he’ll be in a few years. Is the league going to be clamoring for him in a few years? This guy’s never going to be a big-time defender. It’s get it and go. When it’s going, he’s impressive. I question the makeup. He’s so pronounced in who he is that that’s who he’s going to be at our level. … (but) Tre Johnson’s too pronounced as a shooter-scorer to fail, either. Look at Cam Thomas. The league wasn’t crazy about him. He goes in the 20s, and he’s not failing. He’s easily playing 10-plus years now.

College assistant coach No. 3 (his team played Texas): Probably going to go with Tre (over Fears). A lot of people say he’s selfish, but he’s not, really. He will make the right play at times. Sometimes he does, but you expect that with a guy with his talent. He had 90 assists to 60 turnovers. He was passing it well. He didn’t force it. Fears would force. Both are extremely good in ball screens.

Eastern Conference executive No. 1: Johnson’s good. Probably the best shooter in the draft. Probably top five, top 10. He’s improved, too. His attitude’s improved. His game is more well-rounded than it was a year ago. How many really good shooters are a little selfish? That doesn’t bother me.

Jeremiah Fears | 6-3 guard | 18 years old | Oklahoma

Western Conference Executive No. 1: I’m a fan. I really like him. After Cooper Flagg, he would be my pick. He has a little bit of that “it” in terms of he can get downhill, where the game is played today. The shooting percentage has to get better, but I think it will. I think he’s serious about his craft. When the redraft is done, I’ll be surprised if he’s not one of the best three in this class. The size doesn’t bother me. That’s Ja Morant’s size. And I think he seems a little more stable. NBA speed and quickness, athleticism for the position, good handle. The shooting will get better, but he made big shots for his college. His demeanor and how he’s wired, I was impressed.

Eastern Conference scout No. 1: He’s hard for me. He was at USA (Basketball, where his team won the 2024 gold medal at the 2024 FIBA Men’s U-18 AmeriCup), and he’s trying to get it all at once. You want him to take a little bit of time. But he can go get a bucket. He can pass. The intel is a lot better than you see as a player. As a player, I think there’s times I think he’s a baby. He gets frustrated easily. I’m trying to think of guys he can be like. He’s growing, so that helps. He’s more of a Darius Garland-type player.

Eastern Conference scout No. 2: He gets to the paint. He didn’t shoot it at a high clip, but a lot of that is being young and garnering a lot of attention. But he can shoot it. He’ll be fine in that area. Has some speed in the open floor. He’s not as fast as (Auburn’s Tahaad) Pettiford is in a tight box. Fears, in transition, when he picks up speed, he’s really good. And he sees the floor pretty well. He plays with some moxie to him.

Eastern Conference executive No. 1: Love him. I think he’s right up there. He’s like Cooper Flagg, he classified up, so he’s young. To me, he’s a future All-Star. Smooth. Does he need to get stronger? Yeah. But he’s not skinny. He’s athletic as heck, quick as heck.

Western Conference executive No. 3: Didn’t surprise me his height was lower than it was. But, I think he has two things going for him. One, his age. He’s just so darn young. He should be a high school senior. To think that he’d be putting on a (high school) jersey and doing what he did this year, it’s wow. What he did do at Oklahoma was special. He has a skill set that translates. He can go get buckets. I think there’s room for him to develop his vision for what’s going on, so he’s not just in a tunnel. But his age and what he can provide has NBA written all over it. Hopefully, by the age of 21, you have a star.

BYU’s Egor Demin. (Robert Deutsch / Imagn Images)

The mid- to late-lottery is where Illinois freshman Kasparas “KJ” Jakučionis, BYU freshman Egor Demin, Michigan State’s Jase Richardson and Florida’s star guard Walter Clayton, Jr., are more likely to hear their names called. Each has an elite skill: Jakučionis in the pick-and-roll, Demin as a passer, Richardson as a scorer, Clayton as a big-time shot maker, as evidenced during his role in leading the Gators to the national championship. But none of them are sure things.

Kasparas Jakučionis | 6-5 guard | 19 years old | Illinois

College assistant coach No. 2 (his team played Illinois): If you allow him to go left, into his stepback, he’s deadly. He did tail off the last 10 to 15 games because, obviously, the scouting is good and people started figuring him out a little bit. Got the size. Very turnover-prone, because he takes risks, as many European players do. I hear he’s a great kid. They played him at point guard. Defensively, very average. We got our guards in a switch with his guy and he wanted no part of it. But I think he had a great reputation coming over. He’s going to get you 16, at least, and give you six turnovers. But very good player.

Western Conference executive No. 3: You’re going to be at a disadvantage every night if he’s your starter. Because he has to go against 29 of the best guards in the world. I could see him having trouble defensively. One-on-one, iso, pick-and-roll. But he makes it up with the intangibles because he plays hard. He tries. Offensively, if he could play five-on-four, he would be really, really good. He can shoot, he can pass, he can handle, he can distribute. But I do not see this kid, if you’re not a Play-In (team), I don’t think he’s good enough in that context as a starter. As a reliable backup? Sure.

Western Conference executive No. 1: A couple of our guys are real KJ fans. When I studied him on film, he just looked solid to me. I didn’t see anything special. Can shoot it, but he doesn’t have great speed and quickness. He’ll have to be a fit guy. If he doesn’t get exposed athletically, he can look decent. But if you draft him to be your point guard and the face of it, I think you’re going to be disappointed. I see more backup than starter.

Eastern Conference scout No. 1: I know he’s had some times where he’s struggled. But I think he got a little bit of the hype train. Then he had one or two teammates get hurt. There’s a difference between him and Fears to me. There’s a little more maturity and dependability with him that I feel better about. I saw him at Northwestern, and he couldn’t make a shot in the first half, but didn’t force anything. He came out in the second half and made some shots, some big shots. But he rebounded the ball. He’s not a negative defender. I think he’s neutral, and maybe a tad better than neutral. If we keep calling games the way we’re calling them, he can be all right. He can shoot when he’s not on the ball. He’s got enough size. He can get stronger, but he’s strong enough. He may never be a starting point guard; he may be a backup. But he’ll be a really good backup.

Egor Demin | 6-8 guard | 19 years old | BYU

College assistant coach No. 4 (his team played BYU): The first thing that stands out is you walk out there and he’s 6-8 1/2. (ED: Demin measured slightly shorter – 6-8 1/4 – in Chicago.) He’s tall. He’s frail, but he’s tall and he’s long. When we played them, our whole thing was we were going to get up and pressure him, pressure him, pressure him. He can make all the reads, all the passes, both hands. He’s got all that down, especially when he sees the same coverages over and over. … We were like, let’s attack him. Trap the ball screen, go under. We kept switching it up. He struggled a little bit with that. I think he’s a good player, the Josh Giddey-ish type guy. I think he’s going to end up shooting it better. The NBA guys were asking me, “Well, what worries you?” It’s so physical (in the NBA). He’ll have to get adjusted to that, because he’s light in the ass that way. I think he’s going to just have to figure that out. Once he (does) that, he’ll be fine. Probably will wind up being a backup point guard for some years, because he’s got size, he can make shots. And he can really pass.

Eastern Conference scout No. 2: Egor shot the ball well in Chicago in that one-on-none; but the game’s played at 7, with people in the stands.

Western Conference Executive No. 3: His vision and passing stuff, he’s not (Luka) Dončić. But this kid can pass it and has size and can play in an NBA game, because he can think on his own. He doesn’t need a script and look at it and has to learn it. He understands flow, who needs touches, time management, already. He’s mature beyond what he would be as a rookie. At worst, (he’s Josh) Giddey, in that hemisphere of a clone. The shooting piece, I’m not concerned with. He’ll figure that out. … Overall, he may be getting a little undervalued. When I saw him early, I figured if he played 34, 36 minutes a game, he could come close — I’m not saying he would — to averaging a triple-double. And I don’t think he was playing with that great (a group) of guys around him. How many other guys from that team are going to be pulling down a pro paycheck, except for maybe one or two of them?

Jase Richardson | 6-1 guard | 19 years old | Michigan State

Western Conference executive No. 1: All 30 teams? No. But he can shoot the basketball. I give him that. Before he measured what he measured at (in Chicago; 6 feet-1/2 inch), everyone saw him as a two-guard. They claim he played point guard a lot in high school. Because if he can mimic the one like Jalen Brunson, he played point and he had some leadership skills. But he was more of a scoring guard than a point guard. I think it just depends where he ends up. He can shoot, and I like the pedigree. I wouldn’t be surprised either way.

College assistant coach No. 1 (his team played Michigan State): I don’t think he’s quite ready. It’s one of those cases where he had too good of a year to go back. Strike while the iron’s hot. But he’s not ready for the NBA. He’s going to spend 95 percent of his time next season in the G League. He just doesn’t know how to play. And I love the kid. We recruited him. Know his dad. The mom’s awesome. They’re great people. He’s going to figure it out, but he’s not ready. I hope he doesn’t go to a franchise that’s impatient with him. The reason he’s leaving is he has to leave. It’s not because he’s ready to leave. He has to leave, unfortunately. Because they’re going to draft him. They’re going to draft Jase Richardson. … It’s going to take another year or two before he can help a team, even the bad ones. The best thing he does is make hard shots. He got better as a catch-and-shoot guy, but he shoots hard shots off the bounce. He’s not a great athlete. … Great kid, tremendous kid. I just think it’s too soon.

College assistant coach No. 2 (his team played Michigan State): He’s a great college player. He was their best player. He is small. He does not have the hops his dad did. I love their family. The dad is a wonderful guy, and so is the kid. He made big shots, and if you let him get left to his midrange, he’ll make the college 3.

Walter Clayton Jr. | 6-2 guard | 22 years old | Florida

College assistant coach No. 5 (his team played Florida): I did a terrific job (on the scout), when they kicked our ass (laughs). You can’t speed him up. To me, you can talk about being able to play fast. Tremendous pace. Has NBA size for the (guard) positions. Built to do it, good base. When you see him make sidestep 3s that are really difficult, I think he’s really powerful in the hips. He’s an NBA shot maker. He does it with confidence. And there’s very few guys that can do it. They take big shots. He takes and makes. His ability to create separation is great. Good range. And he’s sneakier than you think going downhill. We didn’t think he was a great finisher. This would be my only concern: How competitive is he? He was one of the guys we would go at. Who gets tired? Who will give in? We didn’t think he was a guy who would really guard. Walter was a load to handle at the offensive end.

Western Conference Scout No. 1: I liked him at (St. John’s). Since then, he’s gotten better. Because when the game is on the line, that’s when he shows up. Because he can score the ball. He knows who he is. He’s confident as hell. He can also make plays. He’s a score-first point guard (who) can pass. Plays hard, plays the right way. And he fits in with this new NBA.

Eastern Conference executive No. 1: Great kid, all-time great kid. Tough as hell. Needs to go to the right team. He’s not a point guard. He’s like a tough, powerful combo guard. I like him more than I did a year ago, but I’m not sold he’s going to be quite as good as people think. What a great kid. He’s a little bit undersized. But he’s strong. Nobody thought Jalen Brunson was going to be what he is, either. You never know.

Eastern Conference executive No. 3: I like him as a scoring point guard. He has to play the point. And in today’s game, the point guard has to be able to score. But you also need to be able to involve your teammates and get them good shots. He does that occasionally, but not on a consistent basis. The other thing is that because he has to have such a large offensive load, the defensive intensity is lacking at times. I think he has the ability to do it, but not at a consistent level. He isn’t going to have the usage level he did at Florida. Clayton was the point guard for Florida. But he also had to be the scorer. He was in that dilemma of whether to look for his shots or help his teammates get good shots.

France’s Nolan Traoré, who burst onto the international scene after sparkling at the 2024 Hoop Summit, was thought of as a potential high lottery pick this time last year, but an inconsistent season playing for Saint-Quentin in France’s LNB Pro A League has slowed his roll. He’s still got at least some NBA scouts intrigued, however. Another international prospect, Israel’s Ben Saraf, who played with fellow likely first-rounder Noa Essengue this season for Ratiopharm Ulm in Germany’s BBL, is a crafty, confident lefty with positional size on the ball.

Nolan Traoré | 6-3 guard | 19 years old | Saint-Quentin

Eastern Conference executive No. 2: He never got a summer (last year), and I think he hit a wall. He got brought to the French national team for the Olympics. They strung him out. Maybe someone told him wrong, but I think he thought there was a chance he’d make the roster, because he had a hot end to the year. … He spent that entire time really going for it and trying to make that roster. If you really looked at that roster, numbers-wise, he wasn’t going to make it. But he thought he was. When he didn’t, it really pissed him off. So from there, he goes straight from that, they find a deal (for him) in (France’s) first division. So he never had an offseason. Started off gangbusters, then kind of hit a wall. … Just the timing of him sort of having some rocky games, that was the timing of everybody was there in France, because we were there for the NBA Paris Games. So all the teams were in and out of Paris in those two weeks, and in those two weeks, he really struggled. It almost piled on, when he didn’t really need to be evaluated and scrutinized that much, that was the exact time he was struggling. But if you watch him now, he’s like 6-3, good athlete, can really pass it. Gotta play with his left hand more; he’s very, very right-hand dominant. They’ve been working with him on that. …

When you let him play, (he’s) really talented. He can see it. He’s really good in transition. He can make a shot, but he’s not a deadeye guy. I think he goes early 20s. Late teens, early 20s, is a good comfortable landing spot for him. He’ll probably start his career as a good backup. He’ll be a little more mature than a lot of the younger guards, because he’s played professionally for so long. …I don’t know if his motor is such… to be one of those guys in the league, you have to have that killer gene. I don’t think he has it. Hoops Summit, he played out of his mind. But he still doesn’t come at you with that like, I’m going to kill you in this game.

Western Conference executive No. 3: Our scouts have an equation for French guards. They don’t make it in the NBA. Killian Hayes. (Frank) Ntilkina. Not Tony Parker; he made it (laughs). I went in with my eyes colored. And then I went, OK, what if this kid was playing in the United States, as a freshman or sophomore? Would he be First Team All-ACC, or First Team All-Big Ten? I don’t think so. But he’d be flirting with it. Would he be a starter on most ACC or Big Ten squads? Yes.

Ben Saraf | 6-5 guard | 19 years old | Ratiopharm Ulm

Western Conference executive No. 3: Extremely confident kid. In the same context as (Warriors guard Brandin) Podziemski. One of Brandin’s best traits is he thinks he’s the best player on the floor. This kid has that same characteristic. When he has the ball, stop me. Aside from that, the offensive piece is NBAish. Defensively, he’s going to get tested a little bit, but he’s going to figure it out. This kid thinks he’s Jordan. And that may be a little bit cuckoo, but every time I’ve seen this kid, whether he’s playing for Israel or for Ulm, you can write it down. There’s maybe, legitimately, 13 to 15 guys I would take swings with. But his range, I would be comfortable with, maybe, early 20s. I think he will have a career in somebody’s rotation. If he goes to a team that really knows him, that will increase his chances of, after his first contract, he’ll get paid, get a good deal. He will absolutely kill summer league.

Western Conference executive No. 4: I personally like his size and grit. Plays hard, smart, good decision-maker with the ball. Needs a consistent jumper but will make plays and run the team adequately. He is a tough SOB.

Duke’s Tyrese Proctor. (Bob Donnan / Imagn Images)

Among those fighting for late first-round or somewhere-in-the-second-round selections are Duke’s Tyrese Proctor, Marquette’s Kam Jones, Wisconsin’s John Tonje, Wake Forest’s Hunter Sallis, Tennessee’s Chaz Lanier, Kentucky’s Koby Brea, Arizona’s Caleb Love, Missouri’s Tamar Bates – who did well at Portsmouth and Chicago – and VCU’s Max Shulga.

Tyrese Proctor | 6-4 guard | 21 years old | Duke

College assistant coach No. 6 (his team played Duke): Proctor stepped up his game, really shot the ball well. I think there’s a place and a space for Proctor. I think he can work his way onto a team. He shoots it well.

College assistant coach No. 7 (his team played Duke): He’s got really good size. I thought he had unrealistic expectations after his freshman year. I thought he really struggled with that his sophomore year. I thought he was so much better this year, because he didn’t have to be the guy. After his freshman year, maybe there was some expectation that he would become the guy, and he did not have a good sophomore year. He shot it well this year. He’s got really good size. He’s a competitive guy, so he’ll try to defend. He’ll give you effort there and he’s big enough. He competes, and that’s half the battle. You can put him in ball screens. He can pass it. And being older and having gone through what he’s gone through there, he understands he’s a guy who fits on a team, but he’s not going to be the guy. He’s a guy that can be a good player, a good rotation player. Being on that team this year helped him see that.

Kam Jones | 6-3 wing | 22 years old | Marquette

College assistant coach No. 1 (his team played Marquette): I love him. I think he’s a hell of a player. I’m impressed with him because of how he just changed his whole game in one year like that. Playing with Tyler (Kolek), he was more of a catch-and-shoot guy. His 3-point percentage was really good. This year, it went down, but is that because he had the ball so much? Is that because his role changed? He turned himself into a point-combo guy. He loves the game. He plays with passion. He’s a great teammate. I watched him. He’s always dapping his guys up. He’s always encouraging them dudes. He’s just a good basketball player and I think he’s a hell of a teammate. I think he’s a worker.

John Tonje | 6-5 wing | 23 years old | Wisconsin

College assistant coach No. 2 (his team played Wisconsin): Unbelievable at making big shots. Has great size for a two-guard. I think if you’re looking for a sleeper, Wisconsin had a hell of a team this year, and he was their best player.

Hunter Sallis | 6-4 guard | 22 years old | Wake Forest

College assistant coach No. 6 (his team played Wake Forest): He should have left last year. He can score, but he doesn’t make the other guys better. Seemed like a me-first guy. When you watch him play, I’d like to see him make others better. I know he can score. But you’ve got to impact, help your team win, get others involved. At the next level, he’s got to score, which he can do. I don’t know how tough he is. I think he’s a little soft. But a talent to be sure. They ran stuff for him but he kind of got the ball and did his thing. One-ball screens, kind of get out of my way and let me work. When he gets it going, he can score.

Chaz Lanier | 6-4 wing | 24 years old | Tennessee

Eastern Conference executive No. 4: That damn guy can score. Lanier could go 28-30, somewhere in there. To me, he’s a pretty good player. So if I had a pick in those areas, he would be a guy I’d be looking at.

College assistant coach No. 8: High-level shooter. High level. Elite standstill or transition pull-up shooter. No matter what level, there’s a premium on that. He is a better defender than (former Volunteer) Dalton Knecht. The last two months, the light bulb went on. Chaz has a quiet mental toughness. And he’s physically tough. You can hit him. He doesn’t mind that.

Koby Brea | 6-6 wing | 22 years old | Kentucky

College assistant coach No. 9 (his team played Kentucky): Absolutely love his shooting ability. But his defense, man. It’s glaring. He was one that I wanted to pick on constantly. He melts on screens. He’s a magnet for screens. You screen him, he’s going to get off his path. That’s one of the things that he doesn’t do well. But on the offensive side, you can’t give him an inch. You can live with some of his defensive lapses with the way he shoots the ball. He is very consistent with that shot, and it’s clean. One of the best releases in the SEC. And he gets it off from anywhere.

Caleb Love | 6-2 guard | 23 years old | Arizona

College assistant coach No. 4 (his team played Arizona): A competitive dude. Smaller than you think. I’ll bet he’s 6-2. And that was the thing. He’s not a point guard. He’s more of a scorer that’s small. But can get it going. He takes some tough shots, and he was criticized for it, but it was also what was allowed and what was kind of needed. They didn’t have a bunch of scoring. Scouting him, there were times where, sometimes he defends and sometimes he doesn’t. For someone that size, you’re like, you probably should defend all the time. If you were 6-6 and doing what you did, all right, I kind of get it. But you should probably make defense one of your staples, as opposed to what you want to do sometimes, and sometimes not.

Tamar Bates | 6-3 guard | 22 years old | Missouri

Eastern Conference executive No. 4: A bit of a history. But I think he solved a little bit of that this year. They weren’t great, but they weren’t bad. And I think he did improve his game a little bit (after transferring to Missouri from Indiana).

Max Shulga | 6-4 guard | 23 years old | VCU

College head coach No. 2 (his team played VCU): I would think he’s close (to making an NBA roster). I don’t know where. But you can throw that guy in a game, I would think.

College head coach No. 3 (his team played VCU): Is he a point guard at the NBA level? Is he a primary guy for you? Not that he’s this type of player, but Luka Dončić, at his size, initiating offense. You find a matchup for him on the other side. I say that to say I don’t think (Shulga) can guard an NBA point guard. You find a matchup for him. I’m not sold on him yet at that level. He can shoot the ball. He’s tough. But at that level, would I be shocked if he got drafted? No. But is he a first-round pick? What does he do that separates him at that level? At At 6-5 (ED.: 6-4 1/4 at Chicago) He can initiate, he can handle.

(Illustration: Will Tullos / The Athletic; Photos: Wesley Hitt, Michael Hickey, James Gilbert / Getty Images)