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Chad Ford unveils his first mock draft of 2013, with Nerlens Noel leading the way.

Story | Conversation | April 09, 2013

Chad Ford provides his latest Big Board of the top 30 prospects for the 2013 NBA draft, with Kansas' Ben McLemore maintaining his No. 1 ranking and Oklahoma State's Marcus Smart cracking the top 3.

Story | Conversation | March 13, 2013

Chad Ford provides his latest Big Board of the top 30 prospects for the 2013 NBA draft, with Nerlens Noel dropping from the top spot because of his season-ending injury.

Story | Conversation | February 14, 2013

Chad Ford says Kentucky big man Nerlens Noel remains the closest thing to a No. 1 draft pick so far this season.

Blog | Conversation | February 07, 2013

In the second edition of his NBA draft Big Board, Chad Ford ranks the top 30 prospects for the 2013 NBA draft. Kentucky freshman Nerlens Noel retains his No. 1 spot, but several big names move up and down the list.

Story | Conversation | January 30, 2013

Chad Ford breaks down the top 10 sophomores in college basketball, a demographic that usually constitutes a gold mine of talent for NBA teams.

Blog | Conversation | December 14, 2012

Chad Ford breaks down the top NBA prospects among the high school class of 2012.

Blog | Conversation | March 28, 2012

With the college basketball season around the corner, Chad Ford goes conference-by-conference in previewing the top draft prospects scouts are watching. Next up is the Big 12, home to the one player who could challenge Harrison Barnes for the top pick.

Blog | Conversation | October 22, 2010

Three days from the draft, trade buzz is growing louder. Chad Ford discusses what he's hearing on the trade front and identifies the key debates confronting front offices. Plus, an NBA GM provides the top 20 picks in his organization's mock draft.

Blog | Conversation | June 21, 2010

When smart teams draft, they don't use a 1-to-30 ranking; they utilize a tier system that accounts for team need and player talent. Chad Ford, after talking to numerous teams, divides this year's crop into tiers and explains how the system works.

Blog | Conversation | June 18, 2010

Trades, surprising picks, sleepers -- we're hearing all kinds of rumors about the 2010 NBA draft. Chad Ford reports on a wide array of news: the jumbled lottery picture, college stars ready to make noise in the second round and trades in the works.

Blog | Conversation | June 14, 2010

Organizational strategy plays a large role in the draft, and more and more teams are using advanced metrics to guide their selections. Chad Ford gets access to three teams' metric-based top-10 lists and unveils those rankings, in addition to other notes.

Blog | Conversation | June 08, 2010

After talking to sources around the league, Chad Ford sees 23 prospects who are locks for the first round of the NBA draft. But what about those final seven spots? There are roughly 20 players in the mix. Ford identifies them and breaks down their games.

Blog | Conversation | May 31, 2010

Last season Tyler Hansbrough faced doubts about everything from his size to his athleticism, but after quelling them at the Chicago combine, he shot up the draft board. This season, there's another player making a big move after wowing GMs in Chicago.

Blog | Conversation | May 28, 2010

The biggest story of Day 1 at the Chicago combine was the number of no-shows. However, some prospects made strong impressions, a couple of highly regarded players had rough interviews with teams and an International Man of Mystery emerged.

Blog | Conversation | May 21, 2010

Chad Ford lists five more lessons he learned from observing workouts in Las Vegas, the second stop on his pre-draft tour. Among those who made it on Chad's radar: Stanley Robinson, Devin Ebanks, Dwayne Collins and Jeremy Lin.

Blog | Conversation | May 14, 2010