Boone, Freeland Workout for Blazers
posted: 6/22/2006 at 10:33 PM
The workouts at theTrail Blazers practice facility on Thursday had an international flavor, as England's Joel Freeland, and Israel's Yotam Halperin were given an opportunity to display their talents. The other two players involved Thursday were Connecticut's Josh Boone, and Michigan State's Paul Davis.
Freeland, who's stock has been rising in recent weeks, had a very solid workout for Portland, following his workout in Phoenix on Wednesday. He's projected to be a late first-round selection in Wednesday's draft. Freeland grew up in England, and has only been playing basketball for three years. I had a chance to talk to him about that after his workout. I didn't realize that he was bagging groceries for roughly $5 bucks an hour before deciding to play professionally in Spain. He played last season for Gran Canaria Fedesa of the Spanish EBA League, and impressed enough people he decided to give the NBA a shot. He's only 19 years old, and even though he needs to add weight, is a tremendous athlete. Because of his inexperience, he's a relative unknown, but should be drafted at the end of the first round. Portland currently holds picks number 30 and 31.
Boone is another player projected to be taken late in the first round. He had three solid seasons at UConn, and is known for his athleticism and energy. He told me today's workout was his 12th, and that he's looking forward to this process wrapping up. He's loved the opportunity, but, like a lot of these players, just wants this uncertainty to end. All of these guys have told me this process is tougher mentally than physically, and Boone certainly agreed with that.
We should see Davis go somewhere in the middle of the second round. He's 6-11, 270, and would probably remind you of a younger Joel Przybilla. He's very fundamentally sound and has a polished offensive game around the basket. Davis played four years at Michigan State, and averaged 18 points per game this past season. He was a great interview following his workout, and said he felt he had a good performance for the Blazers.
The other international player in on Thursday was Halperin, from Tel-Aviv. He's got some big-time international experience, having played for Maccabi Tel-Aviv for five seasons, and spent last season with Union Olimpija in Slovenia. Halperin also played for the Israeli National Team in the European Championships last year. He's a 6-5 guard who has a great shooting touch with deep range. He most likely won't be drafted, but could still get an opportunity to make an NBA roster.
As always, head coach Nate McMillan was on hand, running the workouts on Thursday. He was interviewed after the workouts and is keeping his cards very close to his vest, as he should. Reporters constantly ask Nate if he has settled on who he would like to select on Wednesday, and he continues to say "you can't think like that, because we just don't know who will be available when we select."
This draft is not getting any more predictable as we're approaching the big day. It's pretty amazing that we still don't really know who is going number one. The Toronto Raptors continue to say they are not set on who they'll take with the top pick, or even if they'll keep it. However, today they did make it official, and hired one of the top general managers in Europe, Maurizio Gherardini. I shared this with you in this blog well over a month ago. This is leading everyone to speculate that the Raptors will indeed select Andrea Bargnani, who has a history with Gherardini. Gherardini was the general manager of Bennetton Treviso, one of the most successful teams in the Euro League. The Raptors have hired him to be their vice president and assistant general manager.
Some mock drafts around the country are not so convinced the Raptors will take Bargnani number one, and some say they're leaning towards LaMarcus Aldridge, who worked out for the Blazers earlier this week. Aldridge has been extremely impressive in his workouts and has a tremendous upside. And, best of all, he's a terrific guy off the court.
Lastly, moving away from the NBA for a moment, what a tremendous win by Oregon State in the College World Series last night. I can't recall being this into a sporting event, perhaps ever. I haven't missed a single pitch of an Oregon State game. Yes, I went to OSU, but this is just an incredible story. The Beavers now will play North Carolina in a best-of-three series for the national championship. The most amazing part of all of this is that coach Pat Casey is doing this with mostly kids from Oregon and the Northwest. That makes this truly unique.
True, the Beavers and Ducks have had big-time national success in football in the past five or six years, but not with players predominantly from this area. This just doesn't happen. This is one of those special teams that may simply never come along again, and even if it does, there's nothing like the first time. I can't wait for Saturday night. I even have several close friends who are die-hard Ducks fans, and they're into this. They justify the crossover by saying the Ducks don't have a baseball team, and that makes it okay. Hey, whatever works for you. This is a story that has cut through that stuff. Go Beavs!
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I know this is a longshot but I think it may be possible, Trade Steve Blake and the # 4 pick to toronto for the #1 pick and draft Lamarcus Aldridge, Then trade Travis Outlaw and Juan Dixson to Charolete for the # 3 pick and Draft Adam Morrison
Well here comes another draft. The possibilities of a young high schooler are not there. If I were the GM, this is what I would be thinking. I would try to spin a trade to get a big name player with our 4th pick, because we don't need anymore young talent. KG wants out of Minnisota. WE needs an electric player to bring a fan boost, and someone to help us to the playoffs. Try to make a Zach Randolph and the 4th round pick for KG. It gives ZB a new start, KG a new start, no more young talent, and puts the "RIP" back into RIP CITY. I'm a diehard fan, and I want our team to succeed.
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