One of NCAA's all-time leading scorers headlines Utah Jazz's first predraft workout of 2019
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz are certainly one of the more thorough teams in the NBA as far as how they prepare for the annual NBA draft, as they regularly bring in nearly 100 prospects for predraft workouts.
The Jazz held their first workout of 2019 on Saturday at the Zions Bank Basketball Campus, bringing in six prospects more than six weeks before the June 20 draft. As is often the case with the first workout each year, none of the six are expected by draft observers to get selected.
In large part, Jazz brass hope to use the first workout to refine their own process for when higher-profile prospects start coming in closer to the draft.
Utah currently owns the 23rd and 53rd picks of the draft. The draft lottery to determine the top 14 selections will take place on May 14.
"We tweak them every year in terms of what we may want to throw them through," Jazz vice president of player personnel Walt Perrin said after Saturday's workout. "We may tweak it per workout depending on who we've got in. The first one is always one that we want to make sure that we've got everything down pat so the ones we have coming up will be better run."
For Perrin, who spends much of the calendar year traveling to scout prospects, this year's process will be different because of rule changes involving eligibility for underclassmen. In the past, underclassmen could declare for the draft while maintaining their collegiate eligibility until a certain date so long as they didn't hire an agent.
Starting this year, however, prospects can retain the services of an agent to help them schedule workouts with teams but can return to school until a certain date (this year that date is May 29).
Thanks to these changes, a whopping 233 underclassmen have declared for the draft, including five who have played collegiately in the Beehive State. Utah State freshman big man Neemias Queta is one player who has specifically indicated that he would retain an agent but withdraw from the draft in time to maintain college eligibility should he not like the feedback he gets from NBA teams.
Sports Illustrated's Jeremy Woo reported April 30 that Queta has received an invitation to the NBA's draft combine, which will run May 15-19. That invitation is an indication Queta is very much on teams' radars.
"In the past we've had to go through coaches, assistant coaches," Perrin said of how workouts with underclassmen before the withdrawal date were scheduled in the past. "They don't understand the process and they've got their job to do ... should be hopefully an easier process. It'll be a tougher process only because of the numbers."
As far as Saturday's workout was concerned, the most notable name was Chris Clemons. Generously listed at 5-foot-9, Clemons finished his career at Campbell University in North Carolina third on the NCAA's all-time scoring list with 3,225 points. He once scored 51 points in a game and reached at least 40 on five other occasions.
In his eyes, the workout process is about trying to prove that he can do other things besides score in his quest to make the NBA.
"They know I can score the ball," he said. "Scoring's not going to be the problem. It's just trying to piece together the rest of the puzzle, trying to prove that I can be everything that they don't think I can."
Perrin noted Clemons is an excellent shooter and has a body "most of us would love to have," including a long wingspan, but that he needs to add a floater to his scoring repertoire and become more of a pest defensively.
Despite Clemons' size, Perrin feels he does have a chance to become a good defender.
"Depends on how well he takes to coaching wherever he goes, his fundamentals, his discipline," Perrin said. "He's got the length, he's got the strength."
In addition to Clemons, participating in Saturday's workout were Florida wing Jalen Hudson, Oregon State forward Tres Tinkle, Iowa State guard Lindell Wigginton, TCU big man Kevin Samuel and William & Mary big man Nathan Knight.