Former Arkansas big man Daniel Gafford has a workout with the Boston Celtics, according to someone with knowledge of the team schedule.
The person told USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s Celtics Wire on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly on this matter. Boston has the fourteenth pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and the big man is expected to work out for teams selecting between ten and twenty. He’s already met with the Detroit Pistons, who select behind Boston at No. 15.
Gafford earned SEC All-Freshman in 2017-18 and took first-team All-Conference and All-Deference last season. He led players in the SEC with a field goal percentage of 66.0 percent, which was fifth-best in the NCAA.
He had the second-most rebounds per game, the third-most blocks per game and the fourth-most points per game while recording the second-best Player Efficiency Rating (PER) among all players in his conference.
Last season, the bouncy uber-athlete was most productive as a scorer when operating post-ups. But there were few other prospects who were as prolific and efficient at finishing near the basket on all other play types when running set offenses.
During his trip to Chicago for the 2019 NBA Draft Combine, he measured at a half inch above 6-foot-10 with shoes. His 9-foot-2 standing reach was 10th-best among all participants, longer than what several starting bigs around the NBA (Anthony Davis, Andre Drummond, Steven Adams) recorded at their respective draft combines.
His standing vertical leap (32.5 inches) was also the best among all big men at the combine. When added to his height, his total vertical reach trailed only 7-foot-7 Tacko Fall.
