Monday's Workout - A Love Affair

Today's workout had a lot of big men with big names but it was obvious very early that there was only one player worthy of the Grizzlies first draft pick this year.

Kevin Love matched up with DeAndre Jordan, Javale McGee and Joey Dorsey with Jeremy Pargo and Kyle Weaver around to make the drills play like game situations. All of the big men had moments of excellence. DeAndre Jordan looked like a promising player with trememdous talent. His skills weren't off the chart but his raw ability would immediately put him ahead of any true center the Grizzlies have ever suited up. Of course when that list includes such non-luminaries as Darko Milicic, Lorenzen Wright and Jake Tsakalidis that isn't saying a lot. DeAndre Jordan fans are probably going to be disappointed on draft night. He has a big hitch in his shot, was easily pushed around in the paint by Love and really didn't appear to have a good feel for the game.

Javale McGee showed his speed and surprising strength at times but he didn't seem to have the same athleticism nor skills that the other players showed. If I was going to rank the players strictly on what we saw today he would have finished fourth among the big men. Joey Dorsey gave the most shocking performance of the day. Despite looking barely as tall as Kyle Weaver, Joey hit 8 consecutive free throws and that was broken up over 4 different exercises. Everyone was flabbergasted watching Joey hit one after another. He also showed his strength and defensive ability but in the end he just looked too short to be anything more than a bench player in the NBA and while he shot the ball well Memphis knows he is not a threat at all on the offensive end of the court.

Then there was Love. Love showed his skills by draining 7 of 10 three point shots, hit a high percentage of his free throw attempts, made some incredibly nice passes and even showed some better than expected defensive ability. His basketball IQ seemed very sharp as well as he consistently caught on to what the drills called for and what he needed to do to impress. On one timed drill however the athleticism question mark raised its head. The players had 60 seconds to run back and forth to hit shots from the free throw elbow. Hitting 7 of 9 shots was impressive (and the most that any of the big men hit). However he took one fewer attempt than DeAndre Jordan got off and a lot fewer than Jeremy Pargo. The full court drills gave Love the opportunity to show his intelligence making great passes but he usually trailed the plays and never beat anyone down the court.

I came away from the workout with the impression that Love was the best player at the workout by a wide margin but I question his value at #5. Will he be fast enough to play an uptempo style of game? Love made an interesting comment that confirmed that feeling to me. He said "I would love to play here in Memphis and my ability to make the outlet pass should give me a lot of opportunities to watch Rudy Gay finish with a dunk." Watch was the key word for me. He is going to watch those from the other end of the court because I honestly doubt if he will pass the halfcourt line in time.

So from what I have seen Love is an incredible talent and in the right situation will be a very solid player at the worst but in the wrong situation may struggle to keep pace. Assuming that Rose, Beasley, Mayo and Bayless are off the board when the 5th pick comes up I would have no problem taking Kevin Love 5th but I think it would be disappointing for those expecting a major impact player from that pick.

Love mentioned that he worked out yesterday for Miami in case the Heat trade down in the draft. If the rumor about Miami trading their pick is true I hope Memphis steps up to grab it. Love will be a very solid player but I doubt he will be a the type who can really change the fortune of this franchise.

I recommend our readers check out Beyond the Arc, Chris Herrington's excellent blog today to see his comments as well.

The Dorsey Dilemma

Check out those pictures. The absolute embodiment of intensity, intimidation and toughness, isn't it? That's exactly what the Memphis Grizzlies have been missing, haven't they? So Joey Dorsey should be the obvious pick when the Grizzlies selection comes up at #28, right? Well, no....not exactly.

Yesterday, I linked to Geoff Calkins' column where he countered the claims of the local fanbase that the Grizzlies should draft Dorsey based upon his local connection:

So now comes another former Memphis Tiger, Joey Dorsey, available in another NBA Draft. Should the Grizzlies take him with the second of their first-round picks?

Of course they should, if -- and only if -- they think he is the best player available at the time.
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If Dorsey is the best player available at No. 28 -- and he might well be -- then, by all means, take the guy. He's always been a pleasure to cover. He's charming the press again at the Orlando pre-draft camp.
But don't make the pick because he's a Memphis kid.

I agree 100% with that line of reasoning. If he is the best talent available at #28, then the Grizzlies should definitely consider him at that point. He has all the makings of a more dynamic Reggie Evans-like player and a recent post on the Wages of Wins Journal predicts that Dorsey will be a very productive player. I truly believe that if Dorsey lands with the "right team", then he could be a tremendous source of energy and intensity.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure that the Grizzlies are that "right team". While discussing the breakthrough season that Kendrick Perkins has had for the Boston Celtics, I made the case that Perkins made the leap this year due to the presence of Kevin Garnett in the same locker room. Many Grizz fans were bemoaning the fact that yet another "quality player" had slipped through our grasp, but having seen what a difference KG has made in Perk's level of play, I'm convinced that he wouldn't have experienced the same success if he had remained in Memphis, who originally drafted him. Garnett has provided Perkins with a veteran to look up to as a role model, but also acts like a big brother in a fraternity, meaning he'll dress him down in a heartbeat if he feels that it is necessary. That's the real "veteran leadership" that you hear coaches, players and experts talk about in reverent tones when discussing teams who have that special something that is needed to win titles.

Bringing this back to the Grizzlies, the question is: Do the Memphis Grizzlies have that type of veteran leadership? My honest assessment is that they do not. What does this have to do with Joey Dorsey? Well, he has been described by more than one writer/coach/fan as being a "knucklehead". Even though he is a fun-loving, gregarious guy that is beloved in this city, I have to agree with that label. He had trouble staying motivated in college and got into a few scrapes that should have been easily avoided. Taking him with a first round pick means that not only will he stay in the city that was the host to some of his well-publicized transgressions, but that he'll have a guaranteed contract paying him millions of dollars, too. Without having someone to be his "big brother", it is very easy to imagine the trouble that Joey could get himself into. Of course, the idea that a 24-year old needs someone to keep him out of trouble is a little disconcerting to begin with.

Therein lies the issue that the Memphis Grizzlies will have to contemplate if Dorsey is still there when pick #28 comes up. I have heard from plenty of fans that if they hear excuses about not picking "Player X" because of "character issues" then they will hit the roof. I don't know which way the front office is leaning, but it will not be an easy decision. Guess we'll have to wait until June 26th to see how it all plays out.