Andy Larsen: What I saw and learned at the NBA Combine

Chicago • The Utah Jazz’s lottery letdown, falling from No. 1 to No. 5 in the NBA’s draft order, meant disappointment for the organization.

It also means a lot more work needs to be done.

Rather than simply selecting Cooper Flagg with the first pick, the Jazz will have a difficult choice to make regarding who to use the No. 5 pick on. Oh, and of course, they have to evaluate and scout talent for the No. 21, No. 43, and No. 53 picks as well.

The NBA Combine began Monday and Tuesday, when players were measured and athletically tested. Then, on Wednesday, some players had the first round of interviews with team personnel from around the league, while others (largely second-round prospects) played in 5-on-5 games in front of scouts. All players here met with the media at some point.

Here’s a grab bag of takeaways from everything I saw in Chicago this week:

Carlos Boozer a Jazz scout?

HoopsHype reported Wednesday that Carlos Boozer is “expected to join the Jazz organization as a scout." While the Jazz hadn’t officially confirmed the news as of Wednesday afternoon, it appears to be true, as prospect Milos Uzoh confirmed Boozer gave him feedback along with the rest of the Jazz’s front office in a workout last week.

Boozer, longtime Jazz fans will remember, was a two-time All-Star in his six years with Utah. From 2004-10, Boozer averaged 19.3 points and 10.5 rebounds for the team, pushing them, along with teammate Deron Williams, to a Western Conference Finals berth in 2007.

Boozer is also the father of young prospect twins Cameron and Cayden Boozer, who both committed to playing at Duke next season. Cameron is generally considered one of the top three prospects in the 2026 NBA Draft, while Cayden will likely be a first-rounder.

A bit of concern about Ace Bailey

Coming out of high school, Ace Bailey was the second-most coveted prospect in the class, second only to Cooper Flagg. As a result, he’s been compared to some of the best players in the NBA. He said the same thing while interviewing with reporters this week: “Big 3. KD (Kevin Durant), Paul George and Jayson Tatum. George and Tatum, their creation for them to get their shot off is unbelievable. I see myself doing the same thing. KD in the mid post with one, two dribbles, or less is straight buckets,” he said.

This is true, but what makes all of those players better than Bailey at this point is their well-roundedness. All have found the ability to set up their teammates for better shots as well, and all three have been defensive weapons, especially in crunch time. During his interview, Bailey spoke precious little about those aspects of his game, instead focusing on how getting stronger would allow him to bump players further away to get open for midrange shots.

Bailey came off as likable and professional ... it’s not as if he will be a problem in the locker room or anything. But responses like what we heard won’t alleviate teams’ concerns about Bailey’s secondary skills, like his passing and defense.

Furthermore, he measured only OK: 6 feet, 7.5 inches in socks, smaller than the 6-10 he was listed at Rutgers. That puts him among smaller NBA company than expected, like Denver’s Peyton Watson or former journeyman Trevor Ariza.

Jeremiah Fears, no fears

Speaking of guys who aren’t afraid to compare themselves to the NBA’s best, Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears stood out with similarly confident projections.

“I try to model my game after Kyrie Irving and Steph Curry,” Fears said. “I can bring star power to any team.”

It’s true that Fears has some of the off-the-dribble ability of those guys. But the biggest difference between Fears and those players is shooting the ball, where Fears shot just 28% from deep last year. He shot reasonably well in some drills, but struggled making threes from the side, going just 7-27 in Tuesday’s workout.

Fears also measured out relatively small: 6-2.5 in socks and weighing 179.6 pounds. He said he wants to get to 190 in his career, though he would settle for 185 — the same weight as Curry.

VJ Edgecombe, emphasizing his two-way game

VJ Edgecombe, from Baylor, measured out better than expected: he’s at 6-4 in socks, weighing 190 pounds now. Players with similar measurements include the Celtics’ Derrick White.

Edgecombe stands out statistically thanks to athleticism that helps him on both ends of the floor, both finishing around the rim and as one of the best steal creators in college basketball last year.

“Most rookies can’t guard,” Edgecombe said. “I want to change that dynamic.

“Defense is the key thing about basketball. You’ve got to play both sides of the floor. It means a lot when everyone’s bought it on defense.”

Still, Edgecombe said he felt his offensive talents were underrated.

Other notes:

• I really liked how Stanford center Maxime Raynaud played in game No. 2 in Wednesday’s session. He’s a senior and seems to have solid basketball IQ while making hustle plays all over the floor.

• I am pretty skeptical of Derik Queen as a future elite NBA player, given his inability to shoot from three and very poor athleticism numbers. Queen met with the Jazz’s brass in Chicago on Wednesday morning, along with Orlando, Atlanta, Denver, and Toronto. “I’ve never been to Toronto,” Queen said, after listing his meetings. “I heard it’s nice, but I heard they got the worst taxes.” He’s generally projected to go late in the lottery.

• Houston’s Milos Uzan worked out with the Jazz as well last week. “I had a pretty good workout with those guys. I got some pretty good feedback, I felt I shot the ball well. Hopefully, I think they’re interested.” Boozer was among those who gave him feedback, calling him “one of the better players in the workout.” Uzan is ranked No. 42 in ESPN’s NBA draft rankings.

• Gonzaga guard Ryan Nembhard has boosted his stock recently, playing well enough the the G-League camp over the weekend to get “called up” to the real NBA combine. Ryan is the younger brother of Andrew Nembhard, who has impressed with his play in contributing 15 points per game to the Indiana Pacers in their Eastern Conference Finals runs.