Draft Workouts: Sixers, Grizzlies, Pacers, Hornets, T-Wolves
The Sixers will host Kentucky forward Kevin Knox and Texas Tech guard Zhaire Smith for the second time on Tuesday, according to a team release. Knox’s workout will be separate from the other six players they will bring in, including Smith. The Sixers hold the No. 10 selection in the lottery. Knox is currently ranked No. 9 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, while Smith is slotted at No. 16.
The other members of the group workout are all guards, including B.J. Johnson (La Salle), De’Anthony Melton (USC), Tyler Nelson (Fairfield), Malik Newman (Kansas) and Landry Shamet (Wichita State). Melton (No. 24, Givony) is a possibility for the Sixers with their other first-rounder at No. 26.
We have numerous other draft workouts to pass along:
- Potential first-rounder Bruce Brown (Miami, Fla.) is among the players the Grizzlies will evaluate on Tuesday, according to a team release. Brown, a shooting guard, is currently ranked No. 28 by Givony. Allonzo Trier (Arizona), Anfernee Simons (IMG), Brandon Sampson (LSU), Tim Bond (Eastern Michigan) and Markel Crawford (Ole Miss) are the other players invited to the workout. Melvin Frazier (Tulane), Nuni Omot (Baylor), J.P. Macura (Xavier), Daxter Miles (West Virginia), Brenton Scott (Indiana State) and William Lee (UAB) will visit the Grizzlies on Wednesday.
- The Pacers will bring in Rawle Alkins (Arizona), Marcus Derrickson (Georgetown), Arnoldas Kulboka (Lithuania), Kelan Martin (Butler), Elie Okobo (France), and Theo Pinson (North Carolina) on Tuesday, according to a press release.
- The Hornets will be evaluating some second-round prospects on Tuesday, including A.J. Davis (Central Florida), James Demery (St. Joe’s), Jerome Robinson (Boston College), Sam Hunt (North Carolina State) and Jared Terrell (Rhode Island), according to a team release.
- Terrell worked out twice for the Timberwolves, according to Rhode Island basketball’s Twitter feed. Frazier visited Minnesota on Saturday, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets. Projected first-round prospect Troy Brown (Oregon) also worked out on Saturday along with Duncan Robinson (Michigan), Andrew Rowsey (Marquette) and Kulboka, according to Wolfson (Twitter links). Duke’s Gary Trent visited on Monday and could also visit the Jazz and Warriors before the draft, Wolfson adds in another tweet.
Draft Notes: R. Williams, Nuggets, Clips, Wizards
Texas A&M center Robert Williams, who previously worked out for the Bulls, Hornets, and Knicks, continues to earn looks from teams picking in the top half of the first round. According to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News (Twitter link), Williams still has workouts on tap with the Clippers, Nuggets, Wizards, who hold the picks from 12 through 15.
Williams’ session with the Nuggets will take place today, according to a press release from the club. In addition to scheduling an individual session with Williams, Denver has also lined up a group workout which will feature Hayden Dalton (Wyoming), Jacob Evans (Cincinnati), Arnoldas Kulboka (Capo d’Orlando), Dzanan Musa (Cedevita), Ajdin Penava (Marshall), and Johnathan Williams (Gonzaga).
Meanwhile, the Bucks – who hold the No. 17 selection – also wanted to bring in Williams for a workout, but he expects to be off the board before Milwaukee picks and has passed on the team’s invitation, per Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times. According to Woelfel, Texas Tech’s Zhaire Smith, another good bet to be drafted in the top 16, also won’t work out for the Bucks.
Here’s more on the 2018 NBA draft:
- Gyorgy Goloman (UCLA), Doral Moore (Wake Forest), and Matt Farrell (Notre Dame) will participate in today’s Clippers workout headlined by previously-reported participants Miles Bridges, Kevin Knox, and Aaron Holiday. The team’s official list of Wednesday’s workout participants doesn’t include Mitchell Robinson, who was expected to be part of the group.
- Wichita State guard Landry Shamet worked out for the Nets this week and will audition for the Trail Blazers on Thursday, league sources tell Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter link). Shamet currently ranks 49th on Jonathan Givony’s ESPN big board.
- Trevon Bluiett (Xavier), Elijah Brown (Oregon), Nana Foulland (Bucknell), Tyler Nelson (Fairfield), Billy Preston (BC Igokea), and Corey Sanders (Rutgers) are working out for the Wizards today, according to the club.
- In an interesting piece for ESPN.com, Paul Sabin and Seth Walder apply the site’s analytical model to 2018’s draft class and find that Duke’s Marvin Bagley III ranks as the No. 1 prospect. Mikal Bridges (fifth), Zhaire Smith (ninth), and De’Anthony Melton (13th) are among the other players favored by the analytics.