Bear Down Wildcats

ASUHATER! wrote:i'd much prefer him in boston with rondo and stevens than in a dying la with kobe.

ASUHATER! wrote:if gordon was a 65 instead of 45% ft shooter and had a somewhat reliable jumpshot, he'd be a #1 pick.

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

ASUHATER! wrote:if gordon was a 65 instead of 45% ft shooter and had a somewhat reliable jumpshot, he'd be a #1 pick.

That's why I'd pick him first. You can develop a J, and Aaron is a hard worker. Wiggins is the tin man, and Oz is far away. Parker is a solid scorer and meh in other areas. He has Joe Johnson game.

The first time Nick Johnson stepped onto the Phoenix Suns practice court, his teammate was Jahii Carson, his coach was Rex Chapman and … he was 8, maybe 9, years old.

This was a bit different.

Johnson joined Elfrid Payton and four other NBA draft prospects for a workout Thursday for the Suns, who hold three first-round picks and the No. 50 overall selection.

Widely projected as a second-round pick, Johnson is hoping to latch on to a first-round spot like the one the Suns have at No. 27. But he gave the impression Thursday that even going to Phoenix at No. 50 wouldn’t be all bad, either.

Not for a guy who grew up watching Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire and company go deep into the NBA playoffs. And not for a guy who practiced inside the US Airways Center with an AND1 youth travel team coached by Chapman, a former Suns player.

With the Suns, “it was definitely one of the most exciting arenas in the NBA, and this year they got it back, I think,” Johnson said, later adding, “I would love to play at home. This is home for me.”

Johnson grew up in the Phoenix area, though he transferred to Nevada’s Findlay Prep as a junior in high school, then enrolled at UA two years later. After three seasons with the Wildcats, he opted to jump into the NBA draft pool a year early.

Although Johnson isn’t expected to gain the guaranteed money of the first round in the June 26 draft, he said he feels good about his decision to leave school.

“I had a great three years at Arizona, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” Johnson said. “I think I chose the right decision just by all the feedback I’ve gotten. I think I was ready for this experience, and I’m taking advantage of it.”

The Suns were the seventh team Johnson said he has worked out for, and the public feedback from coach Jeff Hornacek and GM Ryan McDonough was also positive.

Phoenix ran the six prospects — which also included Melvin Ejim of Iowa State, Shawn Jones of Middle Tennessee State, Roscoe Smith of UNLV and T.J. Warren of North Carolina State — through a rugged workout that finished by having the prospects run as many lengths of the court as possible in three minutes.

Johnson raced through 28 lengths. The Suns said he also shot well after being worked out physically earlier in the morning.

“We try to wear guys out,” Hornacek said, adding of Johnson, “He’s strong, athletic and can really shoot the ball.”

While Johnson has had to face questions about what position he plays — he was a shooting guard at UA but has the size of an NBA point guard — McDonough indicated that Johnson’s versatility as a combo guard will help him somewhere.

“It gives you more flexibility, and with our current roster, if you can play a one or two, that’s an advantage,” McDonough said. “Guys who can only play one position are a little bit limited.

“I think like most rookies, he’ll come off the bench at first, be able to shoot the ball, put some points on the board. Defensively he’s got some strength.”

Already, Johnson has also received good feedback from Oklahoma City (which has picks No. 21 and No. 29) and Orlando (12), with both teams asking him back for a second look. The Knicks are also interested, Johnson said, if they can secure a draft pick.

Johnson said he has worked out for seven teams — the Bulls, Suns, Magic, Thunder, Hawks, Celtics and Raptors — so the visit to Phoenix gave him a much-needed rest stop at home.

After Thursday’s workout, Johnson was expecting to spend the weekend at home before leaving for a workout with the Clippers on Monday.

Then it’s back to the grind: After LA comes Denver, Houston, Minnesota and Cleveland, Johnson said, making travel even tougher than the drills teams are putting him through.

The tiring part “would be the airplanes, the travel,” Johnson said. “When you have 10 flights here to six cities in a week and a half, it’s tough. But it’s also fun. I mean, not a lot of guys are able to do this, so it’s a good experience. You get to see every practice arena and stuff like that.”

Which included that one special practice court, in that one special city.

“When I got to the hotel last night, it started to kick in,” Johnson said. “I started remembering all the practices we had here. … When I walked in, it felt like home.”

dcZONAfan wrote:

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

ASUHATER! wrote:if gordon was a 65 instead of 45% ft shooter and had a somewhat reliable jumpshot, he'd be a #1 pick.

That's why I'd pick him first. You can develop a J, and Aaron is a hard worker. Wiggins is the tin man, and Oz is far away. Parker is a solid scorer and meh in other areas. He has Joe Johnson game.

Cmon I love AG as much as the next guy but his upside isn't nearly that of Wiggins and Embiid. Both of those guys can clearly become stars on both sides of the ball if they turn out as expected, while AG will never be that first option on offense (Wiggins might not be either, but I'd rather bet on him becoming that than AG). Embiid has been playing basketball for like 3 years. If health is not a factor he has HOF potential, and I think it is a stretch to say that about AG (of course it's a stretch to say that about any College Frosh, but embiid has all the skills to end up there)

Zero wrote:Not much longer until our guys will be drafted. Word going around is the Celtics are going to take Aaron. I really hope hey don't send him to Minny for K Love.

Aaron worked out for the Kings and will be working out for the Lakers later today. I will try to update all the workout tweets that go around about the guys.

Where do you see them going and who would you like see draft them?

I say Aaron to the Lakers and Nick to the 76ers in the second round.

.....Whether the Suns decide to draft a hometown kid or not is less important. For Arizona's purposes, Johnson's performance and his similar attitude to last year's Arizona draftee, Solomon Hill, said a bit about the direction of Sean Miller's program. Arizona has become an NBA training facility. "Not a lot of guys are doing this or able to do this," said Johnson, who will continue his busy workout tour with visits to Houston, Dallas, Denver and the Los Angeles Clippers . "It's a good experience, getting to see every practice arena, stuff like that, all the facilities, all the staffs.".....

Mocked as a mid-second round pick, he just might work his way into a selection that's viewed as a reach. Putting his name out there and not shying away from competition, there's a better chance a team will reach to select a proven winner and competitor....

But no matter where Johnson lands, he -- and fellow draftee Aaron Gordon -- will mark what's about to become the regular for the Arizona basketball program.

It's going to be pumping out NBA players with success, just as it did during the Lute Olson days.

The Jazz, like the Sixers and Magic, have been trying to get into the top. Sources say that while there was some internal debate for months, the Jazz would take Jabari Parker if they got the top pick. Sources say the Jazz have or are planning to increase their offer to include the 23rd pick and Alec Burks, but it's doubtful that will be enough to pry away the No. 1 pick.

If they stay at No. 5, it appears that Gordon has emerged as their top prospect after Parker, Wiggins and Exum. He had a stellar workout in Utah and the team is convinced that he could have an Andrei Kirilenko-like effect on the team. Because Gordon has never been a shooter, he has had to develop every other part of his game (ballhandling, passing, rebounding, defense) to justify putting him on the floor. But if he could ever learn how to shoot, he has everything else that you could want in an NBA star.

Main Event wrote:

NYCat wrote:

Alieberman wrote:

Alieberman wrote:

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

Alieberman wrote:

As opposed to how high Kansas and Duke were raised by Wiggins, Parker and Embiid, I guess.