Mike Krzyzewski to hold extra workouts for Blake Griffin and Lamar Odom – NBA Update
USA Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski will be holding extra workouts for three players at the Duke University.
The trio, which is the part of the contingent due to participate in the training camp for the London Olympics in July, includes Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers, Lamar Odom of the Dallas Mavericks and soon to be the number
1 draft pick, Anthony Davis.
US Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo revealed the step while speaking to reporters from Fox Sports;
“We told them that it would behoove them to go out there (to Duke),” Colangelo said. “On Blake Griffin, we just felt that the sooner we got a chance to look at him, the better for us. … We want to see how he looks (after his injury).
… Lamar Odom, he didn’t play this year.”
Odom and Griffin would be heading to Durham in the next few days to work out under the super vision of Coach ‘K’ but Davis will not be able to attend the proceedings because of being obligated by the draft.
The purpose of asking these players to do some extra work outs is that among the 18 players selected for the Olympics camp, only Chris Bosh, Kevin Love and Tyson Chandler can be regarded as established options in the post.
Team USA is lacking a true presence in the post this time around after All-Star Centre Dwight Howard and power forward LaMarcus Aldridge suffered serious injuries last season.
Odom, who did not get much playing time with the Mavericks this year after an open dispute with owner Mark Cuban, could definitely benefit from the workouts. Griffin on the other hand had a good season but was not that very effective
in the post season which involved his team getting rolled over by San Antonio Spurs in the second round.
The third player asked to attend the workouts at Duke is Davis. He was part of the Kentucky Wildcats team which went all the way to lift the NCAA Championship and his performances earned him the right to be considered as the number
one draft pick this year.
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