The NBA draft lottery is still nearly two weeks away, but teams are already hoping to find the next big thing.
Or in the case of the Cavaliers, some young players who might be able to help them next season.
Like nearly every team, the Cavs will be represented at a pre-draft combine this weekend in New Jersey.
None of the players attending is an expected lottery selection, or even a first-rounder. Instead, most will be vying for a spot late in the draft. A select few may catapult themselves into the 25-35 range, but even that is a reach.
No matter, anyone with a second-round pick is sure to keep a close eye on this weekend, in hopes of finding the next Landry Fields or Wesley Matthews -- or any other player who flew under the radar and turned into a viable NBA player.
Basically, this is when the pre-draft stuff starts to get serious.
“There’s this and then there’s the Chicago combine (May 20-22) with all the big-name prospects,” said one Eastern Conference scout. “Beyond that, everything will pretty much be determined when teams call in guys for individual workouts.”
Also, workouts like the one this weekend in New Jersey have taken on added significance, as a July lockout could cancel summer league. That means players who aren’t drafted in the first round will have limited opportunities to make an impression.
For guys like that, it will pretty much be this weekend, followed by individual workouts, followed by the week between the draft and the end of the current collective bargaining agreement (June 23-30).
This particular workout is being sponsored by New Jersey, New York and Houston, and takes place at the Nets’ practice facility in East Rutherford, N.J.
As an aside, unconfirmed reports say Ohio State guard Jon Diebler -- who supposedly rejected an offer to participate initially -- will make the trip.
The entire workout field looks like this, although not all of the names on the list have been confirmed:
Saturday, May 7
Olu Ashaolu, F, 6-7, Louisiana Tech
Deangelo Casto, F, 6-8, Washington State
Mamadou DiarraC, 7-0, USC
Kim English, G/F, 6-6, Missouri
Ashton Gibbs, G, 6-2, Pittsburgh
Troy Gillenwater, F, 6-7, New Mexico State
Josh Harrellson, C, 6-10, Kentucky
Tu Holloway, G, 6-0, Xavier
Scotty Hopson, G/F, 6-6, Tennessee
Reggie Jackson, G, 6-3, Boston College
Orlando Johnson, G, 6-5, UC Santa Barbara
Reggie Johnson, C, 6-10, Miami
Cory Joseph, G, 6-3, Texas
Guy-Marc Michel, C, 7-0, Indiana
Darius Morris, G, 6-4, Michigan
Jamine Peterson, F, 6-6, Providence/ New Mexico (D-League)
Carleton Scott, F, 6-8, Notre Dame
Iman Shumpert, G, 6-4, Georgia Tech
John Shurna, F, 6-8, Northwestern
Hollis Thompson, F, 6-7, Georgetown
Sunday, May 8
Jon Diebler, G, 6-6, 200 Ohio State
Lacedarius Dunn, G, 6-4, Baylor
Mustapha Farrakhan, G, 6-4, Virginia
Gary Flowers, F, 6-8, Southern Mississippi
Austin Freeman, G, 6-4, Georgetown
Andrew Goudelock, G, 6-2, College of Charleston
Jerai Grant, F, 6-8, Clemson
Justin Holliday, F, 6-7, Washington
Tyler Honeycutt, F, 6-8, UCLA
Rick Jackson, F, 6-9, Syracuse
Delroy James, F, 6-8, Rhode Island
Ravern JohnsoN, F, 6-7, Mississippi State
DeAndre Liggins, G, 6-6, Kentucky
Vernon Macklin, F/C, 6-9, Florida
Damian Saunders, F, 6-7, Duquesne
Greg Smith, F/C, 6-10, Fresno State
Julyan Stone, G, 6-7, UTEP
Malcolm Thomas, F, 6-8, San Diego State
Isaiah Thomas, G, 5-8, Washington
Chris Wright, G, 6-1, Georgetown
