A little late chiming in today, but the Grizzlies held their first significant draft workout earlier at FedExForum and there are a few items that have popped up on the internet or on the radio waves that are worth noting:
Former University of Memphis guard Tyreke Evans became the first of what should be five workouts the Grizzlies will conduct involving the seven players the team would be likely to consider either at #2 or in a trade-down scenario.
Evans went through a roughly hour-long workout conducted by Griz assistant Damon Stoudamire that focused on ball-handling and shooting drills. It’s become habit for top prospects to decline competitive workouts, and you can see how this might benefit someone like Stephen Curry, who can wow on-lookers with a solo shooting display. But I think Evans is a prospect that is hurt by a lack of competition. The solo workout format amplified Evans’ negatives — his inconsistent slingshot jumper and his erratic ball-handling — but didn’t showcase his attributes — the ability to slash past (or through) defenders to finish at the rim or use his strength and wingspan to deny penetration.
I didn’t think Evans was at all impressive today, but I doubt his performance really moved the needle either way in relation to the Grizzlies. The team has seen more of Evans than any other prospect in the draft. It will be interested — at least for me — to compare Evans to James Harden, who is scheduled to come in Friday and has a similar physical profile.
