Adam Zagoria of zagsblog.com wrote an article about Peyton Siva having a good combine showing for the Brooklyn Nets. To read that full article, click here. Below, I have taken some of the key points from that post.
*Nets’ Director of Player Personnel Gregg Polinsky said this about Siva: “Real competitive, great speed, what do you say, winning culture, being coached, can take all you can give him. He’s gonna get some looks.”
*One veteran scout had this to say: “Peyton has come so far, he plays completely under control now today. Rick Pitino’s done a great job with him and he listened to Rick, so it’s a win-win. You had a great coach and you had a talented young man. I’ve always had problem with him playing out of control. I never questioned his ability and obviously he did what he needed to do to win the national championship. I think he’ll be drafted in the second round.”
*Siva has 10 or 11 workouts set up right now with teams.
*Today he will go work out for the Boston Celtics, then head to Detroit to work out for the Pistons.
My opinion
When the season ended, and people asked me if I thought Siva would get drafted, I would always hesitate to answer. I knew he was good enough, but the size would always caution me. I know the NBA looks for size, and that is not something that Siva has a lot of. However, what he lacks in size, he makes up for in energy, effort, and heart. Because of that, my answer was usually “Well, he is definitely good enough, just not sure what the NBA teams will want.”
A lot of the early mock drafts did not include Siva. Now it appears that he has worked his way into this draft. He had a great combine, and now continues to impress teams at their individual workouts. This should come as absolutely no surprise to Cards fans. We saw his work ethic and energy for 4 years.
The team that drafts Siva, and yes I believe he will get drafted, will be getting a flat-out leader. He works hard, will put insane pressure on the ball handler, and will be a great locker room guy. He will surprise a lot of people when he gets into the league, and make teams regret passing on him. Another thing that the team that drafts him will get? A National Champion.
JR