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Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Workout time!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Finally, we’re getting out of the guessing stage and into the observation stage. The Hawks have a flurry of workouts scheduled for next week, several group workouts that should be quite revealing for the Hawks (no, the media will not be allowed inside for the entire session. So we’ll have to work our sources to find out who did what).
I have to admit, I’m not as big a believer in these individual workouts being all that telling, particularly if they’re done without the added dose of competition.
Years ago I snuck off from the Chicago predraft camp with several NBA types to watch the workout of Pavel Podkolzine, the 7-4 Russian giant that had intrigued international scouts for years. He put on a one-man show that had as many as 300 people (including I remember just about every GM you could imagine) in awe.
People walked out of the place shaking their heads, thinking this guy is the future of big men. He was flying up and down the floor and finishing at the rim with authority. He showed off a nice outside stroke and even handled the ball decently for a man his size. I was believing the hype by the end of the workout, too, it didn’t matte that he was doing all this against imaginary defenders. “How could anybody not use a lottery pick on this dude,” I said to another reporter that was with me. “He’s a 300-pound nightmare for the NBA. He’s going to be a star.”
An executive in Indiana (I was working in Indy back then) tried to talk me off that ledge on the spot. “Calm down young fella,” he said. “Don’t let this workout fool you. This kid can’t play in the NBA. He’s terrible.” But I wasn’t having any of that. I know what my eyes told me. So two days after the camp buzz had ended and your senses have calmed down a bit, that executive invited me into his office to watch some game tape of Pavel so I could make a more informed assessment of his NBA prospects.
He turned it on and tons of little guys were flying around the floor and some 15 seconds later (it might have been half that but it seemed like 15 seconds) my man Pavel came lumbering into the frame. The rest of the game was moving around him at warp speed and the Bear was moving in that Matrix slow motion. It was awful. But the point was made. You need more than a one-hour workout to make an informed opinion about whether or not a guy can give you what you need. (Pavel ended up backing out of the draft that year because of a medical issue, came back later and was drafted late in the first round, the Mavs traded for him and he never found his niche and is now back in Europe).
The moral to that long, rambling story is this: do you homework before just assuming that an initial impression or a glitzy workout tells you everything you need to know. That’s why teams spend all the time they do scouting players the way they do. (Now they just have to make sure that the ultimate decision makers - be it the GM, owners or whoever) listen to the people whose livelihood depends on making good assessments of these players.
Good grief, I said all of that and forgot my main reason for weighing in today. I’ve managed to scramble up some names and dates for workouts next week that should prove interesting (things could change, from what I understand, but as of now this is what the Hawks’ workout slate looks like):
Wednesday, June 20 Acie Law, Javaris Crittenton and Jamon Gordon will work out in a point guard party that morning. Brandan Wright is set for a solo session in the afternoon.
Friday, June 22 Joakim Noah is slated for a solo session that morning.
Saturday, June 23 Rodney Stuckey is slated for a solo session that morning.
Monday, June 25 Al Horford is slated for a solo session in the morning followed by Mike Conley Jr. in a solo session in the afternoon.
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