The Draft: T-Minus 6 Days

Hello, again, Grizzlies fans. I hope this post finds you well. With an NBA Finals Game 7 and the NBA Draft in the same 7-day span, I sure am feeling good. As a Grizzlies fan, however, my focus is more on the Draft than the playoffs. Will we trade all (or any) of our picks? If we keep the 12th pick, who will we take? Will potential first-rounders keep snubbing our workouts (see: Hayward, Gordon; Bledsoe, Eric; George, Paul; Udoh, Ekpe; Sanders, Larry)? Thanks to GrizzLife, however, you have answers to those questions. Are they the right answers? Who knows...



Will we trade our picks?



For weeks, basketball insiders have quietly assumed that the Grizzlies would likely keep the 12th pick and package the 25th and 28th picks in a deal. Sources close to the team have indicated, however, that if the Grizzlies front office finds a player they truly like at any of those positions, they will keep the pick. I agree.



Owner Michael Heisley and GM Chris Wallace have indicated that the 12th pick would be used to draft either an athletic forward or a scoring guard. With the 25th and 28th picks, the Grizzlies are searching for a 1) backup to point guard Mike Conley and 2) a wildcard player that team executives like.



Bottom line: I bet we keep the 12th pick and trade either the 25th or 28th pick. Who would we package in that trade? That's difficult to say, but Carroll or Thabeet are certainly options. This morning, Commercial Appeal reporter Ronald Tillery reported that the Grizzlies are in talks with the New Orleans Hornets about a possible trade involving Hornets' point guards Chris Paul or Darren Collison. It is not clear who or what the Grizzlies would give up to get these players, but I would be thrilled with either one.



If we keep the 12th pick, who will we take?



All the evidence points to the Grizzlies going after an athletic forward or an electrifying guard with the 12th overall pick. Regarding my previous post, the Grizzlies are unlikely to take Baylor's Ekpe Udoh. He snubbed the Grizzlies in a June 16th workout and is falling on many draft boards. Additionally, Nevada's Luke Babbit, once thought to be the frontrunner for the 12th pick, is not so anymore. A colleague who attended Babbit's workout for the Grizzlies said that he seemed lazy and disinterested. Additionally, he was the first one in the group to run out gas. However, that will likely not deter the Grizzlies from taking him, since he compiled an outstanding season for Nevada.



That said, who is on the Grizzlies' radar now? Two shooting guards who worked out Sunday, Kansas' Xavier Henry and Oklahoma State's James Anderson, were very impressive in their workouts and Memphis management was excited about both of them. "We were pleased with what these guys did," said Tony Barone, director of player personell.

And although they have snubbed the Grizzlies in recent workouts, Gordon Hayward and Paul George are thought to be good fits for the Grizzlies at the small forward position. Despite his unwillingness to work out for the team last year, Hasheem Thabeet was still selected by the Grizzlies. The lesson, as always, with the Grizzlies: don't count anything out.

Will potential first-rounders keep snubbing the Grizzlies in workouts?

After several private workout sessions, the number of players refusing to work out for the Grizzlies is growing: Gordon Hayward, Eric Bledsoe, Ekpe Udoh, Larry Sanders and Avery Bradley have all pulled out of workouts for various reasons. Hayward cited a staunch refusal to play for the team while Bledsoe, Udoh and Sanders provided weak "medical" excuses for their absence. Only Bradley seems to have a legitimate ailment (an ankle injury).

With only one workout remaining before Thursday's draft, all indications are that those players will participate. Kentucky's Patrick Patterson (who is a viable option at the #12 spot), West Virginia's Devan Ebanks and Ole Miss' Terrico White (who happens to hail from Memphis) are the players featured in Sunday's workout.

Hopefully they do participate and the Grizzlies will be able to make a more informed decision about their three picks. This is an important draft for a young, rebuilding team and it would be devestating if we blew it.

Here's hoping we don't,
Owen