There's been a lot of scuttle lately about top draft prospects declining workouts with the Grizzlies. Conversations with general manager Chris Wallace and scouting director Tony Barone Jr. at workouts this morning sheds some light on this situation.
Here's what I know about the workout status of lottery prospects, based on the top baker's dozen on Chad Ford's Top 100 list:
1. Derrick Rose: Only dealing with Chicago and Miami, for obvious reasons.
2. Michael Beasley: Ditto.
3. O.J. Mayo: Currently limiting workouts until he signs with a new agent. It's unclear right now if he'll work out for the Grizzlies.
4. Jerryd Bayless: Has declined workouts with the Grizzlies, ostensibly because he doesn't think he fits the roster. (I agree with this.) I also wonder if the impending hire of former Arizona coach Kevin O'Neill isn't a factor. I don't think he's a player the Grizzlies would be likely to draft anyway.
5. Anthony Randolph: Scheduled to work out June 16th (see below).
6. Eric Gordon: Has committed to work out for the Grizzlies but hasn't set a date. Apparently still wants to negotiate the right workout match-up in order to come in.
7. Danillo Galinari: Still overseas. His father is apparently bristling at doing workouts. Right now only wanting to go to New York and New Jersey.
8. Brook Lopez: Currently only working out for Minnesota and Seattle (and not working out against other players). Things could change if he doesn't get the feedback he wants.
9. D.J. Augustin: No plans to work him out. Not a viable option for the team based on the current roster.
10. Russell Westbrook: Has committed to coming but hasn't set a date. Could be moving up the charts.
11. Kevin Love: Will be in Monday. Whether the Grizzlies draft him or not, Love is much higher than 11th on the team's draft board.
12. Darrell Arthur: Will be in June 16th.
13. Deandre Jordan: Will be in Monday.
Now, here's the tentative workout schedule as currently set:
Monday, June 9th: Kevin Love, Deandre Jordan, Joey Dorsey, Javale McGhee, Kyle Weaver, and Jeremy Pargo.
Wednesday, June 11th: Richard Hendrix, David Padgett, and Robert Dozier.
Thursday, June 12th: D.J White, James Mays, and possibly Trent Plaisted.
Friday June, 13th and Saturday, June 14th: Team personnel will travel to Oakland for a multi-team workout featuring 24 players (mid-first-rounders and lower).
Monday, June 16th: Anthony Randolph, Darrell Arthur, Courtney Lee, Sonny Weems, and Will Daniels.
Wednesday, June 18th: J.R. Giddens, Bill Walker, and Deron Washinton.
The Grizzlies worked out Omri Casspi, Davon Jefferson, and Charles Rhodes this morning. A report on that workout to follow.
The Grizzlies held their first draft workout today, examining a trio of 6’8”-ish forward prospects: Israeli prospect Omri Casspi, USC’s Davon Jefferson, and Mississippi State’s Charles Rhodes.
The skinny:
Omri Casspi: Casspi struggled a little bit to get his shot off in live drills when he found himself on the block against Jefferson or Rhodes, but that isn’t how he’ll play at the NBA level. When it came to perimeter and full-court drills, Casspi showed he had, by far, the best small-forward skills on display — running, handling, and shooting well enough to play the on the wing in the NBA. He also showed pretty good conditioning and coachability.
The biggest question with Casspi seems to be whether he really has the raw talent to excel at the NBA level: He’s got size, a defined position, and well-rounded skills, but he isn’t an explosive athlete, a pure shooter, or a great playmaker. He projects more as a 7th-to-9th-man type if he pans out. Now, if you can find a quality bench player at #28, that’s fine value, and the Grizzlies do have a need for a back-up small forward. Casspi would fill a niche and provide some shooting and toughness at that spot.
The sense I got about Casspi situation, from talking to multiple team officials as well as one of Casspi’s representatives is this: He’s a legit candidate for the pick at #28, but probably not among the most likely contenders. I suspect the team will look for someone with more upside and the chance to play a bigger role than Casspi would playing behind Rudy Gay. From Casspi’s perspective, he’s looking for a first-round promise (which he won’t get from the Grizzlies) and could pull out of the draft if he doesn’t get it. He hopes to be in the NBA next season, though. Casspi has one year remaining on his Israeli military commitment, but his representative said he has a waiver if he’s able to come to the NBA, so that shouldn’t be an obstacle.
Davon Jefferson: Jefferson was thought of as a late-first-round contender initially, but apparently performed poorly at Orlando and certainly looked more like a second-rounder today. Jefferson showed some intriguing, raw tools, but his conditioning wasn’t up to expectations and didn’t display the skill level you’d want out of a small forward, the position he’d need to play. Without a second-round pick, I don’t think he’s much of a contender for the Grizzlies.
Charles Rhodes: Rhodes was impressive today, but didn’t really look like an NBA-level player. He showed excellent conditioning and effort and good strength and explosiveness, but is just too much of a tweener: He’s got a power-forward’s game in a small-forward’s body and doesn’t seem to have the power or raw skills to settle in at either spot. He looked smaller than such recent Griz bench players as Andre Brown, Alexander Johnson, and Lawrence Roberts. If he isn’t drafted, Rhodes should be on somebody’s Summer League roster, but is probably more likely to find a home in the NBDL or overseas next season than in the League.
