Washington Wizards Links: Reports On First Batch Of NBA Draft Workouts
by Mike Prada on Jun 2, 2011 10:24 AM EDT
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PrintThe Wizards held their first batch of NBA Draft workouts yesterday, and links on that will dominate this post. Tristan Thompson, Alec Burks and Klay Thompson are the most important guys that rolled in. Today, the Wizards are working out Austin Freeman, Talor Battle, Mike Davis, Papa Dia, Justin Hurtt and Ravin Johnson. All are probably second-round picks at best.
Anyway, the links, below the jump:
- Chad Ford reports that Klay Thompson and JaJuan Johnson were the most impressive at the workout. [@chadfordinsider]
- Speaking of Thompson, this is a really informative profile of his game by Draft Express. I love these "Finding a Niche" posts because they demonstrate how a player could fit in an NBA setting specifically. [Draft Express]
- Randy Culpepper has ups. [Gene Wang]
- Kawhi Leonard is coming in for a workout on June 7. [Michael Lee]
- Other workout reports: Wizards Extreme, CSN Washington, Craig Stouffer, Carla Peay
- Video of the workout, plus video of all the interviews. [Wizards.com]
- It's always important to keep perspective with these workouts. As Jonathan Givony of Draft Express notes, they're the least important part of this process. In fact, check his whole feed. [@DraftExpress]
- Sebastian Pruiti is one of the best in the business, so you'll want to check out his video breakdown of Chris Singleton. Shorthand: strengths are all on defense, weaknesses are all on offense. [Draft Express]
- Fran Fraschilla takes an (optimistic) look at Jan Vesely. [ESPN Insider]
- Shaq retired yesterday, which caused me to remember the time he owned Gheorghe Muresan and the Bullets back in 1996. Anyone else remember this game? [SB Nation D.C.]
- Gilbert Arenas is back on Twitter and as entertaining as ever. [Truth About It]
- Now that Ricky Rubio has signed with the Timberwolves, it's time to revisit that 2009 draft-day trade. [SB Nation D.C.]
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Klay Thompson
Him playing well should probably increase our chances at picking him at 18. I love everything I’ve heard about him except his defense.
Knicks want a perimeter shooter and they pick just before us
by les boulez bomber on Jun 2, 2011 11:43 AM EDT up reply actions
lots of teams could use him.
Could go as high as 9 to Charlotte. Milwaukee, Utah, PHX, Jazz, Rockets Pacers…
I have come around on Kawhi Leonard
Last week I said I would rank Singleton ahead of him. I based that on the portions of Leonard’s NCAA games I saw where I felt he stood around a lot. But I’ve been watching more footage of him (on youtube, etc., and not just highlights) and see a different player. Perhaps he was sick during the NCAAs or burned himself out in the first half of those games, who knows, but I saw someone who is very active, moves really well, doesn’t need the ball, and is an aggressive defender. He has no offensive moves to speak of, but he handles the ball and drives well. Perhaps it is in part the hair, but he reminds me of Sprewell.
I like the fact that he is a gym rat, is only 19 (turns 20 this month), seems like a good kid (perhaps he can bond with Wall?), is an excellent rebounder, is defense first, and seems to do the little things. He seems to have offensive potential that Singleton doesn’t have. I think he has an outside chance to a star — not a superstar, but a #2 or #3 player on a team. I now have him in my top 6 for the Wizards (not that anyone should care).
Leonard
I think he’s got the stuff to be a solid #3 on a team, just not sure he’s worth the 6th pick. I’m curious as to what your top 6 looks like!
by SpecialSauce on Jun 2, 2011 10:54 AM EDT up reply actions
I agree that he shouldn't be the 6th pick in any draft
But I don’t see anyone else in this draft who should be. My top five would be Williams, Irving, Kanter, Valanciunas, and Knight (ducking tomatoes thrown from angry crowd). Leonard would be 6th.
I dont think Kawhi has any Latrell Sprewell in him...
Latrell was always a scorer…Kawhi is a blue-collar type player.
I guess this won't change anything in Minny's draft pick.
Ricky Rubio is coming to Minnesota after all.
The Spanish point guard has agreed to join the Timberwolves next season, ending a drawn-out, delicate, two-year negotiation with the team that had many league observers believing he did not want to play in Minnesota.
Knowing Kahn
it’s more likely he keeps them and drafts Irving too.
this gets a lot of mileage
so this isn’t directed at you specifically, Jim. But do people really not see what he did there? He pick Rubio and figured he’d have him within 1-2 years. In the meantime, He picked Flynn to start and play now. He should have picked one of the other guards, thats what he’s really guilty of.
He figured Flynn’s value would sustain and he could trade him for more when Rubio came over. This is almost EXACTLY what people are suggesting we do with Irving, except Kahn actually had the PT needed to feature Flynn. So as we’re discussing the value of drafting a PG as a trade chip, maybe people need to remember the past. That was Kahn’s plan, now its catching on in this forum, and he’s being needled about it!
Minnesota later drafted more guards, but did so for other teams, Lawson was picked for Denver for a future 1. Calathes was picked for Dallas and brought back cash and a future 2. Its only because the NBA conducts the draft in such a way that it appeared Minnesota actually took all of those guards for their own team. It doesn’t help that media covering the draft ignore those details until its all final. So they show a draft card for Minnesota with all those guards and thats what people remember.
by Jheiser3 on Jun 2, 2011 12:12 PM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
Yup...my positions are hypocritical
It’s just too much fun to talk junk sometimes. The dumb thing he did was trade the best PG prospect in Lawson.
by Jim America on Jun 2, 2011 12:45 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Excellent point
Though I will say this: one of the reasons it didn’t work besides all of this is that Flynn just wasn’t very good.
Which makes it a legitimate question
whether they really SHOULD take Irving given the lackluster play of both Flynn and Rubio.
I dont think even Rubio's biggest supporters can point to any indication
he’s going to be the answer at PG. So yes, they actually should take Irving but they cant because Kahn has been pimping visions of Rubio’s arrival for 2yrs to save his job.
I could agree with this...
The theory was sound, but the practice was….KAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHNNNNNNNN!!!!! He strikes me as someone that just takes the wildest position possible, and then playing the odds that one of these crazy ideas will work and he’ll be considered a genius.
Follow me on Twitter @WorldWiEdWard
by WorldWiEdWard on Jun 2, 2011 4:05 PM EDT up reply actions
Exactly
For every three things he does and is ridiculed for, he does one that works out, but rarely gets credit for it. It’s funny how the media controls one’s perception. And I’m by no means defending the guy, but yeah Beasley worked, hell he sure as sh*t won the Miller/Foye for #5 pick (which ended up being Kevin Love) trade, but by and large he’s known for the bad risks that he took.
Follow me on Twitter @WorldWiEdWard
by WorldWiEdWard on Jun 2, 2011 4:51 PM EDT up reply actions
Good one
Follow me on Twitter @WorldWiEdWard
by WorldWiEdWard on Jun 3, 2011 12:03 AM EDT up reply actions
was a gift of a trade
the Heat didn’t want value for Beasley, though. was just getting his contract out the way. he was someone that you knew would be able to score. didn’t exactly make them a better overall team record wise – from 15 wins to 17.
he performed well and
there’s more to their record than Michael Beasley. They got a starter for little. Thats a good deal.
watched the workout videos
I’m a fan of JaJuan Johnson but Tristan Thompson didn’t seemed bothered by his wingspan or athletic advantage. If he can’t defend undersized forwards, well, thats a big concern for him to become the next Taj Gibson. It was only Thompson’s second workout. He skipped Chicago according to his interview.
DX updated their mock draft (which is shown on the Wizards official site draft page, along with ESPN and others, ironic after Ted’s comments)
Kanter still drops to us, Tobias Harris over Singleton at 18, Nolan Smith at 34.
but the cavs are not drafting jonas v. he signed with lebron james’ camp
by les boulez bomber on Jun 2, 2011 12:23 PM EDT up reply actions
so they'd turn away a player because of his marketing subcontractor?
maybe things aren’t that cut and dried on 6/2.
Yeah, I think the wound is too big and too fresh to deal with James’ agent again, especially after LeBron wins the title in a week.
Or were you kidding? David Falk wouldn’t deal with WAS until Abe died. He was pissed at the way we treated MJ. That shit happens. And I think it is fair to say some bad blood was drawn in CLE.
We will see. But I would be shocked if they draft him and better LeBron.
by les boulez bomber on Jun 2, 2011 4:51 PM EDT up reply actions
Wound is clearing up quickly of late
with LeBron’s real apology and them winning the lottery. If they really like the player they won’t skip on him because of his agent, who won’t actually have a say in squat for 5 years. Rookie scale is out of his hands.
Not sure about all that
but I bet they take Irving over Williams after the weird I’m more like LeBron sales pitch he made.
Could use a Rook-caliber scouting report on the Harris's, Thompson's(Klay and even Tristan), and Hamilton's of this draft.
Which of these lower tier guys do we like? It is pretty clear that we are going to take a SF at 18. And I know Singleton is everyone’s first choice. But after him, who is the next best fit?
I don’t like Klay Thompson, not enough feisty-ness in him to be competitive on both ends of the floor. Jumpshooters will be obtainable once the time is right for this team.
I don’t want Jordan Hamilton.
I like the versatility of Tobias Harris. But is he a better fit than Honeycutt?
I really hope we land Singleton though.If not… your guess is as good as mine.
Ohhh my God.
Where is my FACE? I CANT FEEL MY FACE!!!
by returnofswagger on Jun 2, 2011 1:10 PM EDT up reply actions
Completely off the grid
But I’m starting to get really intrigued by Jeremy Tyler: http://greenstreet.weei.com/sports/boston/basketball/celtics/2011/06/01/nba-drafts-potential-celtics-tokyo-apache-pfc-jeremy-tyler/
Position: Power Forward/Center
Team: Tokyo Apache
Height: 6-foot-11
Weight: 262 pounds
Stats: 9.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg
What he brings: It’s been a wild ride for a kid who’s only 19 years old. Tyler reneged on a commitment to play for Rick Pitino at the University of Louisville and signed with the Israeli league’s Maccabi Haifa for $140,000 — foregoing his senior year of high school. He then left Maccabi over a playing time dispute. From there, he signed in Japan to play for Bob Hill and the Tokyo Apache (if you’ll remember, Hill is the last man to coach the Spurs not named Gregg Popovich).
Tyler is a project, no doubt, but it’s not like an American has never made the leap from overseas to the NBA (see: Jennings, Brandon). As a junior at San Diego (Calif.) High, he averaged 28.7 points, 12 rebounds and nine blocks per game, vaulting himself to a top-five national recruit ranking in the Class of 2010 alongside guys like Kyrie Irving, Jared Sullinger and Brandon Knight. Whether or not Tyler still belongs in that conversation depends on who you ask.
Athletic, physical, defensive-minded guys with top-five upside who are 6-foot-11 aren’t easy to find, so somebody will take a chance on him. Tyler is said to have matured as a result of Hill’s tutelage and his experience in Japan. That and his 7-foot-5 wingspan may have played his way into the first found at the recent NBA Draft Combine.
If there are teams, like MIN per se, willing to sell their late first rounders, why not go for it to get this guy? ESPECIALLY if Kanter is gone. It’s starting to seem like he’ll be gone by our second round pick…just a thought….
Follow me on Twitter @WorldWiEdWard
I am also intrigued with this dude.
The last mock I check’d out on Hoopsworld.com had this guy falling to the mid 2nd round. If we were able to wait till the 2nd round to acquire him it would be great. I think if the dude is paired up with a legit PG (which we have) he may be able to be a decent player. Doubt any PG’s overseas would be able to match John Walls ability.
Twitter: @GatorNeedHisGat
Fine at 34 if Blatche is not here with him
Too much immaturity that I don’t want spreading to Wall if they’re both here. I like taking a flyer on him if he is willing to work in the D League.
But don’t we have to even take the kids off of Wall at some point? If he’s able to be brought down by others’ immaturity, at what point does that not mean that he’s also immature? Besides, unless we draft seniors, most of the draft is filled with immature, 19-20 yr old players. I get the point though.
Actually to that point, this is one of the things that has me more intrigued. Just reading here and there (I’ll have to find links to support this) that that “immature” label was ill-conceived. I just think there’s a chance here to grab a guy, and for as many ppl that were willing to take a shot at Cousins and his issues, this seems like a worthy risk if we can pick up a late first or if he’s available at 34.
Follow me on Twitter @WorldWiEdWard
by WorldWiEdWard on Jun 2, 2011 4:43 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
i agree
This is john walls team, we have nothing to lose and everything to gain by picking up this kid. He dominated in HS and I know “Its high school” but everyone starts somewhere. He was being recruited to Colleges as a sophomore. Schools like Kentucky, Florida, and even Maryland., those schools obv saw something in him. If were going to keep a guy like Hamady Ndiaye on a active roster for an entire season, then this guy surely doesn’t need to spend any time in the D-league.
Twitter: @GatorNeedHisGat
He does need to spend time in the D League
plus it would show he’s willing to put the necessary work before his ego…the bigger question mark with Jeremy Tyler.
Did you miss the part where I was agreeing?
also, it’s one thing to expect Wall to rise above some surrounding nonsense. It’s another thing to surround him with purported knuckleheads. Even if he remains mature, he’s going to want to run from the team.
I’m not judging Tyler. I don’t know the kid, and I don’t pretend a kid’s actions in a foreign country, alone, when they’re 17(?) should stick with them forever. I question his defense, his conditioning, and his willingness to work his tail off to become the great player he believes himself to be. Huge upside though. Just don’t want too many malcontents on the squad.
What makes Kanter a top5 pick and Tyler a 2nd rounder....
…other than perceptions about their personalities? Tyler is just as bulky as Kanter, is a better athlete, also likes to play inside, and averaged 9blks/game in high school. He might be a better defender than Kanter right now, there’s really nothing to suggest one way or the other. What a crapshoot with this year’s Bigs, seems like 90% guesswork
He was huge in HS
That’s partly why he went to Israel…to test himself against bigger comp. I just known the scouts that have been watching him in Japan questioned his defensive production. I think he’s the wrong fit on this team right now. If we were more stable like the Spurs or Celtics with veteran leadership then sure. He has shown he needs guidance. That’s fine…he’s a very young man. I just don’t want to take him if we aren’t prepared to make it work.
by Jim America on Jun 2, 2011 5:30 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I can honestly say that all of my info on him is from surfing the net
I don’t even know of where the reported immaturity stems…was it ever leaked who the all-star big man coach for McGee was?
Follow me on Twitter @WorldWiEdWard
by WorldWiEdWard on Jun 3, 2011 12:14 AM EDT up reply actions
was 17 yr old spoil baller
and got a reality check and didn’t handle it well – which most 17 yr old probably wouldn’t. too much scrutiny too soon, but that was something he/his family and “advisers” decided on. although would have hoped his family would have looked out for him and told him to finish high school.
one reason is he circumvented the system. the system is in place to scout US kids in HS, then college. And European kids over there. It is not designed to scout HS kids who forgo college, play a year in Japan and another year in Israel. They probably know less about him as a group and I am sure do not want to incentivize HS kids to go span the globe and play ball in every nook and cranny lol
by les boulez bomber on Jun 2, 2011 6:22 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah I got that
I was more referring to the immature rap, but I was basically agreeing with you too in terms of where to get take a stab at him. And now at least via talk the idea of either Blatche or McGee being gone I’m kind of thinking maybe there will be one less potential negative influence/attitude/mindset.
Follow me on Twitter @WorldWiEdWard
by WorldWiEdWard on Jun 3, 2011 12:11 AM EDT up reply actions
easy on the top-5 upside
I’ve read this, and scouts love to repeat this while selling this kid. What no one ever says is that while he was a top recruit as a junior, LOTS of top recruits go to college and struggle. You know who may have been a top 5 prospect with more time in college? Robert Swift and Byron Mullens.
You have to take all of that with a grain of salt
Just about every player has some ridiculous intangible associated with them as a ceiling, so I agree I wouldn’t put too much stock in that. But by the same token, just because somebody or most have failed to live up to hype in the past doesn’t mean that this particular case can deviate from the norm.
Follow me on Twitter @WorldWiEdWard
by WorldWiEdWard on Jun 2, 2011 4:47 PM EDT up reply actions
Starting to wonder
if we’ll end up even having the 34
Follow me on Twitter @WorldWiEdWard
by WorldWiEdWard on Jun 3, 2011 12:16 AM EDT up reply actions
I would be surprised if we brought three draft picks into camp again. We have a lot of young players already. Ernie will package them somehow and make some deal this draft.
by les boulez bomber on Jun 3, 2011 7:43 AM EDT up reply actions
via Draft Express, via Jonathan Givony (Twitter)
Sources say Washington & Phoenix have been the most active teams trying to trade up for Derrick Williams. T’Wolves want a “veteran big man.”
47 minutes ago
Follow me on Twitter @WorldWiEdWard
Here's the perfect Internet chat board draft for the Wizards: Kanter, Tyler and Selby
Three guys who are intriguing, but didn’t do jack last season.
anyone who saw some purdue basketballl
knows in the back of their mind that jujuan johnson has future nba all star written all over him. He’s got a very established offensive game, great defender…will need some bulk to be a good rebounder. He’d be a great guy to run the floor with walll and be a lock down defender on the wing or post
by rzawrecktah on Jun 2, 2011 11:28 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
I know he could potentially be a star
And I have decided it might be good to land a high risk-high reward guy later on in this draft. He could just as easily be a lanky, poor defending, crappy rebounding, 6’ 10", shooter.
Judging from what I have seen of the guy, and the small improvements he has made year after year, I think he will be more the former than the latter.
Ohhh my God.
Where is my FACE? I CANT FEEL MY FACE!!!
by returnofswagger on Jun 3, 2011 12:00 AM EDT up reply actions
Yes I changed my mind on him too
I just think there is not a lot of risk in missing on our later pick. We have a ton of young guys already and will have at least two, maybe three more over the next two years that will be here for the long-haul(top pick this and next year, plus # 18 this year). We don’t even need any more young guys. So why not take one that could put us in a position that we HAVE to hang on to him in two or three years because he is emerging as an important cog, despite being a second round pick.
Ohhh my God.
Where is my FACE? I CANT FEEL MY FACE!!!
by returnofswagger on Jun 3, 2011 12:07 AM EDT up reply actions
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