Portland Trail Blazers open draft workout with Tyler Zeller and Meyers Leonard - NBA Update
On Tuesday morning Portland Trail Blazers held their first pre-draft workout. Under ordinary circumstances this would sound like a routine workout session, but the Trail Blazers particularly had two young centres on the floor,
in the form of Tyler Zeller and Meyers Leonard.
Tyler, at 7ft, has played all four season for the Tar Heels. He averaged 16.5 points during his senior year at the University of North Carolina at a shooting rate of 55.3% from the floor and was named as the ACC Player of the Year.
He is one of the top big men available in the draft this year.
After the workout he had mixed feelings as he said that it was not his best performance.
"I was missing a lot of shots that I usually make," said a grinning Zeller, admitting that it wasn't his best workout. "I gotta get settled in. Toward the end I was able to finish."
Leonard spent two seasons at the University of Illinois before declaring himself available for the NBA draft. He is 7ft 1 in and has a huge wingspan, an asset for any team.
Both players showcased their skill on Tuesday. Garrett Sim from University of Oregon, who also participated in the workout, said that they both were highly aggressive, especially towards each other.
"They were very competitive with each other," said Garrett Sim. "That's all you can ask for”.
Portland got the 11th spot in Wednesday night’s lottery and also got the number sixth pick of the Brooklyn Nets courtesy of the Gerald Wallace trade. As per the condition of that trade, the Nets were supposed to hold
onto their pick, only if it came within the top three.
The Trail Blazers are in the rebuilding phase at the moment. After starting off brightly, the team concluded the regular season with a 28-38 record and missed the postseason action for the 1st time in 4 years. Moreover
they are without a GM and head coach, who was fired during the latter stretch of the season.
Interim GM Chad Buchanan, who is looking over the draft process showed his complete trust in the young centres.
"I think they're both very talented and I think they'll both get a lot of consideration from teams in the lottery," Buchanan said. "It's hard to find centres."
The Trail Blazers are looking to conduct many such drills in near future, before the June 28 Draft date.
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