[Bryan88]

DraftExpress: NBA Pre-Draft Camp, Day Four

Fatigue began to set in for many of the prospects and scouts in attendance here in day four, causing much of the attention to turn to the 15 physical-only players, who were here to participate in the combine and conduct light drills and skills-based workouts that drew quite a crowd of high-level NBA executives.

Darrell Arthur, Joe Alexander, O.J. Mayo, Derrick Rose, Donte Greene, Anthony Randolph, JaVale McGee, D.J. Augustin, Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, Eric Gordon, and Brook Lopez, Jerryd Bayless, and DeAndre Jordan were the players the NBA types had an opportunity to drool over. This was an interesting setting, since the lottery candidates joined in on all six of the pre-draft camp teams here, giving us an unique comparison gauge to evaluate their physical tools and skill-sets alongside second round and mostly undrafted prospects. With a good number of NBA GMs on hand to take in the action, there were many interesting draft-related conversations going on at all times in the stands, some of which we got to take part in.

Opinions on how much we were able to learn from the workouts here were very mixed. Some were very happy to be able to see all these players in action in person and take a look at what type of shape they are in, while others called it “a complete waste of time” due to the absolute lack of competitive play. The drills consisted mostly of ball-handling skills for guards going through cones, post-ups for bigs, mid-range and long-range spot-up and pull-up jumpers, and some very basic transition play. The sample size of shots the players took was limited, so keep that in mind.

[Bryan88]

OJ Mayo

O.J. Mayo was very smooth and very confident in everything he did, barely missing in the perimeter shooting drills. He’s clearly not on the same level athletically as Derrick Rose or Russell Westbrook for example, but already has the looks of an NBA player with the way his body looks and how he conducts himself out on the floor.

Michael Beasly

Michael Beasley looked super fluid and athletic getting up and down the court, finishing with either hand and looking to be in pretty good shape. He attacked the drills with a lot of competitive fire, but most definitely was clowning around way too much throughout the day right underneath the noses of the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls. There were a few people that expressed concern with some of his antics over the past few days. He shot the ball just decently.

Derrick Rose

Clearly the most impressive workout of any of the 15 players belonged to Derrick Rose. Not so much for what he showed, but mostly just for what he is. He got up and down the floor fluidly and smoothly, covering tons of ground with each and every stride, and looked excellent changing speeds and operating skillfully with both hands in the ball-handling drills. His athleticism is nothing short of stunning, starting with his phenomenal first step, his ability to change gears, and his incredible explosiveness finishing around the basket. He came out with a business-like approach, and left no doubt about just how unique his talent-level and physical tools are. A nice bonus was the way he shot the ball, hitting more than one NBA 3-pointer and looking solid from mid-range as well.

Brooks Lopez

Speaking of lukewarm impressions, Brook Lopez didn’t do a whole lot to ease the concerns NBA people have about him, not moving all that well up and down the floor and showing a very average skill-level in most of the drills.