RealGM

This is kinda silly, but with the measurements out I thought it would be fun. I made it simple, because earlier years don't have as much data. The categories, weighted equally, are:

1) Height without shoes
2) Weight in relation to height
3) Reach & Wingspan in relation to height
4) Vertical

This got me the 2004-2008 drafts to use, and I only used first rounders. There are a few missing players, especially international guys that didn't get over here in time for the combine.

Anyways, here are the #1 comps - this probably doesn't signify much of anything, but some of the names that come up just based off of height/weight/length/athleticism are kind interesting...

Derrick Rose - Ben Gordon
Michael Beasley - Carmello Anthony
OJ Mayo - Brandon Roy
Kevin Love - Al Horford
Jerryd Bayless - Randy Foye
Eric Gordon - Derrick Rose (nobody very close to Gordon)
Brook Lopez - Patrick O'Bryant (Mayo lovers, I figured you'd get a kick out of this one)
DeAndre Jordan - Brook Lopez
Anthony Randolph - Brandan Wright
DJ Augustin - Acie Law
Russell Westbrook - Ben Gordon
Joe Alexander - Josh Smith
Darrell Arthur - Donte Green
Donte Green - Darrell Arthur

You're right, I did get a kick out of Book Lopez and POB.

Good stuff man, I enjoyed that short read.

OJ Mayo measuring up to BRoy makes me happy inside. Hopefully we don't trade him for Jerryd Bayless

Mayo/Roy is awesome. Bayless/Foye I have thought about. Lopez/POB is hilarious. Alexander/Smith is interesting as is Love/Horford.

Very creative, kudos to you sir.

A couple of other comments

- the data is more than a little flawed, because there simply aren't enough valid comparisons. If DX keeps collecting info, this could actually mean something on the 2015 draft or something like that. It isn't just the number of drafts, but there are a lot of guys who didn't get invited to workouts. It would be fascinating to see how Derrick Rose stacks up to Monta Ellis, but he didn't get tested. So Ben Gordon is the best we've got, and most athletic, shorter guards are probably going to end up close to Gordon. Just like a 7-footer with a huge wingspan and an average vertical is always going to compare to POB.

- the other issues come from the flaws in the testing process itself. The lane agility times are downright misleading. The vertical may show you something, but oftentimes not. There's no way you can tell me that Rashad McCants has an 8 inch lower vertical than Eric Gordon. But because Gordon came in at 40 and McCants at 32, they don't look particularly close in this system.

- The point about the Monta Ellis types notwithstanding, I'm pretty impressed with the depth of this draft. I went through looking for players who would normally be locks for the combine - Budinger, Hibbert, Rush, CDR, Batum, Koufos, etc...and they weren't invited. That's amazing. In an average year, I think all those guys get an invite.

draft.net has measurements of for 2002, but strangely no other year.

http://www.nbadraft.net/2002predraftmeasurements.htm

most of these comparisons are a mile apart in style

Yeah, style, skill and effectiveness are not a part of these. These comparisons would physical/athletic only. Even then, I think you have to take them with a major grain of salt.

I've built a similar system using college stats, but I only have 3 years of data (thanks kenpom.com) and I'm not sure how to weight the various statistics.

I would think a blending of the two systems might lead to some pretty interesting/relevant results.

athletically speaking, if I went just by my eyes, I'd go something like this:

Rose - Wade
Beasley - Kenyon Martin
Mayo - Tony Allen
Lopez - Duncan
Love - Al Jefferson
Deandre Jordan - Amare
Neitzel - Arenas
Eric Gordon - Foye
Joe Alexander - Gerald Wallace
Bayless - Barbosa

Neitzel to Gilbert Arenas?

tell me with a straight face you don't see a little Agent Zero in Drew!

My comps are based primarily on the numbers, but take into consideration style and skill set as well.

Rose = Deron Williams
Beasley = Glenn Robinson
Mayo = Chauncey Billups
Love = Kris Humphries + Passing
Bayless = Monta Ellis
Gordon = Randy Foye + Range
Lopez = Chris Mihm
Jordan = Patrick O'Bryant
Randolph = Darius Miles
Westbrook = Flip Murray
Alexander = Josh Smith
Arthur = Shareef Abdur Rahim
Green = Tim Thomas
Augustin = TJ Ford