Indiana Pacers Host Caleb Swanigan, Bentil, Felder, Moore, Sulaimon for Workouts
By Ryan Eggers
Kay Felder, Oakland — Guard
Year: Senior
Height: 5’9″
Weight: 177
Wingspan: 6’2.5″
Last Season Stats: 24.4 PPG, 9.3 APG, 4.3 RPG, 44.0 FG%, 35.5 3P%
Draft Stock: Late Second Round
Kay Felder is a pretty great player with one pretty major flaw: his height. Sure, the league is heading towards small ball, but 5’9″ is a bit much. There are a few exceptions in the NBA, like Isaiah Thomas and Kemba Walker, but the odds aren’t in Felder’s favor.
But he intends on proving those odds wrong. Felder put up a spectacular season in Oakland his junior year, with 24.4 PPG (4th best in the nation), 9.3 APG, 2 SPG and a shocking 4.3 RPG despite being well under 6 foot. He was named Horizon League Player of the Year despite coming up short in a NCAA tournament bid.
It’s no surprise that Felder decided to enter the draft now, as improving on or even repeating those numbers his senior year would be almost impossible. Here are some of the flashes of his great college career.
Although he’s small, he uses the tactics of the best guys at his size to create scoring opportunities on the floor. Look at this comparison with Isaiah Thomas, showing how both utilize a quick step back to create space:
The one thing that Felder has that makes him stand out from other guys his size is his leaping ability. His max vertical was recorded at 44″ during the NBA Combine- the second highest in the history of the event. His rebounding ability and dunking prowess accentuated those hops during his college career.
It seems as if Felder has the potential to be one of those “exceptions” when it comes to short players. He’s an offensive juggernaut with leaping abilities reminiscent of the dunk contest where Nate Robinson hopped over Dwight Howard. The only problem is being able to judge his talent on an NBA level. If any of you watched Butler during and before the Gordon Hayward era, you’d know that the Horizon League isn’t the cream of the crop when it comes to college basketball. Obviously he wouldn’t dominate on the same level that he did in the NBA or even in a power conference. How far back does he regress against better, stronger talent?
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Hypothetically speaking, if he can play like this at the NBA level, he could be the guy the Pacers were looking for when they signed Ty Lawson midseason (albeit Lawson is a couple inches taller). A skilled pass distributor with a knack for scoring to boot, Felder could develop into the backup point guard the team has dreamed about for years.
His draft stock is understandably low, with a chance of Felder not even hearing his name on draft night. However, he has turned heads at the NBA combine, with his insane vertical and solid performance in scrimmage games (one of which he outperformed the aforementioned Barber). If he’s available at pick #50 for the Pacers, drafting Felder would be an intriguing prospect to chew on for the summer league and beyond.
He’s going to be a guy that needs development to play at an NBA speed. The question is, does Bird want a player who can at least contribute deep off the bench for a few minutes a game, or can he live with someone who might need to ball in Fort Wayne for a while?
Next: Armani Moore, Tennessee