Celtics could host talented pre-draft workout

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/celtics/2016/05/celtics_could_host_talented_pre_draft_workout



Celtics could host talented pre-draft workout



Great players available at No. 3


Mark Murphy


Thursday, May 19, 2016



Buddy Hield
Credit: Unknown





WALTHAM — Two years ago, when Marcus Smart impressed the league with a series of pre-draft workouts, the Celtics assembled one of their most memorable workout groups.

Smart, Elfrid Payton (Orlando), Gary Harris (Denver), Zach LaVine (Minnesota) and Jordan Clarkson (Lakers) all flew in for a fierce, competitive workout.

Thanks to Tuesday night’s lottery, which left them with the third overall pick in the June 23 draft, the Celtics might eventually be looking at a similar session, if enough agents say yes.

“Everything’s been on hold for a lot of guys that feel they’re in the range for No. 3 until the lottery, and so we’ll start those negotiations with the agents coming up here, so I don’t know yet,” Austin Ainge, the Celtics director of player personnel, said yesterday while working out two different groups of players who could go anywhere from the Celtics’ No. 16 pick through the second round. “We’ll start that soon.”

Though the last thing they need is another guard, the Celtics could have another major guard workout on their hands, including Providence’s Kris Dunn, Kentucky’s Jamal Murray and Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield.

But there’s also a broader field of players to consider at pick No. 3. Here’s an early breakdown of who the Celts will have to consider if they hold onto that pick.

DRAGAN BENDER, 7-foot-1, 225 pounds, Maccabi Tel Aviv, PF — Everything about the 18-year-old Croatian’s game makes him sound like a deluxe version of Kelly Olynyk. He has a tremendous outside jump shot and blossomed this season in Israel from 3-point range.

Though perilously thin, so was Kristaps Porzingis, the Knicks rookie who seems to be compared most often to Bender. And the uncertainty involving Porzingis at this time last year appears to be influencing the general opinion of Bender now. But unlike generations of European big men before him, Bender appears to hold up well against contact, indeed, he seems to seek it out. If he’s a prototypical stretch 4, with the ability to play center in small ball lineups, he could be of huge value to the Celtics.

That also could mean the end of the inconsistent Olynyk’s time in Green.

BUDDY HIELD, 6-5, 212, Oklahoma, SG — Hield, a senior, needed the better part of four years at Oklahoma to develop into a national player of the year candidate. If the NBA’s rule of thumb about seniors holds true here — that most of them have a low ceiling — then Hield might not have much growth left.

He also lacks versatility. He’s a shooting guard, period, without the playmaking ability to play the point and without enough size to guard small forwards. He can shoot but doesn’t fit into that multiple-position role coaches like the Celtics’ Brad Stevens want in their players. There’s also nothing to suggest Hield can hold his own defensively. But he can be electric as a scorer. And the Celtics do indeed need that.

KRIS DUNN, 6-4, 205, Providence, PG — Any player available at No. 3 in this draft is going to have blemishes, and the Friars star is no different. He’s not a pure shooter, but that never has scared off Stevens, who believes most players can improve in that department.

But Dunn might be the best pound-for-pound, inch-for-inch defender in the lottery, with a truly fierce approach to pressuring the ball. Offensively, he’s a terrific pass-first point guard who, upon reaching the NBA, won’t have to worry about the kind of gang coverage he faced in college.

He had a great interview with Philadelphia last week at the combine, and that lends credence to the belief the Sixers would love to trade for this pick. He’s not as good a fit with the Celtics, unless they have plans to move Smart, Terry Rozier or both.

JAMAL MURRAY, 6-5, 201, Kentucky, SG — Though some label him a combo guard, there’s little in Murray’s repertoire to suggest he can play the point. But with the exception of Brandon Ingram, Murray might be the best shooter in this draft, and thus a person of prime interest to the Celtics at No. 3.

He also operated in something of a vacuum on a sub-standard Kentucky team, scoring a lot (20 ppg) and shooting more than 40 percent from 3-point range as a freshman. Of course, the last time the Celtics drafted a Kentucky freshman shooter, his name was James Young.

JAYLEN BROWN, 6-7, 223, California, SF — Brown projects as a special scorer, with enough strength to guard two and possibly three positions. He’s shown equal ability to score off the dribble and from the wing, but like most freshmen, with frequent bouts of inconsistency. His combination of size and talent is why he’s in this group.


bob
MY NOTE:  This article is basically a rehash of the usual suspects, but what I DO like about it is the idea of a "super workout squad".  What better way of seeing who rises to the top than by putting them all out on the floor together and see who competes and who doesn't?  Hell, maybe even throw a few players like Rozier and RJ and Mickey out there to fill out the rosters.  It's like having our own mini-summer league.  Having a top pick out there working by himself doesn't tell you about his ganas.  Having a top pick out there with a bunch of wannabes doesn't tell you anything either.  This list of players should dominate everybody we throw at them except their peers and, perhaps, players who have some NBA experience under their elastic waist bands and, if they don't, they need to be culled from the list or dangled as trade bait. Get on the phone and sweet-talk some agents, Danny!


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