Klay Thompson’s father expects son to be taken in Round 1

Washington State’s Klay Thompson said Monday that he plans to enter the NBA draft but will not immediately hire an agent. (AP)

710 Sports.com staff

The father of Washington State guard Klay Thompson expects his son to be taken in the first round of the NBA draft.

“All the GMs I’ve talked to — with my NBA ties I can get in close and personal and get the first-hand information on what they think of him — everybody’s telling me he’s a first round pick,” said Mychal Thompson, who spent 12 seasons in the NBA after he was the first pick in the 1978 draft. “It all depends on the workouts and how high in the first round he goes.”

Klay Thompson, the Pac-10’s leading scorer last season, announced Monday that he will enter the NBA draft but will not immediately hire an agent.

Mychal said he would advise Klay to return to Washington State for his senior season if it appeared likely that he would fall to the second round.

“Yeah I would tell him to go back,” he said. “You can still make the NBA as a second-rounder, but I think he’s more valuable than that. But if that’s the assessment or the evaluation of the NBA teams, then I say, well you gotta go back and enhance your stock. But I don’t see that happening.”

The one aspect of Klay’s game his father said could use the most improvement is physical strength.

“And that’ll happen as his body matures,” Mychal said of Klay, who’s listed at 6-6 and 202 pounds. “Some of these guards — not all of them — but some of them are pretty physical. Kobe (Bryant) is the most physical guard in the game along with Dwyane Wade. Not too many guards really post-up … in the NBA. … So if Klay could just get more physical or stronger, that’s gonna help his overall game.”

Mychal said he doesn’t think Klay’s arrest last month on investigation of marijuana possession will have much of an effect his draft stock. Mychal said he suggested to Klay that he voluntarily take drug tests to ease any concerns that NBA teams might have.

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