Could The Wizards Be The “Right Situation” For Keldon Johnson?
The Wizards hold the No. 9 overall pick in next week’s draft, though they haven’t had many of the elite prospects in Washington for workouts. Keldon Johnson broke that trend, participating in drills at the team’s practice facility on Thursday. The former Kentucky Wildcat described the experience as “amazing” when speaking with Hoops Rumors and other media in attendance.
“I feel I really got to compete today. Got in a great workout. Great staff. I feel everyone was involved in it. … I just had an amazing time,” Johnson said.
Opinions on where Johnson will be drafted range from late-lottery pick to the early 20s. The 6’6″ wing is no. 19 on ESPN’s latest top 100 and Jonathan Givony has Utah selecting him with the No. 23 overall selection in his latest mock draft.
Johnson doesn’t worry about where he’s projected to go. He takes the same approach to invites regardless of what pick the team possesses.
“I don’t really look at it,” he said. “I just go into the workout open-minded. Whatever workouts I have, I go in there and kill [the workout] and go at whoever’s in front of me.”
Iowa State’s Cameron Lard was the only prospect to participate in on-court activities with Johnson. Many pre-draft workouts have upwards of six prospects. Others are merely individual workouts. The two-man workout calls for more one-on-one drills and showcases a different skill set.
Johnson, who scored 13.5 points per game at Kentucky last season, feels his ballhandling is an area of his game that’s underrated. The Virginia-native feels he can better showcase that ability at the next level and added that the tempo of the NBA suits his game. “It’s a lot of up-and-down. … I think I’ll transition well,” the 19-year-old said.
Johnson simply wants to go to the “right situation.” When asked to clarify, the prospect emphasized a place where he can learn. “Just come in, play, learn. Just listen to my coaches,” he said.
John Calipari‘s former recruit previously worked out for a bevy of teams, including the Celtics — owners of three picks in the top 22. He’ll head to Minnesota next, which will likely be his last workout before the NBA draft.
The draft process continues for Washington today. The Wizards will bring in six prospects, as the team relays on its website. Corey Davis (Houston), Jessie Govan (Georgetown), Jaylen Hands (UCLA), Lyle Hexom (Peru State), Jonathan Kasibabu (Fairfield) and V.J. King (Louisville) will participate in drills while Sekou Doumbouya (France) will simply meet with the team.
Central Draft Notes: Pacers, Cavs, Bucks, Pistons
Holding the 18th and 50th overall picks in the 2019 NBA draft, the Pacers should have a wide variety of options available to them in both the first and second rounds, so they’re doing plenty of homework in the weeks leading up to the draft.
On Wednesday, the Pacers held a pre-draft workout that featured Shizz Alston Jr. (Temple), Ky Bowman (Boston College), Tacko Fall (UCF), Mfiondu Kabengele (Florida State), Juwan Morgan (Indiana), and Elijah Thomas (Clemson), according to the team. Fall’s ability to participate in that session was limited after he rolled an ankle, as we noted yesterday.
Today, the Pacers are working out six more prospects, announcing that Luguentz Dort (Arizona State), Kyle Guy (Virginia), Amir Hinton (Shaw), Talen Horton-Tucker (Iowa State), Cody Martin (Nevada), and Josh Reaves (Penn State) are in town.
The Pacers will audition six more prospects on Friday, per the club’s latest press release. Ignas Brazdeikis (Michigan), Jon Elmore (Marshall), Aric Holman (Mississippi State), Luke Maye (UNC), Miye Oni (Yale), and Admiral Schofield (Tennessee) will attend that session.
Here are more updates on pre-draft workouts from around the Central:
- Mfiondu Kabengele (Florida State) was among the prospects to work out for the Cavaliers this week, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Sources tell Fedor that Kabengele, the No. 23 prospect on ESPN’s big board, was “impressive” during his session with Cleveland. He could be an option for the Cavs at No. 26.
- Matur Maker, the younger brother of Thon Maker, has a visit on tap with Thon’s former team, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington, who tweets that Matur will work out for the Bucks.
- Sedrick Barefield (Utah), Kevarrius Hayes (Florida), Nick Mayo (Eastern Kentucky), Matt McQuaid (Michigan State), Milik Yarbrough (Illinois State), Kris Clyburn (UNLV), Tyler Cook (Iowa), Corey Davis Jr. (Houston), Anthony Lawrence Jr. (Miami), Simisola Shittu (Vanderbilt), and Dean Wade (Kansas State) are among the players who have worked out for the Pistons this week, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com and Rod Beard of The Detroit News (Twitter links). As previously reported, Darius Bazley also auditioned for Detroit this week.
Southeast Draft Notes: Hornets, Hawks, Magic, Heat
The Hornets are one of multiple Southeast teams that has been busy this week scouting draft-eligible prospects. According to a pair of press releases from the club, Charlotte brought in six prospects for pre-draft workouts on Friday and will take a closer look at six more on Saturday.
Nassir Little (UNC) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Virginia Tech) were the headliners in Friday’s group for the Hornets, joined by Devontae Cacok (UNC-Wilmington), Tyler Cook (Iowa), Jordan Davis (Northern Colorado), and Matt Morgan (Cornell).
On Saturday, the Hornets will work out Jordan Bone (Tennessee), Oshae Brissett (Syracuse), Ethan Happ (Wisconsin), C.J. Massinburg (Buffalo), Isaiah Roby (Nebrasaka), and Simisola Shittu (Vanderbilt).
Here are a few more draft-related updates from out of the Southeast:
- Brandon Clarke (Gonzaga) headlined the group of prospects who worked out for the Hawks on Friday. According to the team (via Twitter), Jaylen Hands (UCLA), Louis King (Oregon), Jalen McDaniels (San Diego State), Eric Paschall (Villanova), and Grant Williams (Tennessee) also participated in the session.
- The Magic held a pre-draft workout on Friday morning that featured Jordan Bone (Tennessee), Corey Davis Jr. (Houston), Bruno Fernando (Maryland), Mfiondu Kabengele (Florida State), Naz Reid (LSU), and Nick Ward (Michigan State), tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
- Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald cites a source who says PJ Washington (Kentucky) is working out for the Heat and relays a report indicating that Washington’s teammate Tyler Herro will also visit the club. In a tweet, Jackson adds that the Heat will work out Miami’s Dewan Hernandez on June 15.
- Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington explores whether it’s reasonable to expect the Wizards – who only hold the No. 9 pick in this year’s draft – to try to buy their way into the second round.
Draft Notes: Aiken, Wieskamp, Bowen, Jazz
All-Ivy League guard Bryce Aiken will take advantage of his final remaining year of NCAA eligibility and will return to Harvard for his senior season, the program announced today in a press release. Aiken had elected to test the draft waters this spring, but ultimately decided to pull out of the 2019 pool before next Wednesday’s withdrawal deadline.
“After having the opportunity to experience the NBA underclassmen process, I’m looking forward to graduating with my class next year, and, hopefully, leading Harvard basketball to unprecedented heights,” Aiken said in a statement.
Here are a few more draft-related notes and updates:
- Count Iowa guard Joe Wieskamp among those early entrants who has also decided to withdraw from the draft process and return to school. The Hawkeyes made Wieskamp’s decision official in a press release.
- Draft-eligible prospect Brian Bowen has workouts lined up with the Jazz, Warriors, and Kings, a league source tells Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter link). Bowen previously worked out for Indiana.
- Minnesota forward Jordan Murphy, who previously worked out for the Grizzlies, will be part of the Jazz‘s group workout tomorrow, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Oshae Brissett (Syracuse), Jon Axel Gudmundsson (Davidson), Zach Norvell Jr. (Gonzaga), Corey Davis Jr. (Houston), and Donnie Tillman (Utah) will also be part of that workout, according to the Jazz (Twitter link).
- Sam Vecenie of The Athletic shares some of his takeaways from last week’s draft combine, identifying Luka Samanic, Nicolas Claxton, and Mfiondu Kabengele as a few of the event’s standouts, and digging into Bol Bol‘s draft stock.