Official 2013 Draft Thread - Part V

[hands11]

There's a 9 minute Wittman interview over on CSN talking draft:

http://www.csnwashington.com/basketball ... -prospects

FWIW, they featured Porter, Dipo and then Len in video segments with Bennet being mentioned more briefly (Randy said "a guy who's top 10 pick" about Bennet; not sure if that's a poker tell or means anything). Witt seemed fairly animated in discussing Len.

It ain't much, but it's about the only tea leaves that I've seen thus far.

Sounds like I look of what I have been posting. Actually, Wittman is a great person to read tea leaves from. Here isn't EG. Randy has very little poker face. He talks from the gut.

Here the Exec Summary.

Add to our core group
When healthy Wall, Beal, Okafor, Trevor A, Martel mentioned.
Want to be able to keep your head above water when injury happen
Develop bench and more talent on that bench to overcome that
Mentioned Wall and Beal can't play 48 minutes. (tea leaf) Need people to play behind them. (tea leaf)

Asked about Otto Porter - he got to see more because he played in the same gym. Liked his progress
Volunteer comments on - VO is also a local kid. Improvement like Porter. That what you looking at. (tea leaf)
How they will fit in with what you have. (tea leaf)
Asked about Len - called him Intriguing. New no English. Another local. Interviewed him. Impressed with how he leaned English so fast.
- great strides at MD. Future is ahead of him. Can't teach height. Hard things to find. (tea leaf)

Asked about Immediate Impact ? - wants a player that can come in and play right away. Say has to have that. If you can add a piece or two that can contribute right now, that important.

Playoff Contenders. Contribute right away is important.

Bench has to get stronger. Mentioned scoring from the bench. D was already ok.
Trade scenario that can contribute right away.

Wants to grab a player like Beal that produced in his first year.

Sounds to me like Len and VO are at the top of the board. It also sound like he was describing CJM as well though not mentioned.

Which is in line with what I have been posting

[hands11]

while we can choose our first pick, we aren't able to call dibbs on the second. Muscala may be gone in the mid-20s. What we know if past is prologue is that EG probably won't choose anyone in the second round that people here like or talk about, so Muscala probably isn't in the cards.

With that aside, my ideal would be Bennett, a backup combo guard in the second, and the resigning Webster. That gives us a really nice team with depth.

If they really believe in what they have started to build and they really do want to make some playoff noise next year and the year after, they won't do that.

Since I think those are things they want, so I don't think they will.

I think it more likely then not they draft Len.

Seems like your contradicting yourself hands. If the Wiz are in win now mode why would they draft an injured project center? I agree with your first statement though which makes me believe Porter will be the pick.

Everything I have heard, Len should be ready to contribute this season. And his surgery was proactive to make sure it healed right. He didn't tear an ACL.

So no, I am not contradicting myself. And Len as the pick is just my projection of what they will do. I listed other players I liked and other ways to fill that need. I would be ok with Len being the pick. I would also be ok with other paths to addressing these needs as well. I posted that.

What I'm doing is projecting what I see as their biggest need and how they can fill them with players I think they could and would draft vs who I think they will not draft.

Sounds like what I saw and what Randy said are in line.

[The Consiglieri]

If we want someone who's undersized with potential, draft Oladipo and play him as a 3 alongside Beal and Wall. Oladipo has a higher upside then Bennett, works harder than almost anyone, and is very athletic. I still prefer Porter, but if we're going for upside, let's at least do it right.

I think Oladipo would not be a bad choice if Porter is off the board or seems like he doesn't have the upside to justify the pick. I think you can get by for 1 season just playing Beal and Oladipo, I think a combination of back-up SG, a Beal/Oladipo backcourt and some small ball could be enough minutes for even a very good rookie. I think he likely could have the highest trade value, both draft night and say next off-season. Even if Bennett is a true star, I don't think it will happen from day 1. I think Oladipo will step in as a very defender from day 1 and improve offensively as he adjusts to the NBA. I can see Oladipo probably more so than any other player being a significant part of a good team as a rookie. McLemore might be the same story, but there is something about him that just doesn't scream NBA star to me.

Why do so many people care about day 1? This team isn't winning anything next year, it's not even making the conference finals (though I do think it will make the playoffs barring a season as injury riddled as this past one). I don't get why I keep hearing that. So what, this team will be maturing into it's max potential probably around '15-'16, to 16-'17, and that leaves plenty of time for Bennett to mature into something, and even if we have to wait and don't get a ton with Bennett initially, just how much more would we get from Porter as a rookie, than what Webster, or Ariza gave us right now? I don't see a massive difference, either way, this is an investment in the future, more than the present.

[hands11]

Can't read too much into it but based off that it seems like Bennett is not on their radar.

That means he's probably the guy.

Who knows.. Remember how transparent EG was with Vesley?

This wasn't EG, it was Randy. And Randy is very transparent.

Randy likes Len, VO and Porter and it sounded like Len and VO more. Well that's not hard to believe knowing Randy.

And having dealt with light in the trunks McGee, I doubt he likes Noel. And given Bennett asthma and no D ways, I doubt he would like him either.

I think he would prefer Len was fully healthy, but his injury was preemptive. He didn't blow out his knee. All things equal, I'm sure he wants a healthy player.

As for draft position making a difference in who I've wanted, it didn't change anything except now I know its our choice and we have trade down options...maybe. Sounds like lot of teams are talking trade down.

I liked the players I liked when they were lower in the first as much as a I like them now in the top 5-10.

None of that stuff maters. Define what you need, your team and evaluate the talent for fit. The rest would always work itself out in time. For us, it looks like it worked out. The players raised up but so did our draft slot.

[hands11]

If we want someone who's undersized with potential, draft Oladipo and play him as a 3 alongside Beal and Wall. Oladipo has a higher upside then Bennett, works harder than almost anyone, and is very athletic. I still prefer Porter, but if we're going for upside, let's at least do it right.

I think Oladipo would not be a bad choice if Porter is off the board or seems like he doesn't have the upside to justify the pick. I think you can get by for 1 season just playing Beal and Oladipo, I think a combination of back-up SG, a Beal/Oladipo backcourt and some small ball could be enough minutes for even a very good rookie. I think he likely could have the highest trade value, both draft night and say next off-season. Even if Bennett is a true star, I don't think it will happen from day 1. I think Oladipo will step in as a very defender from day 1 and improve offensively as he adjusts to the NBA. I can see Oladipo probably more so than any other player being a significant part of a good team as a rookie. McLemore might be the same story, but there is something about him that just doesn't scream NBA star to me.

Why do so many people care about day 1? This team isn't winning anything next year, it's not even making the conference finals (though I do think it will make the playoffs barring a season as injury riddled as this past one). I don't get why I keep hearing that. So what, this team will be maturing into it's max potential probably around '15-'16, to 16-'17, and that leaves plenty of time for Bennett to mature into something, and even if we have to wait and don't get a ton with Bennett initially, just how much more would we get from Porter as a rookie, than what Webster, or Ariza gave us right now? I don't see a massive difference, either way, this is an investment in the future, more than the present.

I think maybe the part you are missing is they need a player that can contribute right away so they have

1) a better chance of getting into the playoff if there are injuries
2) get better seating if healthy and go deeper into the playoffs.

Thats the experience the team needs to grow to the next level. That what Wall and Beal need. And that raises the teams ability to attract talent. And it maximizes Nene, Trevor A and Okafors value. Both while hear or if they trade them.

[stevemcqueen1]

Sounds like Len is a legit option at 3 for the FO. Boo.

Case against Porter:
- Very skinny legs, limited explosion. Top heavy.
- Ball handling is under developed. Not fast enough to blow by defenders. Limited to straight line drives.
- Struggles pulling up and shooting off the dribble.
- Has some difficulty staying in front of quick perimeter players because of his lack of quickness. Gathers himself to change directions.
- Lacking strength in both the base and upper body, struggles a bit finishing through contact. Struggles to establish position. Will struggle to run through screens in the NBA.
- Flares out his elbow and has a low release point on his jumper.
- Adequate SF play will be cheaper to acquire than adequate PF or C play.

Case for Porter:
- Great character, great personality that every coach would love, great teammate.
- Elite motor, always plays hard, but always under control.
- Elite bball IQ. Almost always makes the right decisions. Doesn't take bad shots, highly efficient scorer.
- Brilliant spontaneous playmaker. Has a knack for coming up with steals and offensive boards. Frequently makes something out of nothing.
- Gets a ton of rebounds outside of his area, finds the ball.
- Excellent length for the SF position.
- Excellent shooter with his feet set, reliable beyond 3. Very quick release when he catches and shoots, great fluidity.
- Excellent off ball scorer. Excellent coming off screens and flaring out at the elbows. Excellent cutter, knows how to get himself open and into scoring position to give the ball handler a target.
- Very good high post game, good turnaround jumper, good set of hooks.
- Excellent floater game.
- Excellent at drawing contact, gets to the FT line, excellent FT shooter.
- Excellent transition finisher, good hop step and euro step that eats up a lot of ground with his long strides. Very good touch on the ball, outstanding below the rim finisher.
- Good passer, keeps the ball moving. Capable of facilitating the offense in the half court.
- Solid shot blocker, makes defensive plays in transition.
- Good defender out on the perimeter, length to play passing lanes and close out on shooters.
- Excellent team defender, constantly communicating, very heady and could be a defensive anchor.

That's what I can think of off the top of my head.

For Porter to unlock his scoring potential, he needs to get better at shooting off the bounce. That's a big area where he can improve. He also needs to get stronger so he can fight through screens and get all of the way to the rim on his drives and finish through contact.

Those are the two areas where I feel Porter is really far behind where Beal was as a rookie. Beal is an excellent shooter off the dribble, very capable of hop stepping out from the 3 pt line into mid range and knocking down the jumper. Very capable of coming off ball screens and stepping back and nailing the jumper. If Porter doesn't learn to do those things, then you'll be able to single guard him easily by chasing him off the 3 pt line and then just going over top of screens because you know you will make him pass.

Beal can also take the ball all of the way to the rim, he's fearless and strong and can handle contact. Porter needs to get stronger to be able to do it too.

Porter has a long way to go as a scorer and just in shaping his body alone.. He's far from fully developed and has a lot of untapped upside IMO. If he can get a lot better shooting off the dribble and develop a strong body, he could be a pretty lethal scorer. He'd then have a very diverse set of scoring tools, almost like Shabazz. He really would be like the 6'8 version of Beal.

I think he can also be an elite defender when he gets strong. When you've got that kind of length and anticipate the game as well as Porter does, defense is going to come very naturally to you.

[DMVleGeND]

If we want someone who's undersized with potential, draft Oladipo and play him as a 3 alongside Beal and Wall. Oladipo has a higher upside then Bennett, works harder than almost anyone, and is very athletic. I still prefer Porter, but if we're going for upside, let's at least do it right.

I think Oladipo would not be a bad choice if Porter is off the board or seems like he doesn't have the upside to justify the pick. I think you can get by for 1 season just playing Beal and Oladipo, I think a combination of back-up SG, a Beal/Oladipo backcourt and some small ball could be enough minutes for even a very good rookie. I think he likely could have the highest trade value, both draft night and say next off-season. Even if Bennett is a true star, I don't think it will happen from day 1. I think Oladipo will step in as a very defender from day 1 and improve offensively as he adjusts to the NBA. I can see Oladipo probably more so than any other player being a significant part of a good team as a rookie. McLemore might be the same story, but there is something about him that just doesn't scream NBA star to me.

Why do so many people care about day 1? This team isn't winning anything next year, it's not even making the conference finals (though I do think it will make the playoffs barring a season as injury riddled as this past one). I don't get why I keep hearing that. So what, this team will be maturing into it's max potential probably around '15-'16, to 16-'17, and that leaves plenty of time for Bennett to mature into something, and even if we have to wait and don't get a ton with Bennett initially, just how much more would we get from Porter as a rookie, than what Webster, or Ariza gave us right now? I don't see a massive difference, either way, this is an investment in the future, more than the present.

Exactly. We aren't championship contenders yet, so why even take next yr in terms of performance between the rookies into equation? Whoever we pick doesn't have to be a star from the get-go.

[montestewart]

When I look at Len vs. Adams, Adams' physical and on court numbers look very similar. Adams is only a few months younger than Len, but apparently started basketball kind of late and only has one year of college ball vs. Len's two years. Coupled with Len's injury, I'm not sure I understand why virtually everyone has Adams so much lower than Len. I saw Len play a few times, a mixed bag to me, though clearly with potential. I've only seen Adams highlights. Maybe someone that watches a lot of college ball can fill me in. Adams seems like he could be a real value in a trade down scenario.

[Earth2Ted]

There's a 9 minute Wittman interview over on CSN talking draft:

http://www.csnwashington.com/basketball ... -prospects

FWIW, they featured Porter, Dipo and then Len in video segments with Bennet being mentioned more briefly (Randy said "a guy who's top 10 pick" about Bennet; not sure if that's a poker tell or means anything). Witt seemed fairly animated in discussing Len.

It ain't much, but it's about the only tea leaves that I've seen thus far.

Yeah, not much to go on- the 3 guys they talked about the most were the ones with local connections (Porter, Len, and Oladipo from his DeMatha days).

It's been known for months that Ernie likes Alex Len, and we know from Chad Ford and others that the two front runners are PROBABLY Porter and Bennett.

The two most interesting things I got from Wittman in that segment was that

1) year to year improvement and projectability is important to them
2) he was downplaying injury history saying that most kids tend to recover and not have it be an issue.

Personally I'm not gaga over either Porter or Bennett- lateral quickness is going to be an issue for Porter, and the whole defensive side of the court for Bennett. So I would look at trade down options- the rumor is out there that Flip Saunders wants to move up from 9 to get Oladipo.

Might not be a bad fit for both teams- that is, if Flip doesn't mind dealing with the guy who fired his butt.

[verbal8]

If we want someone who's undersized with potential, draft Oladipo and play him as a 3 alongside Beal and Wall. Oladipo has a higher upside then Bennett, works harder than almost anyone, and is very athletic. I still prefer Porter, but if we're going for upside, let's at least do it right.

I think Oladipo would not be a bad choice if Porter is off the board or seems like he doesn't have the upside to justify the pick. I think you can get by for 1 season just playing Beal and Oladipo, I think a combination of back-up SG, a Beal/Oladipo backcourt and some small ball could be enough minutes for even a very good rookie. I think he likely could have the highest trade value, both draft night and say next off-season. Even if Bennett is a true star, I don't think it will happen from day 1. I think Oladipo will step in as a very defender from day 1 and improve offensively as he adjusts to the NBA. I can see Oladipo probably more so than any other player being a significant part of a good team as a rookie. McLemore might be the same story, but there is something about him that just doesn't scream NBA star to me.

Why do so many people care about day 1? This team isn't winning anything next year, it's not even making the conference finals (though I do think it will make the playoffs barring a season as injury riddled as this past one). I don't get why I keep hearing that. So what, this team will be maturing into it's max potential probably around '15-'16, to 16-'17, and that leaves plenty of time for Bennett to mature into something, and even if we have to wait and don't get a ton with Bennett initially, just how much more would we get from Porter as a rookie, than what Webster, or Ariza gave us right now? I don't see a massive difference, either way, this is an investment in the future, more than the present.

I mentioned day 1, because I see Oladipo as the BPA option rather than Bennett. However long-term you can't have your 6th man on a near-max deal. I think with 2015/2016 as the target the team needs to maximize assets such as young talent and cap space in 2014/5, because after that the window of financial flexibility closes. It might be the best move is to deal Beal for Kevin Love or Horford, to rebalance the roster. A guy who is producing like Brandon Bass won't do that.

[closg00]

James Southerland has scheduled eight visits over the next few weeks.

Southerland will work out for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Washington Wizards and Utah Jazz.

"He's visiting a bunch of teams," Southerland's agent, Mark Bartelstein said. "He's going to be very, very busy."

Southerland worked out for the Milwaukee Bucks earlier this week.

Profile
http://nbadraft.net/players/james-southerland

[verbal8]

When I look at Len vs. Adams, Adams' physical and on court numbers look very similar. Adams is only a few months younger than Len, but apparently started basketball kind of late and only has one year of college ball vs. Len's two years. Coupled with Len's injury, I'm not sure I understand why virtually everyone has Adams so much lower than Len. I saw Len play a few times, a mixed bag to me, though clearly with potential. I've only seen Adams highlights. Maybe someone that watches a lot of college ball can fill me in. Adams seems like he could be a real value in a trade down scenario.

Adams is the one guy I could justify trading a 2014 pick(I think top 3 or 5 protection is reasonable) for. If things go well he should be at the same place as a top 10 pick from 2014 in 2015.

[stevemcqueen1]

Case against Bennett:
- Injured each of the last three years.
- Seems immature, but also seems like a nice kid.
- loses focus in games and makes silly errors on D. Loses his man from watching the ball. Leaves his man to give weakside help too early and too frequently and gives up the open dish. Leaves his feet on shot fakes a lot. Gives up deep position to true bigs.
- Motor is inconsistent, doesn't always run back on D. Doesn't always work to get open, will stand on the perimeter and watch the action when he's tired.
- Doesn't know how to play off the ball. Will post up in spots he can't score from, won't shake his man on the perimeter, waits for the pass to come to him and then tries to create his own shot off the dribble.
- Post game in general is under developed, doesn't have jump hooks.
- Settles for bad shots.
- Columnar build that looks like he carries extra weight in the midsection, probably effects his conditioning.

Case for Bennett:
- Extremely confident and aggressive. Plays with the passion and fearlessness of a star. Will never hot potato the ball, comfortable being "the guy" for a team and putting the scoring load on himself.
- Excellent shooter for the PF position. Pretty jumper that can shoot from everywhere on the court and range out to 3 point land. Good catching and shooting from mid range and from 3, can catch the ball on a fade or off the screen, turn and hit the elbow jumper.
- Excellent athlete. Explosive leaper and very light on his feet. Runs the floor extremely well. Good body control, threw down reverse dunks and other spectacular displays of athleticism in games.
- Good looking length, long arms.
- Tons of natural power. Overpowers people inside. Does a good job wrestling for position and even looked comfortable holding position against true bigs late in the year.
- Terrifying transition finisher. People just get out of his way.
- Powers through contact and posterizes people. Capable of tearing the backboard down when he goes up with two hands. Scored a ton of points inside off sheer athletic talent, just going up over top of defenders. Extremely efficient finisher at the rim because he can score through contact so easily. Dunks like Grandmama.
- Good FT shooter.
- Excellent rebounder, has the aggressiveness and strength and length and leaping ability to be a glass eater on both ends of the court.
- Handles can wow you, very well developed for a PF. Goes coast to coast and can trigger the break. Has hesitation and size up dribbles to put defenders on their heels. Has a crossover. Good jab step and triple threat game. Excellent first step, able to blow by even the small guys in CBB and pairs it with the strength to finish over big guys waiting at the rim. Good with both hands. Very comfortable on face ups and capable of attacking multiple defenders with his dribble on perimeter drives.
- Goes hard to the rim but can also pull up short and hit floaters. Has a running hook shot. Very nice touch. Outstanding all around scorer from in close.
- Was surprisingly effective at keeping smaller perimeter players in front of him on D.
- A gambler, but he makes plays playing the passing lanes and blocking shots.


The thing I like about him most is that he definitively gives us something we don't already have. 3rd 3 ball shooter in the starting line up. Could definitely be a devastating pick and roll and pick and fade weapon in our offense. And he could be an offensive creator if Nene and Wall are out or Wall is cold. He's got the potential to be a fabulous offensive player.

But I have misgivings about Bennett's personality being compatible with our Coach's. I think he's a huge risk to end up in Wittman's dog house, have his confidence broken, and never command big minutes and a role because he is so raw playing off the ball, his defense is so undeveloped, and his motor is inconsistent. We don't have a track record of developing players like Bennett.

[stevemcqueen1]

I think Oladipo would not be a bad choice if Porter is off the board or seems like he doesn't have the upside to justify the pick. I think you can get by for 1 season just playing Beal and Oladipo, I think a combination of back-up SG, a Beal/Oladipo backcourt and some small ball could be enough minutes for even a very good rookie. I think he likely could have the highest trade value, both draft night and say next off-season. Even if Bennett is a true star, I don't think it will happen from day 1. I think Oladipo will step in as a very defender from day 1 and improve offensively as he adjusts to the NBA. I can see Oladipo probably more so than any other player being a significant part of a good team as a rookie. McLemore might be the same story, but there is something about him that just doesn't scream NBA star to me.

Why do so many people care about day 1? This team isn't winning anything next year, it's not even making the conference finals (though I do think it will make the playoffs barring a season as injury riddled as this past one). I don't get why I keep hearing that. So what, this team will be maturing into it's max potential probably around '15-'16, to 16-'17, and that leaves plenty of time for Bennett to mature into something, and even if we have to wait and don't get a ton with Bennett initially, just how much more would we get from Porter as a rookie, than what Webster, or Ariza gave us right now? I don't see a massive difference, either way, this is an investment in the future, more than the present.

I mentioned day 1, because I see Oladipo as the BPA option rather than Bennett. However long-term you can't have your 6th man on a near-max deal. I think with 2015/2016 as the target the team needs to maximize assets such as young talent and cap space in 2014/5, because after that the window of financial flexibility closes. It might be the best move is to deal Beal for Kevin Love or Horford, to rebalance the roster. A guy who is producing like Brandon Bass won't do that.

Beal is a better player than anyone in this draft. It doesn't make sense to put yourself in a situation where you'd need to move him to make this draft pick work best. I don't like the idea of giving up Beal for a worse player in order to get some other vet. Just build around Wall and Beal and we'll be fine.

[stevemcqueen1]

When I look at Len vs. Adams, Adams' physical and on court numbers look very similar. Adams is only a few months younger than Len, but apparently started basketball kind of late and only has one year of college ball vs. Len's two years. Coupled with Len's injury, I'm not sure I understand why virtually everyone has Adams so much lower than Len. I saw Len play a few times, a mixed bag to me, though clearly with potential. I've only seen Adams highlights. Maybe someone that watches a lot of college ball can fill me in. Adams seems like he could be a real value in a trade down scenario.

Adams is the one guy I could justify trading a 2014 pick(I think top 3 or 5 protection is reasonable) for. If things go well he should be at the same place as a top 10 pick from 2014 in 2015.

I don't trust Adams and would not trade a 2014 first for him. He did not produce in CBB and he's totally raw. He's also got a bizarre and unrelatable family background and has a history of underachievement in his past. I think he's being overrated based on his measurables and the weakness of the class. He's got an NBA body and he blocked a decent amount of shots, and he had the pedigree of a top recruit. But he really did nothing to suggest he should be taken in the first round last season. I think the team that drafts him in the lottery is hoping rather than sound team building.

[AFM]

Really good analysis, stevemcqueen. I don't usually read long posts but those last two on Bennett and Porter are a must read IMO.
As I said before, I will be happy with either. But I'm leaning towards Bennett more everyday.

[Dark Faze]

Still seeing no reason why you'd risk a high pick on Len rather than trading down to get Withey or Dieng who have low bust rates in regards to rebounding and defense.

[hands11]

When I look at Len vs. Adams, Adams' physical and on court numbers look very similar. Adams is only a few months younger than Len, but apparently started basketball kind of late and only has one year of college ball vs. Len's two years. Coupled with Len's injury, I'm not sure I understand why virtually everyone has Adams so much lower than Len. I saw Len play a few times, a mixed bag to me, though clearly with potential. I've only seen Adams highlights. Maybe someone that watches a lot of college ball can fill me in. Adams seems like he could be a real value in a trade down scenario.

But you just listed the reasons why. I think you are already filled in.

New updated Zeller DraftX video.

I think it does a better job of highlighting his actual skills. They highlighted his mid range game more as well.

I was probably to hash on Zeller. He should do ok in the NBA. Its just his game is so damn ugly. But its fundamentally ugly if that makes sense. Spin left. Spin right. He gets into your body. Draws fouls. It would have looked smoother if he shot more from outside. It looks like he has a decent stroke.

76% from the FT line.

Juawoneee Howard. I always hatted watching him play. Even more so after we paid him so much and let Webber and Rasheed go. But he was pretty productive. I think Zeller wont look as ugly shooting as JH, since his shooting stroke looks better.

Zeller at PF. He is a hard worker like Porter is.

[hands11]

Still seeing no reason why you'd risk a high pick on Len rather than trading down to get Withey or Dieng who have low bust rates in regards to rebounding and defense.

So what would be your approach to ensure you got your player lower?

As for the Beal comment that he is the better then anyone in this class. I agree. But CJM is going to open some eyes next year. Burke will also shine. VO needs to land on a winning team because he is a guy that can help a winner win more.

[hands11]

Pierre Jackson getting projected into the first round.
http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/22 ... re-Jackson

The Portland Trail Blazers have scheduled a pre-draft workout with Pierre Jackson, a 5-foot-10 point guard out of Baylor.

Considered a mid second round selection just a few weeks ago, Jackson is now being projected as a first round pick.