Portland Trail Blazers host Dort, Ponds and more at predraft workout

With the 2019 NBA Draft just around the corner, the Portland Trail Blazers brought in a haul of college talent in search for a potential sleeper pick.

Yesterday the Portland Trail Blazers hosted their first predraft workout in search of late first-round potential among this crop of draftees. Equipped with only no. 25 overall and no second-round draft picks, the Blazers will want to ensure they get as much value as possible by selecting a high potential player.

Though as any savvy general manager would have you know, sometimes it’s not entirely about who you find in the draft. With the rising success of the G League, it’s important to also sniff out underdeveloped players that may not catch the scouts attention. The G League allows high potential players to be able to showcase their abilities in a few years of a professional basketball setting without committing draft stock to a long-term project.

Perhaps someone from yesterday’s group made a strong impression. The entire list of players that were a part of the private workout can be found below.

• Luguentz Dort, Guard, Arizona State
• Shamorie Ponds, Guard, St. John’s
• Jaylen Hoard, Forward, Wake Forest
• Jeremiah Martin, Guard, Memphis
• Markis McDuffie, Forward, Wichita State
• Amir Hinton, Guard, Shaw University

Of this bunch, only Lu Dort is mocked to go in the first-round or late second-round. Dort’s elite athleticism, quick first-step and ability driving to the rim make him a treat to watch every time he has the ball in his hands. If he can fix his jump shot and learn to play in a complex offensive scheme, he could quickly become and NBA mainstay.

Shamorie Ponds and Jaylen Hoard are also two players projected to potentially be drafted in the second-round. Ponds impressed many with his display at the NBA Draft Combine. Hitting 100 percent of his shots from the top of the key and at least 80 percent of his shots from four other areas of the court, Ponds proved he can contribute as a knock down shooter off the bench.

Sporting a lengthy 7-foot-1 wingspan, Hoard has a lot of potential on the defensive end. With a body that looks born to play basketball, Hoard projects as a younger, cheaper version of current Blazer Moe Harkless.

Jeremiah Martin, Markis McDuffie and Amir Hinton all present interesting options to further pursue if they aren’t picked up in the draft. Hinton especially might go underlooked for playing at a Division-II school, where he averaged 29.4 points per game. If Hinton’s workout was half as electrifying as his highlight reel, he’d make a great addition to the Summer League roster should he continue flying under the radar.

With not much time remaining to finish this year’s draft class, every workout invitation could be a make-or-break moment for these athletes. The Portland Trail Blazers are clearly doing their due diligence and trying to improve the team. Only time will tell if any of these athletes will one day don a Blazers uniform.