More Slippage For DeAndre Jordan?

Forum threads here at CelticsBlog have been abuzz with what was once presumed to be wishful thinking of Texas A&M center DeAndre Jordan slipping down so that the C's could take him with the final pick of the first round.

Word is strengthening that this line of thought might not be as wishful as some of us (stares self down in mirror) originally presumed.

As reported by Bob Finnan of the News-Herald:

One GM cautions that Texas A&M center DeAndre Jordan (7-0, 260) is so lacking in skills he could drop out of the first round. That probably won't happen, though, because he is very athletic.

Whoa.  Not probable by any stretch of the imagination.  But at least it sounds possible at this point, and what a coup this would be.

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Jordan was by no means spectacular with the Aggies this year, and having seen him play in person this season, I'll second the perspective that his skill set is about as raw as imaginable.  Jordan's numbers were nothing to be blown away by this season (7.9 points and 6.0 boards in 20 minutes per game), but his size and athleticism are truly sights to behold.  He does move very well for a big man, and he possesses a great wing-span and some impressive jumping ability.

There is plenty not to like about his game -- he just isn't a sound basketball player right now -- but it's worth remembering that this is a guy who was listed in the top five of mock drafts around the middle of the college season.  He would be a heckuva project to take on for a team with the thirtieth pick. In a year in which the team doesn't have an absolutely glaring fill-right-now-or-else need, it certainly couldn't hurt if he's somehow still out there.

Here's guessing he won't be -- I'll stick with the mocks that have him going in the middle third of the first round.  But nice to know there is some hope.

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Just for the fun of it, here's some DeAndre footage worth seeing.  I'm loath to connect this sort of highlight reel stuff with the "It would be nice for the C's to draft him" column, because there's a lot more to basketball.  But this is impressive nonetheless.

(courtesy of YouTube user nactownag)