PHOENIX — If the Phoenix Suns could sell tickets to pre-draft workouts, Wednesday’s roll call might have been worthy of a money-back guarantee.
“It was impressive all the way around,” general manager Ryan McDonough said of the harmonic convergence of hot prospects at the US Airways Center practice court. “We had a bunch of guys in the gym that I think will end up in the lottery.”
And if one of the eight attendees ends up in Phoenix, the Suns might have a good start on that rebuild.
The lineup included Kansas redshirt freshman guard Ben McLemore, Indiana junior guard Victor Oladipo, 7-foot Hoosier sophomore Cody Zeller, UCLA freshman swingman Shabazz Muhammad, Maryland 7-0 sophomore center Alex Len and 7-2 Rudy Gobert from France.
For fans of those fighting to be selected in the second round, the party also offered Oregon swingman E.J. Singler and Wisconsin stretch four Jared Berggren.
Based on projections from around the pre-draft universe, this was quite a haul.
“I think a lot of guys see an opportunity here to come in as a rookie and play right away,” McDonough said of landing this high-level workout group.
Unfortunately, the potential for a monster audition of these prospect titans was diminished because McLemore — on advice of his agent — was the star of a one-man workout, while Len is injured and couldn’t play.
For McLemore, whose draft range has been projected at No. 1 or No. 2 (depending on which forecasting company you’ve put your faith in), locking horns with the rising (literally and figuratively) Oladipo and the allegedly slipping Muhammad would seem like bad business.
Midway through Wednesday morning, the Suns changed media-access plans, splitting interview sessions into two time frames. So, after a competitive, six-man workout was concluded, Suns coach John Hornacek put the bouncy, sweet-shooting former Jayhawk through a solo audition against air.
“Their agents have it in their best interests to try and protect the player,” said McDonough, speaking of general, pre-draft tactics for highly regarded prospects. “We’d like it to be competitive, but we understand that point of view.
“We think that’s better than nothing.”
In some corners of the draft universe, having a player projected as high as McLemore (yeah, it’s really fluid this year) visit a team picking fifth seems like a minor coup.
But McDonough doesn’t think that way.
“We think they should all come in,” he said, “but I’m biased.”
Because of considerable uncertainty at the top of the draft, McLemore could end up going behind Oladipo … and maybe Len or even Zeller. We won’t bet on any of it, but the ex-Kansas star wants to cover as much potential-employment territory as possible.
“I feel I should work out for everybody,” McLemore said.
Well, for everybody near the top, and by himself.
Anyway, the main reason why a young player with his explosiveness and shooting touch could take a slight tumble on draft night is — now this is really rare — McLemore’s unselfishness. Yeah, while playing alongside a group of seniors at Kansas, his go-to-guy chops were mitigated by a seeming reluctance to take over.
“I could have done those things at Kansas,” McLemore, citing team structure and that plethora of upperclassmen, said of being more assertive. “I know I can take over games, and I’m building my confidence even more.
“Now I have the opportunity to play free and play my own game.”
To make his own game more NBA ready, McLemore has been focusing on every skill, with an emphasis on developing a tighter handle.
For the Suns, who certainly could use a shooting guard with star potential, it would be nice if McLemore actually was there at pick No. 5.
Or would it? Well, McDonough isn’t giving anything away, although he did allow that a couple of Wednesday’s visitors helped themselves during the workout.
That takes us over to Oladipo, whose rise from offensively challenged defensive ace to upper-echelon lottery prospect in less than a year is kind of amazing. With everything considered, he might have provided the most refreshing perspective.
“It’s just a blessing for people to actually want me,” he said. “I just kind of came out of nowhere.”
And he’ll go somewhere really early on June 27.
“I don’t know how this stuff is going to roll, how the tables are going to turn and how the dices are going to roll,” he said. “I’m just trying to enjoy the process.”
Teammate Zeller, whose older brother Luke spent part of last season with the Suns, has been busy attempting to rehabilitate his once-gaudy draft range by convincing teams he has the perimeter skills to work as a stretch four.
“I’m trying to show there’s more to my game than what you saw in the regular season,” Zeller said.
For the 20-year-old Gobert, who recorded a standing reach of 9-7 and a wingspan of 7-8 ½ at the pre-draft combine, demonstrating a well-rounded game is a job-interview objective he shares with the two Hoosiers.
“They know I’m tall, and they know I’m long,” Gobert said of NBA talent evaluators. “I’m just trying to show that I can play offense, too.”
Perhaps the biggest burden of proof among Wednesday’s participants belongs to Muhammad.
Considered (along with Zeller) a solid candidate to go No. 1 overall when 2013 mocks started popping up almost a year ago, the lefty from Las Vegas put up solid numbers (18 points, 38 percent from 3-point range) in his freshman season as a Bruin.
But a lot of teams allegedly fell out of love with Muhammad for several reasons. A late start on the season (an injury and eligibility issues) began with the 6-6 swingman looking a bit pudgier than he did while dominating the AAU circuit.
His defense wasn’t exactly inspiring, he struggled to beat defenders off the dribble if required to go right or use more than one bounce, his athleticism was marginal, and a selfish approach was underscored by averaging less than one assist per game.
When the season was over, it was revealed that Muhammad was 20 years old, rather than the 19 a lot of basketball watchdogs believed. That won’t put him on the AARP mailing list, but it’s kind of big for some hardcore (read: obsessive) hoop junkies.
While those variables piled up, Muhammad’s status plummeted; according to rumor, he might have slipped out of the lottery and begun a descent toward the late 20s.
With obvious engines of motivation at his disposal, Muhammad is more than ready to compete for an NBA job.
“Whoever comes out there, I’m ready to play,” he said. “I love competing. Once I saw Victor (Oladipo), I was happy. He’s my guy, and he likes to compete, too.”
McDonough says the Suns have done their due diligence, and Muhammad doesn’t tick off any of the negative boxes we’ve heard and read about. Taking him at five doesn’t seem anywhere near likely, but adding (or upgrading) a pick within Muhammad’s perceived range could happen.
Beyond the speculation, Wednesday’s workout enabled the Suns to have a more comprehensive look at how a prospect’s game might translate.
“In a lot of college systems, guys get slotted and they play a certain way that benefits the team,” McDonough said. “One of the things we try to do here is put ’em out of their comfort zone a little bit and try to have them show us they can do some of the things we may have questions about.”
And if it works in their favor, the Suns might avoid making the early lottery a comfort zone of their own.
