Draft workout notes: A.J. Hammons, Michael Gbinije, and more

The Toronto Raptors held their latest set of pre-draft workouts with media availability on Tuesday. Raptors Republic wasn’t on hand on account of the matinee at Rogers Centre, but we’ve still got you covered.

The workout brought another six names in and, as you’re probably tired of hearing at this point, few are even on the radar at No. 27. There remains value in such workouts in the event a second-round pick is acquired, or for the purposes of filling out a summer league or D-League roster (or just for general due diligence and information gathering), and the Raptors are growing comfortable in their options with their second first-round selection, should they keep it.

Still, there’s a reason these names were brought in nine days out from the draft, however set Toronto’s board is.

“It was a really high-level workout,” assistant general manager Dan Tolzman said, suggesting that some of these names could be on the draft radar for the team. “There were a number of really interesting prospects out there today of all different positions, so it was a good overall look at some of the players we’re definitely gonna be considering with our picks.”

At this point in the process, not only is the staff likely exhausted, but some players are into the double-digits for workouts. Higher picks get to choose their spots a little more, working out only for teams that can improve their draft stock or holding agency workouts, but bubble first-rounders and fringe draft picks work the circuit aggressively. That presents both a challenge and an opportunity from the Raptors’ perspective.

“It’s definitely something where, I talk with coaches every morning, we definitely want to see the guys get out there and play through fatigue, but at the same time, we don’t want to kill them,” Tolzman said. “We don’t want to burn them out, because it ruins the workout. So we definitely want to kind of pace them, and toward the end of the workout give them some more conditioning and see how they fight through it.”

The player in this group who would have the most justified excuse for fatigue also happened to be the one showing more energy than just about anyone else: Michael Gbinije, the Syracuse product who was on his 12th (!!) workout. He’s not using that excuse, though, calling the challenge “a lot of fun.” (He also sees the Raptors as being “one step away,” so he’s after your heart.)

Player Notes

Here’s the full list of players who attended the workout:

David Walker
Chad Ford Rank: 84, DraftExpress Rank: Unranked

A potential combo-guard out of Northeastern, Walker really hasn’t generated much buzz, or even information, in the lead-up to the draft. His production will speak to his talent to a certain extent, and the 3-point stroke he showed in three of his four seasons would be an important weapon for him as a spot-up threat at the next level, though he looked comfortable running the pick-and-roll, too. He’s not unathletic, but he played primarily in zone, leaving questions about his defensive potential, and he could also become passive on offense (maybe not the end of the world if teams see him as a shooting specialist foremost). There might be something here, but he’d probably have to shoot the lights out for a team to get a look after apremature end to his senior year and a poor showing at the Portsmouth Invitational.

Michael Gbinije
Chad Ford Rank: 53, DraftExpress Rank: 53

If you were listing prospects that line up with the Raptors’ ethos based on strengths, Gbinije fits the bill as a 24-year-old senior and a versatile, multi-position defender. Not only can he guard three spots, but he can also function as a secondary ball-handler from the wing and is a plus-passer, owing to his strong court awareness and vision off the bounce. He’s also shown a strong spot-up shooting stroke, hitting over 39 percent of his threes over the last two seasons, even as his role and the attention he received increased.

There are issues, however, projecting from his college performance. Not only was Gbinije older than most other college prospects, he comes from a Syracuse system that’s notoriously difficult to extrapolate defense from (they play heavy zone, and the track record of Orange defenders is spotty at best), and his free-throw shooting suggests his 3-point range may not capable extend to the NBA line. Without great length, he’ll have to hope that his athleticism – nobody ran a faster three-quarter-court sprint at the combine – and interviews make up for those concerns. And while he’s 24, he doesn’t think he’s reached his ceiling.

“That I’m a winner and I like to get better,” he said. “I like to have fun, as well. That’s, like, my top three things I want people to know about me.”

There’s a lot to like here in terms of skill and personality fit, and the Raptors seem more willing than most to overlook a player’s age if they feel he can come in and be ready to contribute if called upon early. They’ve also shown they’re willing to reach a bit, so it’s tough to rule out even a player ranked in the 50s by the big boards at No. 27.

Alex Poythress
Chad Ford Rank: 54, DraftExpress Rank: 81

A year ago, Poythress’ draft stock may have been higher, had he not tore his ACL as a junior. With questions about his stock due to the injury, he returned for a senior season at Kentucky but didn’t quite look himself for long stretches, even if his numbers were a little better. Now 22, he’s far removed from once being the No. 1 name on Ford’s board (as a freshman), and it’s unclear if the athleticism that made him such a hot name as a multi-positional defender is still there. Ford reported from workouts that Poythress is back to looking “bouncy,” but I wasn’t able to get a read on how he looked Tuesday since I wasn’t in attendance. If that athleticism is back, then Poythress has the length and tools to be a nice, high-upside flier for a team in the second round or as an undrafted signing. There’s just not enough of a high-end offensive track record or history of a jump shot to get him in the conversation at No. 27, I wouldn’t think.

Troy Williams
Chad Ford Rank: 70, DraftExpress Rank: 76

The Indiana junior had at least one fan at Tuesday’s workout, someone who’s been keeping a close eye on him, though not by choice.

“Troy’s my guy,” Gbinije said of the man he’s crossed paths with multiple times now. “Being in so many of these workouts, we’ve developed a relationship. It’s just a good experience, on and off the court.”

What Gbinije has likely seen (he didn’t say) is a supremely athletic wing who has the potential to be a plus defender and a threat in transition. Even with a somewhat limited wingspan (6-foot-8), WIlliams has the size and quickness to guard multiple spots, but a team picking him up will have to be patient, even though he’s 21. Williams was pretty inconsistent over three seasons at Indiana, never really establishing the requisite range to be a 3-and-D prospect and often struggling with his decision making, and he may need a year overseas or in the D-League. Plenty of teams are looking, though – Gbinije estimated Williams has been at “80 percent” of his workouts (so nine or 10), and Williams still has workouts in Milwaukee, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and New York lined up.

Daniel Ochefu
Chad Ford Rank: 121, DraftExpress Rank: Unranked

The biggest thing Ochefu has going for him is his alma mater. If you went to the same school as the team’s star player and have a relationship with him, that’s a heck of a way to get your foot in the door, at least as far as a summer league or camp invite goes. And Ochefu has that as a Villanova product who has a connection with Kyle Lowry calling him a “mentor”), as he explained Tuesday.

Ochefu also brings some intriguing court awareness to pair with solid shot-blocking instincts, elite rebounding, and some pretty good size at the five (he measured with a 7-foot-3 wingspan and at 245 pounds). Even as a senior, though, he proved to be somewhat foul prone and a bit limited offensively, though his high shooting percentage and ability to pass from the block are at least a little intriguing. Ochefu’s probably off the draft radar, but the size and defense alone are enough to think he may eventually be able to fight his way on to a roster.

A.J. Hammons
Chad Ford Rank: 46, DraftExpress Rank: 42

The highest-rated prospect in this workout, it’s tough to get a feel for exactly where Hammons’ stock may sit after he withdrew from the combine in order to pick his workouts more selectively. That he came to Toronto suggests they might have serious interest in him late in the first, and considering how many people I’ve seen tout him as a potential second-round sleeper (including friend of the site Chris Reichert), that would be understandable, particularly since he may fit a need with Bismack Biyombo likely to depart.

Hammons is enormous at 7-feet without shoes and 280 pounds, and he uses that size well to bang in the post at both ends. Combine that with a nice touch around the rim (he shot 87 percent there, per Chad Ford), decent vision from the block, and strong shot-blocking instincts, and there’s a lot to like. There have at times been conditioning issues – he never averaged more than 25 minutes in four seasons – but he’s pretty mobile for someone his size. If those issues are related to motivation and work ethic, as Ford has suggested, the Raptors will certainly find out, considering the value they put on personality. If that checks out, even at 23, Hammons could wind up being a value late in the first or if the team lands a second-round selection. There just aren’t guys that big and skilled, even with his athletic limitations.

Assorted

*The deadline for players to pull out of the draft was yesterday at 5 p.m., so we now know the complete draft pool, particularly as it pertains to European prospects. Among the notables who have pulled out are Mathias Lessort, Alpha Kaba, and DIego Flaccadori.

*I recorded a podcast with Sam Vecenie of CBS Sports yesterday that should drop Wednesday (on his site, not ours). Keep an eye out for that, as we tee up the Raptors offseason and I pick his brain ahead of the draft (he’s a must-follow/read for draft coverage).

*So far, the Raptors have brought in 46 players to BioSteel (only two of who register as potential top-10 picks), and, of course, they’ve surely done some off-site or private workouts that were kept quiet for a reason. They’re expected to hold one more group workout, though it’s unclear if there will be media availability.

*With so few top players coming in, it’s hard to get a handle on who the Raptors may prefer at nine. Of the three main mock drafts, two have the Raptors taking Jakob Poeltl and one Henry Ellenson, but the bigger takeaway from those mocks is that the top eight seems pretty set. That’s something the Raptors seem pretty confident in, too, with a growing sense of at least the group they’ll be selecting from.

“In the nine range, we know who’s likely going to be off the board when we’re picking, and we know who we like in that range,” Tolzman said, though he said there are still steps in the process that remain before putting together a big board. “We don’t really start worrying about order until a few days out.”

I’m sure they’d love for one of the top eight names to slide, because there seems to be a pretty consensus line of delineation there, with the Raptors teeing off the next tier.

*ONE IMPORTANT NOTE ON THIS PROCESS: We’re going to hear a lot of names rumored or reported to be coming in/meeting/working out/etc. I’m not always going to pass them on, especially this early in the process. A lot of it is due diligence and doesn’t mean a ton (Jaylen Brown, for example), and they’re also just low-value posts (“Rumor: Player X to work out”). And sometimes there will be (good) reasons the team doesn’t want the names public. Obviously, feel free to comment and discuss those rumors (Hoops Hype is a good source for rumor aggregation) in the comments/forums, I just may not always throw a post up. Closer to the draft, that information becomes a little more important.