2011 DRAFT blather goes here. Part 3...

[gesa2]

Obviously this is geekville and we're not typical Wizards fans, but the Wizards bring in actual prospects and the Washington Post just wants to tell us about an undersized undrafted free agent's flashy dunks?

NBA predraft workouts lean toward the bland side, and usually there isn’t much that’s eye-opening, particularly during the portion media are permitted to watch. That wasn’t the case near the end of this morning’s session at Verizon Center, where Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld and point guard John Wall, among others, saw diminutive guard Randy Culpepper put on a dunking clinic.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wiz ... _blog.html

They had legit targets in Klay Thompson, Alec Burks and Tristan Thompson and we get this schmaltzy powdered eclair of a fluff piece? Get with the 'effin program here, Gene Wang, we're picking 6th, 18th and 34th. We don't need five paragraph exposes on how Scotty Hopson attended 5th grade cello lessons while suffering from amoebic dysentery or how Michael Dunigan has performed in Gilbert and Sullivan plays on five continents.

6th, 18th and 34th. Learn it, live it, love it.

There are admittedly more important things in the world to get pissed off about, but this one has done it for me nicely.

I agree with you. The only people reading any Wizards draft pieces this time of year are the diehards, they might as well write to our audience. But it's got to be hard to be Gene Wang, covering Ernie's endless stream of non statements to the press. How does he give us meat when he gets served nothing but scraps?

[gesa2]

FWIW on Singleton.

The Cleveland Cavaliers held a draft workout on Monday that included Tobias Harris, Marcus Morris, Jordan Williams, Chris Singleton, Cory Joseph and Diante Garrett. Harris was matched up against Williams, Morris went up against Singleton, and Joseph matched up with Garrett. According to a source, Morris was the most impressive player in the workout. The source said that Morris really tore it up and Singleton didn't look good at all. The source also said that Garrett got the best of Joseph. The Harris-Williams matchup wasn't an ideal pairing, as Harris is more of a combo forward and Williams is a true post player.

http://thehoopsreport.com/article.aspx?id=735

If Morris dominated Singleton, that could go a long way to convincing folks Morris can be a force at the 3 in the NBA. If Morris projects to the 3, the Wiz have to consider him at 6 (assuming Kanter and Jonas are gone).

But can he defend NBA 3s? Have to answer that question before you take him that high.

[Jay81]

I have never seen the Wizards draft anyone that CCJ wanted

[fishercob]

Jon Givony's take on workouts. Read from the bottom up.

DraftExpress Jonathan Givony
They can do plenty of harm actually. Do some research on the psychology of memory RT @crnlvn: Surely extra workouts can't do any harm though
25 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

DraftExpress Jonathan Givony
Some NBA people think you can ignore draft all year & then catch up at the very end. That's how mistakes are made. Better off watching film.
28 minutes ago

DraftExpress Jonathan Givony
Teams like New Orleans, Phoenix have it right -- no workouts at all. Do you work doing the year watching actual basketball & you'll be fine.
29 minutes ago

DraftExpress Jonathan Givony
Comparing the amount of NBA workouts that are conducted today as opposed to five years ago shows how much their importance has diminished.
30 minutes ago

DraftExpress Jonathan Givony
Media making too big of a deal out of private workouts. Very misleading setting that tell very little about a player's actual NBA potential.
31 minutes ago

[TGW]

FWIW on Singleton.

The Cleveland Cavaliers held a draft workout on Monday that included Tobias Harris, Marcus Morris, Jordan Williams, Chris Singleton, Cory Joseph and Diante Garrett. Harris was matched up against Williams, Morris went up against Singleton, and Joseph matched up with Garrett. According to a source, Morris was the most impressive player in the workout. The source said that Morris really tore it up and Singleton didn't look good at all. The source also said that Garrett got the best of Joseph. The Harris-Williams matchup wasn't an ideal pairing, as Harris is more of a combo forward and Williams is a true post player.

http://thehoopsreport.com/article.aspx?id=735

I've been saying that Marcus Morris is a stud. He's the most ready-to-contribute player in this draft next to Derrick Williams. He's also possesses the best offensive arsenal in the draft IMO. He's a guy I'd trade down to get.

[tontoz]

FWIW on Singleton.

The Cleveland Cavaliers held a draft workout on Monday that included Tobias Harris, Marcus Morris, Jordan Williams, Chris Singleton, Cory Joseph and Diante Garrett. Harris was matched up against Williams, Morris went up against Singleton, and Joseph matched up with Garrett. According to a source, Morris was the most impressive player in the workout. The source said that Morris really tore it up and Singleton didn't look good at all. The source also said that Garrett got the best of Joseph. The Harris-Williams matchup wasn't an ideal pairing, as Harris is more of a combo forward and Williams is a true post player.

http://thehoopsreport.com/article.aspx?id=735

I've been saying that Marcus Morris is a stud. He's the most ready-to-contribute player in this draft next to Derrick Williams. He's also possesses the best offensive arsenal in the draft IMO. He's a guy I'd trade down to get.

Looking at his draft profile that appears to be a good call.

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Marcus-Morris-5178/

His perimeter skills and sprint time of 3.15 tell me he could play the 3 with some success. Assuming the Wiz stay at 6 the only guy that i see that would definitely be a better pick is Kanter. I am iffy on JV.

I don't see the point of trading down. If they like him just pick him at 6.

[closg00]

Obviously this is geekville and we're not typical Wizards fans, but the Wizards bring in actual prospects and the Washington Post just wants to tell us about an undersized undrafted free agent's flashy dunks?

NBA predraft workouts lean toward the bland side, and usually there isn’t much that’s eye-opening, particularly during the portion media are permitted to watch. That wasn’t the case near the end of this morning’s session at Verizon Center, where Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld and point guard John Wall, among others, saw diminutive guard Randy Culpepper put on a dunking clinic.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wiz ... _blog.html

They had legit targets in Klay Thompson, Alec Burks and Tristan Thompson and we get this schmaltzy powdered eclair of a fluff piece? Get with the 'effin program here, Gene Wang, we're picking 6th, 18th and 34th. We don't need five paragraph exposes on how Scotty Hopson attended 5th grade cello lessons while suffering from amoebic dysentery or how Michael Dunigan has performed in Gilbert and Sullivan plays on five continents.

6th, 18th and 34th. Learn it, live it, love it.

There are admittedly more important things in the world to get pissed off about, but this one has done it for me nicely.

It's a good thing the Post has competition again, the Times workout article was much more useful.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/201 ... prospects/

[RT31]

Looking at his draft profile that appears to be a good call.

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Marcus-Morris-5178/

His perimeter skills and sprint time of 3.15 tell me he could play the 3 with some success. Assuming the Wiz stay at 6 the only guy that i see that would definitely be a better pick is Kanter. I am iffy on JV.

I don't see the point of trading down. If they like him just pick him at 6.

I wonder if the Morris twins will be similar to Horace/Harvey Grant. Horace ended up being a pretty good PF (Markieff), rebounding, defense, could hit an open 12 footer. Harvey developed some pretty good perimeter skills and was able to play out on the wing (Marcus).

[closg00]

FWIW on Singleton.

The Cleveland Cavaliers held a draft workout on Monday that included Tobias Harris, Marcus Morris, Jordan Williams, Chris Singleton, Cory Joseph and Diante Garrett. Harris was matched up against Williams, Morris went up against Singleton, and Joseph matched up with Garrett. According to a source, Morris was the most impressive player in the workout. The source said that Morris really tore it up and Singleton didn't look good at all. The source also said that Garrett got the best of Joseph. The Harris-Williams matchup wasn't an ideal pairing, as Harris is more of a combo forward and Williams is a true post player.

http://thehoopsreport.com/article.aspx?id=735

I've been saying that Marcus Morris is a stud. He's the most ready-to-contribute player in this draft next to Derrick Williams. He's also possesses the best offensive arsenal in the draft IMO. He's a guy I'd trade down to get.

I think you're right..

David Thorpe (12:18 PM)

My top 3 college players are Irving, Williams, and Marcus Morris. It may sound self-serving, but I only had Morris here for 5 days. I taught him nothing. I think he can be a star, and will be a 18-22 ppg scorer in this league.

I didn't give this much weigh at-first because Morris is Thorpe's client, but when you weigh Morris's college play against how he has been competing in the workouts, you have to seriously consider him at 6. Is his short-side wing-span a deal breaker?

[Severn Hoos]

Jon Givony's take on workouts. Read from the bottom up.

DraftExpress Jonathan Givony
They can do plenty of harm actually. Do some research on the psychology of memory RT @crnlvn: Surely extra workouts can't do any harm though
25 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

DraftExpress Jonathan Givony
Some NBA people think you can ignore draft all year & then catch up at the very end. That's how mistakes are made. Better off watching film.
28 minutes ago

DraftExpress Jonathan Givony
Teams like New Orleans, Phoenix have it right -- no workouts at all. Do you work doing the year watching actual basketball & you'll be fine.
29 minutes ago

DraftExpress Jonathan Givony
Comparing the amount of NBA workouts that are conducted today as opposed to five years ago shows how much their importance has diminished.
30 minutes ago

DraftExpress Jonathan Givony
Media making too big of a deal out of private workouts. Very misleading setting that tell very little about a player's actual NBA potential.
31 minutes ago

Totally agree with Givony here. And I present Steven Hunter, Exhibit A:

Like Crawford and Potapenko before him, Hunter's life may change dramatically because of one week in Chicago. Experts such as Monter say because of his strong showing at the camp, Hunter went from a second-round afterthought to a possible late lottery pick -- which could mean a difference of millions of dollars in his first contract.

Though virtually unknown before Chicago, Hunter did not transform into a coveted commodity overnight. He came into the camp in shape, thanks in large part to Michael Jordan's trainer, Tim Grover. Hunter weighed only 205 pounds at the end of his sophomore season at DePaul. By early June, he had added 20 pounds and hopes to gain another 20 to 30.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basket ... en_hunter/

Uh yeah, that worked out real well. In the article, he even claimed to be the best player in the draft! Hunter went #15 that year - ahead of Zach Randolph, Brendan Haywood, Gerald Wallace, Tony Parker - and of course, Gilbert Arenas. The history of guys working out to up their stock in the draft and then falling back to mediocrity is long and depressing.

Anyone remember the infamous pic of Jared Jeffries at the Suns' pre-draft workout, showing off his newfound 20 lbs of muscle? Rumors had the Suns interested in Jeffries over some HS kid named Amare. And those 20 lbs didn't last too long post-draft, did they?

Pech supposedly rocked the Wiz workout, "demolishing" Hilton Armstrong (no high hurdle, that). But it was enough to convince Ernie to spend a pick on him instead of, say, Rajon Rondo or Kyle Lowry. (OK, that was a lame draft in general. Not much else out there.)

So, be warned: Stay away from the workout wonders and the guys who reshaped their bodies in the 8 weeks between the NCAA season and the Draft evaluations. Yeah, I'm lookin' at you, Jordan Williams.

[tontoz]

FWIW on Singleton.
I didn't give this much weigh at-first because Morris is Thorpe's client, but when you weigh Morris's college play against how he has been competing in the workouts, you have to seriously consider him at 6. Is his short-side wing-span a deal breaker?

His wingspan is 6'8.75" and his standing reach is 8'9.5". That is fine considering he will probably be spending some time at the 3.

[Benjammin]

Ugh, undersized tweener forward, sorry but I don't want Marcus at 6. I think Patrick Patterson is a much better prospect from last year, for example. I would much prefer rolling the dice on Biyombo or even Johnny V before using the sixth pick on an undersized 4/tweener forward. I have no doubt his skill level is good, but his limitations will always be apparent and this talk about him playing significant minutes at the 3 is rather unrealistic, in my opinion.

[REDardWIZskin]

"When recently asked about his team's needs, Charlotte Bobcats general manager Rod Higgins said he'd like the Bobcats to be more athletic. He mentioned, for instance, how Dallas guard J.J. Barea's ability to explode off the dribble has been so valuable to the Mavericks in the post-season."

Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/21 ... z1O8WlRLVr

They want Kemba... I see a win/win situation. If Kemba goes to Toronto then Kanter falls to 6. If they pass and Kemba is there at 6 Bobcats or Pistons will try to make a move to get him from Sac who will surely take him at 7. Do they want him bad enough to give up the 9th and 19th picks? We get to choose from the same pool of players and save a little cash by picking at 9 instead of 6 although it probably wont be much difference.

[tontoz]

Ugh, undersized tweener forward, sorry but I don't want Marcus at 6. I think Patrick Patterson is a much better prospect from last year, for example. I would much prefer rolling the dice on Biyombo or even Johnny V before using the sixth pick on an undersized 4/tweener forward. I have no doubt his skill level is good, but his limitations will always be apparent and this talk about him playing significant minutes at the 3 is rather unrealistic, in my opinion.

He sees himself as a 3.

Marcus Morris was the headliner of Wednesday's six-player group as the Bucks began four consecutive days of workouts for draft prospects.

Morris led the Jayhawks in scoring last season, averaging 17.2 points, and the Philadelphia native was named the Big 12 player of the year.

He has a good mid-range jumper, which was on display in Wednesday's workout, according to Bucks director of scouting Billy McKinney.

"He will be a hybrid forward," McKinney said. "I can envision him playing the power forward position, but he's also good enough with his ball-handling skills out on the floor that he can play some small forward.

"When we interviewed him, he talked about he believes he's a 3 (small forward). His brother he believes is a 4 (power forward). But teams have a lot of flexibility when they have guys that can play multiple positions. So I think that will be an added benefit for him."



Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/21 ... z1O8ZzmrKn

[closg00]

Ugh, undersized tweener forward, sorry but I don't want Marcus at 6. I think Patrick Patterson is a much better prospect from last year, for example. I would much prefer rolling the dice on Biyombo or even Johnny V before using the sixth pick on an undersized 4/tweener forward. I have no doubt his skill level is good, but his limitations will always be apparent and this talk about him playing significant minutes at the 3 is rather unrealistic, in my opinion.

Why does Marcus get lumped into the tweener category and not Leonard? They have very similar measurements and played similar roles in college. Why can't Morris play SF in the NBA? At-least Marcus already has a jump-shot.

[REDardWIZskin]

Leonard has been tagged as a defender that can defend 3's and had a 7'3 wingspan

[tontoz]

Leonard has been tagged as a defender that can defend 3's and had a 7'3 wingspan

Leonard's standing reach is only .5" higher than Morris and Marcus timed just as fast in the sprint. Marcus is stronger and actually has some skills. He is an efficient scorer, just the opposit of Leonard.

[Benjammin]

Ugh, undersized tweener forward, sorry but I don't want Marcus at 6. I think Patrick Patterson is a much better prospect from last year, for example. I would much prefer rolling the dice on Biyombo or even Johnny V before using the sixth pick on an undersized 4/tweener forward. I have no doubt his skill level is good, but his limitations will always be apparent and this talk about him playing significant minutes at the 3 is rather unrealistic, in my opinion.

He sees himself as a 3.

Marcus Morris was the headliner of Wednesday's six-player group as the Bucks began four consecutive days of workouts for draft prospects.

Morris led the Jayhawks in scoring last season, averaging 17.2 points, and the Philadelphia native was named the Big 12 player of the year.

He has a good mid-range jumper, which was on display in Wednesday's workout, according to Bucks director of scouting Billy McKinney.

"He will be a hybrid forward," McKinney said. "I can envision him playing the power forward position, but he's also good enough with his ball-handling skills out on the floor that he can play some small forward.

"When we interviewed him, he talked about he believes he's a 3 (small forward). His brother he believes is a 4 (power forward). But teams have a lot of flexibility when they have guys that can play multiple positions. So I think that will be an added benefit for him."



Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/21 ... z1O8ZzmrKn

I'm glad he sees himself as a 3, mazeltov. I can see myself lots of ways too. Can he guard 3s? Can he penetrate and create from the 3 position? Can he shoot accurately from 3 point range and space the floor as a 3? Other than that, I think he's a great 3 too. SMH

[Benjammin]

Leonard has been tagged as a defender that can defend 3's and had a 7'3 wingspan

Leonard's standing reach is only .5" higher than Morris and Marcus timed just as fast in the sprint. Marcus is stronger and actually has some skills. He is an efficient scorer, just the opposit of Leonard.

Wingspan is more important than standing reach for wing defenders. I don't like taking Leonard at six either, so I'm not pimping him. As for the sprint, I don't think that tells you much about their ability to guard out on the perimeter. I think Marcus is an efficient scorer, a good 3rd forward off the bench. But even in this weak draft I'm not taking him six with the pie in the sky notion that he's going to be the answer at either the 3 or the 4.

If I'm going to take someone at six who has question marks I'd rather at least go big with Biyombo or Johnny V rather than trying to convince myself that Marcus Morris or Leonard or Vesely is the answer at the 3.

[REDardWIZskin]

I don't either at six I've already stated that I hope we could move back to about 10 and still get one of them while picking up another young prospect or pick.