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djsunyc
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Workout buzz, trade rumors
posted: Friday, June 9, 2006 | Feedback
• For Chad Ford's breakdown of who's hot and who's not after the second day of games at the Orlando pre-draft camp, click here.
The action at the Orlando pre-draft camp may not be hot, but it doesn't mean the stars of this year's draft aren't coming out to shine in other places.
A number of private team workouts were going down in various locations throughout the Orlando area on Thursday. Here's a look at who worked out for whom:
• LSU's Tyrus Thomas worked out for the Raptors and Blazers on Thursday afternoon. Thomas had trainer Randy Livingston take him through a workout similar to the one that I saw him go through last Friday.
While both team sources were a little tight-lipped about what they saw, Livingston told me that evening that Thomas shot the ball well, hitting 15-of-25 from NBA 3-point range.
Thomas will begin individual workouts shortly after the pre-draft camp ends. He'll first go to Chicago on June 15, then Toronto on June 17th, then Portland on June 20th, according to one of his agents, Michael Siegal. Siegal also said that Thomas was in the process of scheduling a workout with the Bobcats, but didn't have a specific date yet.
• The Magic had the mother of all swingman workouts on Thursday afternoon at their practice facility, bringing in six of the top shooting guards and small forwards in the draft. Villanova's Randy Foye, Arkansas' Ronnie Brewer, Memphis' Rodney Carney, Temple's Mardy Collins, Rutgers' Quincy Douby and Arizona's Hassan Adams worked out for roughly two hours against each other.
What was the verdict? A Magic spy said that the workout was very competitive, but Foye, Brewer and Carney all shined the most.
It's unlikely that Foye will be on the board when the Magic pick. However, Brewer and Carney (along with Duke's J.J. Redick) will likely be in serious consideration for Orlando's No. 11 pick.
The team needs an athletic swingman to put in the backcourt with Jameer Nelson. Brewer and Carney would both be excellent additions.
However, the player the Magic really covet is Washington's Brandon Roy. The Magic have been working for several weeks to move up in the draft, but they face a very practical problem: How high do you have to move up to get Roy? Conventional wisdom says No. 4 or No. 5 in the draft. But the Bulls are seriously considering him at No. 2. The Magic probably don't have the ammunition it's going to take to get that high in the draft. Dwight Howard, Darko Milicic and Jameer Nelson are untouchable. It's doubtful a team would take a player like Carlos Arroyo or Hedo Turkoglu for a high lottery pick.
• Florida State's Alexander Johnson, Miami's Guillermo Diaz and UCLA's Ryan Hollins and Tennessee-Martin's Jeremy Kelly worked out for roughly 15 NBA executives in nearby Celebration, Florida, on Thursday afternoon.
The workout was very intense, leading one scout to proclaim that it was one of the best workouts he's seen in years. The guys play in two-on-two games against each other, and the competition was fierce.
"I learned more in a hour at this workout than I had in all of the games that I'd seen at the pre-draft camp," one GM said.
Four NBA executives who attended the workout said Johnson had an amazing workout against Hollins. One said, "He was attacking the kid and dunking on him on almost every possession. Then he couldn't miss from the outside. I thought he was fantastic. If you're going to work out in front of NBA teams, that's how you do it."
All four executives thought Johnson was a lock for the late teens or early twenties of the first round. If the Bulls decide to go ahead and take Brandon Roy at No. 2, don't be surprised if they draft Johnson with their 16th pick.
Diaz also drew high praise for how well he shot the ball and his energy in the workout. The same executives said they thought it was a close call whether Diaz would be a first-round pick, but that he could catch someone's eye with his combination of quickness, toughness and athleticism.
"He shot the ball better than I thought he could," one NBA GMs told Insider. "What was impressive was that he could shoot like that after being so fatigued."
Hollins got props from scouts for his athleticism and showed some skills. But the fact that he was dominated by the more physical but considerably shorter Johnson didn't bode well.
• Pittsburgh's Aaron Gray worked out against former Oklahoma State center Frans Steyn on Thursday afternoon.
It's not the best environment for Gray, and the workout didn't go well for him. He's not very athletic and doesn't show well in drills. While Gray did demonstrate some nice footwork in the paint against Steyn, every scout I spoke to (in lieu of NBA execs, who didn't show up for the most part) said that Gray needs to return to school.
"He's still raw and he needs to get more athletic," one NBA scout said. "He could really use another year of college ball."
• The first trade since the trade deadline went down yesterday when the Raptors sent Rafael Araujo to the Jazz for Kris Humphries and Robert Whaley. That will draw yawns from about everyone except fans of BYU, which is where Araujo went to school.
But everyone expects there will eventually be a big trade involving some of the teams at the top of the draft.
Lots of rumors are swirling and you can guarantee that most of them are bogus.
The latest Raptors rumor buzzing around the gym has the Raptors talking with the Bucks about a deal that brings Toronto native Jamaal Magloire and Maurice Williams to Toronto for Charlie Villanueva or the No. 1 pick (the Raptors can make this deal because they'll be under the cap).
That trade would allow the Raptors to take care of their needs at center and the point and still retain either Villanueva or the No. 1 pick. If they were to keep Villanueva or draft Andrea Bargnani to play the three, the team would be essentially set at every position. The long-term risk is that both Magloire and Williams hit free agency next summer and may cost the Raptors too much money to re-sign.
For the Bucks, the deal would free up room in the middle for Andrew Bogut to start and give them a young power forward (either Villanueva or someone like Tyrus Thomas or LaMarcus Aldridge) to pair with him in the front court.
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