Draft Workout (6/16/08): Anthony Randolph, Darrell Arthur, Courtney Lee

The Grizzlies staff returned from California with another scheduled workout today. This was my first time attending a workout, so my perspective comes from a first time up close observation. Today's workout included Anthony Randolph of LSU, Darrell Arthur of national champion Kansas, Courtney Lee from Western Kentucky, Will Daniels of Rhode Island, Shan Foster of Vanderbilt and Jeremy Crouch of Bradley.

Here are my initial impressions:

Anthony Randolph, LSU
If you read any of my post on the Grizzlies board, then you know that I like Randolph as a player. The first thing you notice is that he does need to add some pounds to have any chance of playing on the inside in the NBA. However, it looks like he will be able to naturally add weight over time. Randolph's explosive athleticism showed through out the workout as he routinely finished off drills with dunks. He did show some of his versatility with his ball handling and he made some great passes in traffic. The one thing that stuck out through all of the shooting drills is that his jump shot is not as far off as I expected. He has decent form for a lefty but just needs to work on a consistent follow through on his shots. Now it wasn't all positive with Randolph. He was a little passive for my liking. He always seemed to be in cruise control even in live drills. He did not fight for rebounding position, attack strong off the bounce, or move with a purpose without the ball in his hand. He just seemed a little lackadaisical. You have to remember that Randolph is almost a full year younger than most in this class and the team that drafts him will be taking a leap of faith of sorts that he will work to maximize his enormous potential.

Darrell Arthur, Kansas
Arthur was my dark horse from last year. His versatile post game and offensive talent always impressed me. Today it seems that he came ready to work. He gave very good effort offensively and defensively throughout the workout. The first thing I noticed with Arthur was that he plays with power. He also did very well in the shooting drills. He nailed a fair amount of elbow jumpers during the drills. He also gave a lot of hustle and his handle was good for his position. He seems like he has a future as one of those solid but not spectacular power forwards in the NBA. He can score, rebound, defend, and block shots. The only question about him was his inconsistent production while in college. If he proves to be a consistent in the NBA then he could be one of the sleepers in this draft. He has very low bust potential and a fairly high ceiling as he good be an offensive post option for a team in the future.

Courtney Lee, Western Kentucky
Hands down the most impressive player in the workout. Lee showed great explosion throughout the drills and especially in live action. He consistently got rebounds and finished plays in traffic. He also showed a great jump shot even when pushed through long drills. He just seemed to have a lot of competitiveness in his game today. Picked up on drills fast and executed well. Looks like he will be able to help an NBA team immediately off the bench offensively and defensively. After watching him today and hearing this was his 10th workout, I doubt he will be available at 28 depending upon who stays and goes today. If he does drop into the second round then some team is going to get a real good player for next to nothing.

Shan Foster, Vanderbilt
Foster is well known to Memphis fans after getting to watch him star as a senior in the SEC. Shan was probably one of the best shooters in college last season. Transitioning to the NBA is going to be difficult for Foster. He lacks the explosiveness to thrive on the wings in the NBA and it showed during this workout. He also struggles to create separation off the dribble. Foster might have a long career in Europe ahead of him as his size and shot will be a big asset. Overseas his lack of athleticism and ball handling won't be as big a problem. He will get drafted but I don't see him sticking in the NBA very long.

Will Daniels, Rhode Island
Projected to go undrafted, Daniels showed some decent skill and promise. He will likely get an invite by some team to summer league and spend a few seasons in the NBADL. I am not sure he has the size, skill and position match to make it on an NBA roster but he will probably get several chances.

Jeremy Crouch, Bradley
Crouch showed off a nice shot in the workouts but does not have the game to make a career in the NBA.

Other Grizzlies Draft NewsThe Grizzlies were able to get private workouts with Danilo Gallinari and Brook Lopez while in California. I got the impression from Barone that Gallinari was real impressive and I already understand that Chris Wallace does like him. Also, I don't think the Grizzlies would have a problem drafting Gallinari and getting him signed. Barone referenced Lopez as an "old school, big center" with good hands and surprising quickness. He also said that Lopez is definitely a center only. I seriously don't think Lopez is an option for the Grizzlies with Gasol hopefully coming on board.

Number Five is Alive!

A few thoughts on the draft lottery, if you will.

I know that several fans are unhappy with the results of Tuesday night's NBA Draft Lottery. I'm not among them. In fact, when Chip asked me what my preference was prior to the lottery taking place, I told him that I wanted the #2 or #5 pick. My reasoning for the #2 is simple and should be obvious: With the #2 pick, the Grizzlies get to select whoever remains from Michael Beasley/Derrick Rose. I know that most teams (other than Minnesota, who doesn't need a PF like Beasley) would be happy with either of those players, despite what Pat Riley has intimated about trading the pick if Derrick Rose isn't there (total poppycock, by the way -- more on that later).

If the Grizzlies had been fortunate enough to receive that pick, then the decision would have effectively been made for them, similar to how Seattle recently wound up with Kevin Durant, after Portland selected Greg Oden #1 overall. Of course, having the #1 pick would have had a lot of extra pressure given that Derrick Rose is Memphis' favorite son after leading the Tigers to the national title game less than two months ago. The Grizzlies selected Mike Conley with the #4 pick last year and took Kyle Lowry with the #24 pick the year before that, so they have some quality PG's already on the roster. At the risk of drawing Zack's ire, I'll also mention that both Javaris Crittenton and Juan Carlos Navarro are capable of filling in at PG if needed, in my opinion. So if there is one position that the Grizzlies shouldn't be looking at when assessing their draft needs, Point Guard is that area. I know that some people will clamor that there is no way you can pass up a "potential Hall of Famer" just because you have a good, young player already at that position. I agree with that stance -- I just disagree that Derrick Rose fits that label. (Ducking beer bottles being chucked at me by Tiger fans everywhere.) My evaluation of Rose is that he will be a great player in the league for the next decade, but I do not believe that he will be the Top 5 player overall that so many fans have rated him to be already. I'll gladly go point-by-point on his strengths and weaknesses in my pre-draft rankings that will be coming soon, so save your howls and jeers for that future post.

Now that we have that out of the way, let me explain why I wanted the #5 pick, instead of the #3 or #4. There are two players currently being rated in the Top 10 by many draft sites and experts that scare the ever-lovin' crap out of me: Brook Lopez and O.J. Mayo. I said in a previous post that when I look at Brook Lopez, I see a solid starter, but nothing special -- certainly nothing transcendent that is worthy of a top five selection. Lopez's game is based upon achieving great positioning around the basket. He was able to do that in college due to having superior size to many of his opponents, but the NBA is full of guys that are every bit as big and strong as he is. He won't be Michael Olowokandi, Eric Montross, Cherokee Parks or Jerome James, as he does possess some quality basketball skills, but he's not going to be David Robinson either. I see him being a solid big man like Zydrunas Ilgauskas as a best case scenario. If he can concentrate on rebounding and develop the wide range of offensive moves that Big Z has, then he could wind up matching his career averages of 14.5 ppg and 7.9 rpg, which is a very solid career indeed.

I also said that when I look at O.J. Mayo, I see Steve Francis. Stevie Franchise was a great player at one time -- but he was never a "winner". He put up tremendous stats for the first 7 seasons of his career, but the fact remains that Houston got markedly better and Orlando got noticeably worse after the Francis for McGrady trade. I see several of the same attributes in Mayo that I witnessed in Francis, both in terms of skillset and personality. With the right mix of players and coaches surrounding him, Mayo could turn out to be a tremendous, MVP-level player. But unless that "perfect scenario" happens, I don't see it happening and would rather not have this franchise set back by making the wrong choice with another high lottery pick. We already selected Steve Francis once -- remember?

Earlier, I said that Riley's assertion that he would be open to trading the pick if Rose wasn't available, because "they have a pretty good PF" already was ludicrous. Here's why: Shawn Marion is a great all-around player, let there be no doubt about that. Even if he doesn't opt out of the last year of his contract, Shawn Marion just turned 30 years old this month and there have been whispers about his athleticism starting to wane, which is a very bad thing for a player whose game is predicated on being more athletic than an overwhelming majority of his opponents. Furthermore, why wouldn't a team want to take the talented Michael Beasley, who appears to be capable of playing either forward position, meaning that the Heat could trot out Wade/Beasley/Marion in the same lineup if they desired. Of course, I fully expect the Chicago Bulls to take Beasley at #1 overall, so Miami will likely get the player they appear to covet, which will (as usual) render all my ramblings meaningless. The point is, either Pat Riley is full of mularkey or he truly has gone insane and believes that he'll be able to duplicate what the Boston Celtics did this past offseason in turning the worst team in the Eastern Conference into a title contender practically overnight. At this juncture, I'd make that bet a 50-50 proposition, since the hair gel has to be affecting his brain waves by now.

Rest assured, we'll have plenty of player evaluations, mock drafts and the always entertaining "what Team X should do/what Team X will do" posts for the next month. And, of course, I'll be sure to talk endlessly about who I think the Grizzlies should select with each pick or if they might be better off trading down. Make sure to vote in the polls on the right-hand sidebar so that we know who you think the "right" pick is and, as always, let me know what you think in the Comments.