In their second round of predraft workouts, the Portland Trail Blazers brought in some promising candidates for the No. 25 overall selection.
Portland Trail Blazers‘ president of basketball operations Neil Olshey appears determined to get as much value out of the 2019 NBA Draft as possible, even if Portland only has one selection at their disposal. In their second installment of predraft workouts, the Blazers brought in a mob of guards with aspirations for the league.
Some of the players brought in are legitimate candidates to be the Blazer’s pick at 25, others are promising collegiate players that perhaps need a little more time to showcase their talent in the NBA’s Summer League.
Here is the entire list of players that showcased their abilities in front of Portland’s scouting department:
- Dylan Windler, Guard/Forward, Belmont
- Jalen Lecque, Guard, Brewster Academy (HS)
- Ky Bowman, Guard, Boston College
- Shelton Mitchell, Guard, Clemson
- James Palmer, Guard/Forward, Nebraska
- Stephen Thompson, Guard, Oregon State
Dylan Windler is the highlight player of this group, and the most likely to be selected in the first round of the draft. In his senior season at Belmont, Windler was the engine that made the team run, averaging 21.3 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. More importantly, he shot 42.9 percent from deep while on an enormous sample size of 7.1 attempts per game.
Other teams knew Windler was going to light them up from deep, and they still couldn’t stop it despite all their game planning to counter. His 84.7 percent shooting from the free-throw line and flat-out ridiculous 68.1 true shooting percentage also indicate Windler’s sweet stroke will translate to the league perfectly fine, equating to a projected NBA three-point percentage of 39.5 percent. Windler’s incredible shooting ability from the wing would fill a big gap on the offensive end that the Blazers were clearly missing from players like Moe Harkless and Al-Farouq Aminu.
Coincidentally (or perhaps not), Windler is represented by Mark Bartlestein. The same agent that represents Zach Collins, Jake Layman, Enes Kanter, Wade Baldwin and Nik Stauskas. This strange relationship and connection with Olshey may parlay itself into WIndler becoming the newest Portland Trail Blazer.
Of the remaining players, Jalen Lecque and Ky Bowman are also projected to be picked up by the end of the second round. Of the pair, Lecque could possibly be one of the most underrated and intriguing prospects in the entire draft. Lecque decided to forego attending NC State and skip straight to declaring for the NBA Draft; he was eligible due to attending a fifth year at the Brewster Academy boarding school.
Lecque’s incredible athleticism and highlight-generating style of play quickly earned him the moniker “Baby Westbrook”. If Lecque could even come close to living up to that name, he’d be an absolute steal at No. 25 overall. Don’t believe all the hype for a high school student? See for yourself:
If anyone was still doubting his abilities and insane athleticism after that, Lecque silenced the critics with his performance at the NBA Draft Combine. Lecque achieved the highest max vertical leap of all players at the combine, outperforming even freak athlete Jordan Bone with his 43-inch vertical. After testing for a 8-foot-2.5 standing reach, that means Lecque gets nearly two feet above the rim with his highest leap, with the potential to grow even taller.
Shelton Mitchell, James Palmer and Stephen Thompson were all also promising collegiate players that may have earned a slight chance of hope in the hyper-competitive league. If any of them were standouts in Monday’s workout, they may have earned a chance to impress in the Summer League.
With only eight days and counting until the 2019 NBA Draft, each precious workout invitation and moment to impress could decide the fates of these young athletes. Whether they earned an opportunity to play for the Portland Trail Blazers or not, that question remains undecided.