Suns 2010 pre-draft workouts

[Griffin]

The Suns have brought 32 players for pre-draft workouts. They hold the 46th (from Charlotte) and 60th (from Cleveland, last overall) picks in this year's draft, but most of the players they have seen are not expected to be drafted at all. Then again, last year the Suns drafted Taylor Griffin who wasn't expected to be drafted by anyone either.

Here's a list of players who visited Phoenix, including their DraftExpress' Top 100 Prospects ranking (players in top 60 shown in bold):

Kyle Gibson		G	Louisiana Tech		-
Pablo Aguilar		F	Spain			-	pulled out
Gavin Edwards		F	Connecticut		-
[B]Aubrey Coleman		G	Houston			51[/B]
Osiris Eldridge		G	Illinois State		-
Perry Stevenson		F	Kentucky		-
Andy Rautins		G	Syracause		85

[B]Mikhail Torrance	G	Alabama			34[/B]
Jeremy Wise		G	Southern Miss/D-League	88
A.J. Slaughter		G	Western Kentucky	76
Matt Janning		G	Northeastern		-
Magnum Rolle		F	Louisiana Tech		-
Jeremy Evans		F	Western Kentucky	-

Ryan Thompson		G	Rider			93
Hamady N'diaye		C	Rutgers			80
[B]Art Parakhouski		C	Radford			37[/B]
Anthony Mason Jr.	F	St. John's		-
[B]Jerome Jordan		C	Tulsa			48[/B]
Tyren Johnson		F	Louisiana-Lafayette	78

Reggie Delk		G	Louisville		-
[B]Latavious Williams	F	HS/D-League		52[/B]
Nic Wise		G	Arizona			-
Deon Thompson		F	North Carolina		79
Kyle Gibson		G	Louisiana Tech		-	2nd visit
Michael Roll		G	UCLA			-

Landry Fields		F	Stanford		81
Mac Koshwal		F	DePaul			62
Marquis Gilstrap	F	Iowa			92
Gavin Edwards		F	Connecticut		-

Jon Scheyer		G	Duke			71
Marquez Haynes		G	Texas-Arlington		-
Thomas Heurtel		G	France			77
Kyle Gibson		G	Louisiana Tech		-	3rd visit
Dwayne Collins		F	Miami			63

Btw, Ryan Thompson is Jason Thompson's brother, so there is a good chance the Suns will draft him.

http://www.nba.com/suns/news/workouts_draft_100617.html
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2010/06/11/20100611phoenix-suns-draft-workout.html
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/sun.../20100618phoenix-suns-draft-preparations.html

 

[AzStevenCal]

Btw, Ryan Thompson is Jason Thompson's brother, so there is a good chance the Suns will draft him.

Is he a pale shadow of his brother (as a player)? If so the odds go way up that we'll draft him.

Steve

 

[Mainstreet]

I'm still not sure why the Suns drafted Taylor Griffin. He may yet turn out to have a career in the NBA but why not gamble on a position of need like a backup PG or a big man. IMO, SF is the easiest position to fill in the NBA. A J Price and Patrick Mills would have been worth the look at PG. Also Tolliver seemed to be bouncing around last season before GS picked him up not to mention Dwayne Jones who, if picked up earlier, might have helped the Suns upfront. The Suns likely shined up Griffin's game only to release him.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I'm still not sure why the Suns drafted Taylor Griffin.

Yeah, I wonder why they drafted him also. I keep hoping that they saw something in him they considered developable (I might have just made that word up?). It seems highly unlikely but they definitely saw something in Robin Lopez that many of us missed (that's us with a capital ME).

Steve

 

[PhxGametime]

I really like Tyren Johnson but I need to watch the rest of game. Jerome Jordan is a nice Prospect at the 5, would like to see his measurements. Hamady N'diaye is a nice shotblocker (reminds me of Dalembert). Gavin Edwards would be a hustle player ala Amundson. Magnum Rolle is long and would fit well.


Mikhail Torrance would be a nice fit alongside Dragic or Barbosa; the games I had of him, Teams played zone against Alabama though but looked capable of playing the 1 and 2. Torrance would be a steal at #46. I've watched the Alabama/Baylor game quite a few times (to watch Ekpe Udoh) and both JaMychal Green and Torrance impressed alot.


Hopefully the Suns bring in Jarvis Varnado PF Mississippi State; Jerome Dyson G Connecticut; Charles Garcia PF Seattle; and Bryan Davis PF Texas A&M.

 

[elindholm]

Btw, Ryan Thompson is Jason Thompson's brother, so there is a good chance the Suns will draft him.

LOL, I'm not sure whether you intended that to be a joke, but it's funny either way.

 

[Irish]

LOL, I'm not sure whether you intended that to be a joke, but it's funny either way.

Maybe this is part of a secret plan to draft people RELATED to someone good. Why didn't we think of this?

 

[Griffin]

LOL, I'm not sure whether you intended that to be a joke, but it's funny either way.

Yeah, I was joking, but it wouldn't surprise me one bit if it actually happened. Thompson is not projected to be drafted in any of the mock drafts I've seen so that's also a good sign the Suns might grab him. In fact, since we have two second round picks this year, we might even draft him twice

 

[Folster]

I'd love if we could snag Jarvis Varnado from Mississippi State. Nbadraft.net has him projected to go in the middle of the 2nd round right before the Suns pick. He would easily be a replacement for Lou if he leaves for more money. He's a long 6'9", but only 210 lbs. Despite his small frame, he led the NCAA in blocks for the past two years and has a knack for rebounding. He averaged 13.8 pts, 10.3 rbs. and 4.7 bpg his senior year. If he adds another 20 or more lbs and develops more of an offensive game, he could be a real force and a steal in the middle of the second round. You can't ask for much more from where the Suns are picking.

http://www.nbadraft.net/players/jarvis-varnado

edit: Varnado was actually second to Marshall's Hassan Whiteside in blocks this past season.

 

[Mainstreet]

Varnado will seem to be a good selection after reading his write-up on nbadraftnet if he were still on the board at #46.

I'm still fuming over the Suns selling the 2005 second round pick (#57) which turned out to be Marcin Gortat. Anyone recall a player being selected at #60 that made an NBA team and stuck? I know in yesteryear (when their were multiple rounds) there were some very late picks that had NBA careers.

 

[Irish]

Obviously, Gortat was not on most team's radar.

D'Antoni hated rookies and Gortat was pretty raw. In any case, 2005 had a lot of 2nd guys worth taking (it would have been worth trading up)

Brandon Bass
CJ Miles
Ronny Turiaf
Monta Ellis
Louis Williams
Blatche
Gomes
Amir Johnson

There were almost as many hits in the 2nd round as in any year in recent memory

 

[Griffin]

Another workout was held yesterday, with two more coming up.

Saturday's Suns draft workout included Louisville guard Reggie Delk (Tony's nephew), D-League forward Latavious Williams, Arizona guard Nic Wise, North Carolina forward Deon Thompson, Louisiana Tech guard Kyle Gibson and UCLA guard Michael Roll.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/sun...uns-first-round-draft-pick.html#ixzz0rREnN7N5

The most notable player on Saturday was Williams who was the first player to go to the D-League directly from high school rather than go to college for a year.

 

[Irish]

Another workout was held yesterday, with two more coming up.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/sun...uns-first-round-draft-pick.html#ixzz0rREnN7N5

The most notable player on Saturday was Williams who was the first player to go to the D-League directly from high school rather than go to college for a year.

Here's more on Williams:

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Latavious-Williams-5681/

http://www.nbadraft.net/players/latavious-williams

 

[binkar]

Another workout was held yesterday, with two more coming up.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/sun...uns-first-round-draft-pick.html#ixzz0rREnN7N5

The most notable player on Saturday was Williams who was the first player to go to the D-League directly from high school rather than go to college for a year.

When are the other two? Any news on who will be there?

 

[Lefty]

I would hope the Suns look at DaSean Butler.

 

[slinslin]

I would hope the Suns look at DaSean Butler.

I hope not, he has no NBA game in my opinion and his knees are already done.

 

[Black Jesus]

Andy Rautins was the best player on Syracuse last season.

 

[Superbone]

Varnado will seem to be a good selection after reading his write-up on nbadraftnet if he were still on the board at #46.

I'm still fuming over the Suns selling the 2005 second round pick (#57) which turned out to be Marcin Gortat. Anyone recall a player being selected at #60 that made an NBA team and stuck? I know in yesteryear (when their were multiple rounds) there were some very late picks that had NBA careers.

Alvin Scott! 7th round.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Andy Rautins was the best player on Syracuse last season.

Wesley Johnson fans might put up a decent argument here.

Steve

 

[Russ Smith]

I'd love if we could snag Jarvis Varnado from Mississippi State. Nbadraft.net has him projected to go in the middle of the 2nd round right before the Suns pick. He would easily be a replacement for Lou if he leaves for more money. He's a long 6'9", but only 210 lbs. Despite his small frame, he led the NCAA in blocks for the past two years and has a knack for rebounding. He averaged 13.8 pts, 10.3 rbs. and 4.7 bpg his senior year. If he adds another 20 or more lbs and develops more of an offensive game, he could be a real force and a steal in the middle of the second round. You can't ask for much more from where the Suns are picking.

http://www.nbadraft.net/players/jarvis-varnado

edit: Varnado was actually second to Marshall's Hassan Whiteside in blocks this past season.

I wouldn't expect Varnado to develop much on offense, he just doesn't have the feel for it offensively. Brings the ball down too much, doesn't do much well other than dunk it. Completely baffled by double teams etc.

But he's a lot like Theo Ratliff defensively in that he plays much bigger than he is. Ratliff got it done with quick leaping ability, Varnado is more about timing. He's uncanny how he stays down until the last split second and then blocks the shot. Long arms, huge hands, saw him play 4-5 times last season he really changes games. Against UK the big bodies of Cousins and Patterson gave him problems he got in foul trouble, but he still had 7 blocks in the 2 games and alters a lot of shots too.

I'm sure he'll fill out as he gets older but he doesn't look like a guy who's ever going to really bulk up.

I think he'll find a spot in the NBA and stick, he seems to be a good kid who works hard and will understand what his role is and won't complain about not getting more shots.

 

[Black Jesus]

Wesley Johnson fans might put up a decent argument here.

Steve

Huge fan of Wesley Johnson (I'm from Syracuse), but anyone who watched 75% of their games knows that it was Rautins that often played the point, hit the big shot (And deeeeep shots), and led the team in Assists and steals.

He is not a superb athlete, but he can shoot, plays smart and surprises you on D.

Wesley is a physical freak that can shoot and jump.

Wesley will be a better NBA player, but there should be a roster spot somewhere for Rautins as he reminds me of JJ Redick with vision.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Huge fan of Wesley Johnson (I'm from Syracuse), but anyone who watched 75% of their games knows that it was Rautins that often played the point, hit the big shot (And deeeeep shots), and led the team in Assists and steals.

He is not a superb athlete, but he can shoot, plays smart and surprises you on D.

Wesley is a physical freak that can shoot and jump.

Wesley will be a better NBA player, but there should be a roster spot somewhere for Rautins as he reminds me of JJ Redick with vision.

I mostly agree. I watch a lot of college ball and I'm aware of how important Rautins was to Syracuse. He reminds me more of a poor man's Derek Fisher type (when he first came out) than any former Dukie but that might be my Blue Devil hatred. I've spent the last 20 years trying to balance out Dick Vitale. I never mention anyone from Duke by name in an effort to offset his need to constantly mention them. It's been a losing battle but one worth fighting.

I think Rautins could have a decent NBA career if he can land someplace like Utah. He works hard and often seems to be involved in the big plays. His lack of quickness and his inability to penetrate relegate him to role player status but he's got the head and heart part necessary to make it. He'll have to improve his shot selection a bit though as he often took some unnecessary shots the last 2 years (too deep and too early). I'd bring him in for summer league play but I don't think I'd draft him until end of 2nd round if at all.

Steve

 

[Mainstreet]

So what are the Suns doing to improve their position in the draft? Probably nothing. The Suns should be exploring moving up in the second round or possibly even exploring purchasing a first or a second round pick.

I guess what caught my eye is that GS traded their #34 pick to Portland for their 44th pick plus money. Are the Suns, particularly Sarver, trying to do anything to help the team. I guess the Suns will make a low ball pitch to Amare next week in Chicago. This is not looking good. The Suns seem set to just let him walk for nothing.

If the Suns have a plan going forward to improve the Suns I would like to hear it. Instead I get the feeling the Suns are just going through the motions. The Suns just seem to keep quiet and let the fans play a guessing game. I'm just not sensing any leadership from what is left of the Suns FO.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...golden-state-portland-swap-second-round-picks

 

[binkar]

Chad Ford's mock today has us taking Stanley Robinson at 46, and Mikhail Torrance at 60. I would do back handsprings in the street, and I know for a fact I can't do back handsprings.

 

[Mainstreet]

IMO, it's not going to happen that way.

Stanley Robinson is slated to go #35 per NBADraftnet so he may not be available. Torrance would be interesting if he fell to #60. However, if the Suns want Torrance or Stanley they better grab him at #46. What the Suns really need is another big man. What's the draft plan for that happening....