ESPN’s Chad Ford has Kentucky center DeMarcus Cousins dropping to the Warriors at No. 6 in his latest mock draft (version 3.0). Check out the entire mock here (you’ll need ESPN Insider to read it).

Here’s what Ford had to say about the prospect of Cousins slipping to the Warriors:

I think the Warriors will do backflips if Cousins slips this far. He actually had a pretty good week in Chicago (at the NBA’s pre-draft camp). A number of NBA GMs told me that based on Cousins’ body of work, interviews and his measurements, they believe Cousins has as much talent as anyone in the draft, including John Wall. Cousins has been compared to everyone from Shaq to Zach Randolph, but here’s an interesting historical comparison to ponder — could he be the next Moses Malone? “He’s huge, he scores around the basket, he’s a terrific rebounder and he plays with a chip on his shoulder,” one GM said. “How many 20-10 centers come along? Not very many. As far as a talent goes, he could be incredible in the NBA. The league has gotten smaller and quicker. Cousins would kill most of the big guys in our league today.” Cousins also fared well in the measurement category, comparing favorably in size to NBA centers. He measured a legit 6-foot-11 with a tremendous 7-foot-6 wingspan and 9-foot-5 standing reach. Those numbers put him on par with the likes of Dwight Howard, Greg Oden and Brook Lopez. His interviews weren’t nearly as bad as everyone made them out to be, either. While the Warriors have Andris Biedrins in the middle, he’s nothing like Cousins, who can come in and be a big-time scorer right away. Teaming Cousins with with Stephen Curry and Anthony Randolph would give the Warriors a great foundation.

This is all very good news. I’ve thought all along that Cousins is the next Zach Randolph, at worst, and something much more if he keeps his attitude right and fulfills his potential. If a player like that slips to the Warriors, I agree with Chad Ford, the Warriors should be doing backflips.

One thing to note about Cousins. He averaged 15.1 points and 9.9 rebounds as a freshman. Those are very good numbers on their own. But the fact that he put up those numbers in only 23.5 minutes per game gives an indication that this is a player who could be very, very good in the NBA. Granted, some of the reasons for Cousins’ low minutes was his own doing, namely foul trouble (3.2 per game). But, if Cousins had played as many minutes as teammate John Wall (34.8 per game), his averages increase to 22.4 points and 14.7 rebounds per game. Backflips, for sure.