The Brief Case, Episode 99: The End of Workouts, the NBA Finals and the First Big Trade Of The Of…
[Music] this is Jabari Walker and you’re listening to the briefcase with Casey holdall greetings pleaser fans and welcome to the briefcase episode 99 of the briefcase wow 99 one more to go until uh this thing hits a century mark I am your host Casey holdall and the 2024 NBA draft is just days away your Portland Trailblazers seem like they have wrapped up their workouts at least their public workouts a few days prior to Wednesday’s draft at least the first round which is on Wednesday second round on Thursday this year we’ll take a quick look at that last workout hear from two of the players that participated in Portland’s last workout do a quick overview of the players that the trbl lasers did work out we’ll have a larger draft edition of the show next week and we’ll briefly discuss the NBA finals which are now over so long to the 20232 24 NBA season and the first big trade of the off season on this edition of the briefcase as mentioned the trail B has held their final pre-draft workout or what I believe will be their final pre-draft workout on Thursday very possible they still do maybe a private workout here or two before Wednesday’s draft but my assumption at this point is that they’re pretty much wrapped up with the pre-draft workout process and are now working through their data their Intel to figure out what they’re going to do with the 7th 14th 34th and 48th picks at the 2024 NBA draft that workout on Thursday featured yangong zq Quinn Ellis Tristan enaruna Oso igodo naquan Tomlin and Bryson wear all those players expect to be taken either late in the second round or going undrafted for the most part A lot of the Blazers recent workouts have more been with first round guys or at least there’s been first round guys peppered into those workouts so you assume that those are probably the guys they’ve been looking at at the seven and the 14th or anywhere in the first round if an opportunity for trades comes up there’s already been some discussion out there some rumor mongering about maybe the blazes are looking to move up maybe they’ll move down actually just in general the notion of Trades being a real possibility particularly in this draft I think is very much a possibility in fact probably more so than in other drafts so it makes sense to be prepared for whatever happens anywhere in the first round should the opportunity rise to execute a deal that get you another pick or changes where you’re going to be picking at so for the last I would say week and a half two weeks it’s mostly been those first round guys either in public workouts or in private workouts specifically the private workout that they reportedly had last week so after getting in quite a few players in that range that 7 to 14 range looked like Thursday’s workout was more maybe a second round workout so maybe the guy is at 34 or 40th or there’s also very good possibility of their guys are interested in for summer league or for the remix one of the things about these workouts as well is it offers a great opportunity for the guys with the remix who are always in the gym for those workouts to get a look at some of these guys and consider hey maybe this guy isn’t going to get drafted necessarily but maybe this is someone to be good on the remix so just having that g-league team now gives you more to look at in those workouts which I think also helps you get some guys into your workouts now granted guys who are looking at the g-league are probably not guys are always going to be hard to get in for workouts unless you’re the son of one of the greatest players to ever play I guess but still it’s nice to be able to get those guys in the gym see what they can do and start to think hey is this someone that maybe might be interested in keeping around for summer it’s is someone we might be interested in keeping around with the remix even if they’re not guys who we necessarily going to take in the upcoming draft either way the pre-draft workout process is just a great opportunity to actually get some Intel on players get your eyes on some of these guys so that way you have a book on them at some point in time if you need to add a player to your roster either the remix or the Trailblazers or if you need guys on two ways if you need guys on 10 days it’s a good chance to at least have some kind of basis of who these guys are when they’ve been in your gym so while obviously the main point of the pre-draft workout process is to figure out what you’re going to do in the upcoming draft it also provides you an opportunity to again build a book on players going forward so if and when those opportunities do arise where you need to actually have some consideration about who some of these players are who might fit well for you you can go back and look at some of those things it’s a helpful process well let’s go ahead and hear now from one of the players that participated in Portland’s last workout Oso igodo a 69 21-year-old power forward Center out of Marquette ranked 58th in ESPN’s top 100 igodo kind of an interesting Prospect a guy a connector at the center position averaged 13.4 points on 57% shooting from the field 62% shooting from the free throw line 5.9 rebounds 2.9 assists 1.3 blocks and 1.1 steals in a SE senior season at Marquette 36 games 36 starts he started every game he’s played for the last two seasons not a three-point shooter took I believe one three-point shot his entire time at Marquette for a guy at 69ine usually they’d like to see some three-point shooting that’s not really his wave but a guy who gets things done in other parts of the game so let’s go ahead and hear from OSHA igodo after his workout with the Trailblazers on Thursday so uh how’d the workout go for you today it was good got up and down competed a little bit got some shots up it’s it’s good to be out here what are maybe some of the things you’re trying to to show in these workouts uh I think just my versatility on offense and defense my ability to switch and guard the perimeter uh my ball handling and passing just my IQ for the game is this your last workout I got two more yeah coming down to the nitty-gritty just what is it like knowing that you’ve got a few more days until this all comes to fruition yeah it’s exciting I’m just trying to stay in the moment take it one day and one day at a time it finish his last workout strong so what does it look like for you finishing the workout strong uh just competing I have like said I have two more workouts I just want to go out there compete be my best and uh build some momentum going into the draft what have teams told you throughout the process about what they like from you and then what they want to see you get better at I think my versatility like I said before is probably the number one thing my ability to switch as a big on the guards and move my feet and then on offense just being a connector being able to play with anybody creating shots for other guys and then just want to continue improving my shooting that way I can be more versatile in the offensive end um that’s definitely a big Focus for me have you thought about kind of what your fit would be like with Portland you know they’re kind of maybe possibly looking for some guys your size yeah young team um and I don’t think they have they have a their bigs are more are very different than I am so I think I’d be a good fit but obviously that’s not my not my decision but I think it definitely be a good fit what would be your differences what you say I mean just my versatility on offense with the ball being being that connector of being like a playmaking h from the big spot I think is unique and uh they have they have good guards good young guards so I think that being able to play whatever coverage is they’re being blitzed or hedged and me being able to play make out of the short road with all the athletes on the floor will be good how would you describe yourself as a Defender at this point in your career uh I think I uh that’s probably the biggest thing I take pride in um my ability to switch and move my feet in my IQ defensively being a quarterback on the floor talking to my teammates uh is is one of my biggest strength for sure and big man now too it seems like you have to be able to defend in a lot of different ways like you can’t just can’t just kind of post up in the paint anymore for sure yeah if you watch the finals you see all the Al Horford out there switching moving his feet that’s someone that I’ve been watching a lot just his IQ for the game and I think and to win in the playoffs you have to be able to switch and that’s something that I’m good at so I’m trying to show that in these workouts so there you go alsoo igaro talking about his workout with the Portland Trailblazers and I thought that was interesting too they’ve had a lot of big men come through during the draft process feels like guards and centers are the two positions that they’ve had the most players come through and every single Center Now talks about versatility it’s one of those positions now where it’s like guys know I just can’t be a guy who hangs out in the post anymore like I have to do other things so a guy like Yaro a guy who is able to create opportunities for other players again not so much of a stretch guy like a Kyle filipowski but a guy who can create for others in the high post can handle the ball a little bit as well can switch onto multiple positions it’s just one of those things now where it’s like if you’re a big you have to come in particularly from these workouts and show so many different things a lot of the other guys it’s like you’re a guard you sure you can shoot the three you sure you can fend a little bit you’re probably going to be okay if you’re a big in 2024 trying to get into the NBA you got to show that you can guard both in a drop and on the perimeter you got to show that you can rebound you got to show you can defend and for some of these guys you got to show you can hit the outside shot a little bit and if you’re not great at that you probably got to show you can handle the ball a little bit well now let’s go ahead from NCoin Tomlin a forward out of Memphis who also participated in the workout Tomlin a 68 200lb forward who probably projects to be a forward Center in the NBA averaged 14 points on 60% shooting from the field 39% shooting from three and 77% shooting from the free throw line while also grabbing six rebounds blocking 1.1 shots and getting nearly one steel per game that’s some serious two-way inside outside game for Tomlin not a volume three-point shooter but at two and a half three-pointers per game at nearly 40% % shooting that’s a pretty good look particularly when he’s shooting 60% overall that’s a guy who’s basically getting his shots at The Rim or from the three-point line he is 23 years old so a bit older particularly for a guy who’s only played two College seasons and he’s a 72nd ranked player by ESPN in their top 100 another interesting Prospect a guy who again probably second round to undrafted but has some tools that a lot of NBA teams need particularly he’s big he can rebound and he can shoot so let’s go ahead and hear what naquan Tomlin power forward center from Memphis had to say about his workout with the Blazers on Thursday how the workout feel today workout went good yeah it went well good group of guys we competed had fun what are some of the skills or maybe some of things you’re trying to show teams this process really so so close to the draft I think this my ability uh to show my versatility uh my ability to Shield handle uh make plays make right reads my athleticism Nick what how much about this is about trying to find the right fit for you as much as the teams are trying to find the the right fit for them as you go through so many different workouts I think that’s very important you know uh you know this guys coming in the league you know their first year you know they try to do uh the best thing as possible to like you know get on the court and so you know I just whichever is the right fit uh playing for a coach that wants to see me grow uh you know learning from the Vets the veterans you know guys like that yeah what are the the kind of things you’re trying to highlight in this workout to to show as far as like the things that you can do to get on court early enough uh just playing defense and my ability to play off the bouns yes sir what how many of these things have you done so far this is my 14th workout you is this the last one you have uh it was supposed to be the last one but I have uh Golden State uh in a couple days come up and what have you know from doing so many of these workouts what kind of feedback have you gotten from teams about what they like from you and then also what they want to see better at uh just my energy playing with energy uh defending rebounding um things like that how’s it feel knowing that this process is about to come to an end and and you’re kind of getting down to the nitty-gritty of this now I’m ready I’m ready I’m ready these flights crazy I’m ready I’m I’m done yeah but I enjoy it though you’re until like one more you’re like okay one more that was definitely my reaction so there you go naquan Tomlin out of Memphis after his workout with Portland Trailblazers that’s another thing too it’s always worth mentioning about the workout process particularly guys like Tomlin guys like igodo they have to work out for so many teams that at the end of this process I don’t know exactly what you’re getting out of the guys or at least I don’t know if you’re getting a good representation of the kind of player they are since they’ve worked out so many times Tristan in Aruna who also was in that workout supposedly had the most workouts of anyone in this draft class I think I saw that Hoops hype had him at 16 different workouts when you’re getting on a plane going to workouts getting on a plane going to a different workout by 16 I imagine you’re pretty fried at that point heck I imagine by 10 you’re probably pretty pretty used up so I think it’s really more about again maybe kind of figuring out who some of these guys are personally at this point in the process and less about how can they play though one of the things you always do put players through during workouts is really trying to get them as tired as you possibly can and then having him shoot to see are you able to continue to perform when you’re tired so maybe that’s what they’re seeing at this point in the process too as these guys particularly guys that are second round maybe undrafted maybe summerly guys maybe two-way guys are you guys able to get through this process and still give us something when you’re tired and beaten and broken and just want to go home maybe they’re trying to figure out something in that regard as well well now that seems like they’re wrapped up with workouts let’s go ahead and just do a quick recap the Blazers held seven public workouts with 37 players they also held multiple private workouts which reporting would indicate were some of their best workouts in the first round I know they also had at least a couple private solo workouts as well of their public workouts I count roughly eight players who seem likely to go in the first round however only D connect is the only player who came through ortland for a public workout who seems likely to go in the top 10 as for 14 though Jared McCain kle wear Kyle Philip palski Tristan D Silva and cam Christie all seem like concealable options in terms of players who had public workouts for the Trailblazers who could realistically go at the 14th pick and obviously once you get to the second round tons of options at 34 and 40 the entire second round seems like it’ll pretty much come down to what individual teams value because I doubt there’s going to be a whole lot of agreement about Talent after the first 15 to 20 picks you could probably even drop that down even further but to me it seems like 1520 probably some rotating group of players who are listed in 30 teams big boards I think after that though it really becomes a crapshoot and this is your reminder to check out the T Blazers draft party presented by Ticket Master which will be on June 26th at 5:00 p.m at motocenter it’s a free event get your tickets to T blazers.com draft I’m sure there’ll be some refreshments prizes things of interest I’ll be in toatin so I won’t be able to join you but if I wasn’t going to be in Talton I’d be at the draft party at M Center June 26th 5:00 p.m. presented by Ticket Master check it out well really quick and non-nba draft news the Boston Celtics beating the Dallas Mavericks in five games as you surely know our last episode I only got posted right before game five I said I thought the Celtics were going to close it out by winning by 20 I believe they won by 18 you can see that one coming from a mile away Mavericks avoid the gentleman’s sweep by getting game four in Dallas but going back to Boston there’s only one way that typically goes you end up losing and you end up losing big so that puts a cap on the 2023 24 season bit of a bummer for the NBA playoffs this year I thought it was a great start Conference Finals and the NBA Finals definitely did not reach the excitement of the first two rounds not exactly uncommon but it’d be nice if we could just get a good finals every now and then thing I don’t like about this finals too there wasn’t one good game the entire time blowouts happen it’s going to happen from time to time but the fact that every single one of those games seemed pretty much decided by the end of the first half not exactly what I was hoping hoping for out of that NBA Finals particularly when it started so well but so it goes congratulations to the Celtics congratulations to the Mavericks as well I suppose but it does seem like next year is also going to be wide open again and in my personal opinion that’s a great thing for the NBA particularly as we’re getting into this new generation a lot of the guys who have been running the league for the last decade last 15 years starting to step back some of these new guys coming up taking those spots League’s in a good place and speaking of one of those teams as well last bit of news for today the Thunder and the Bulls executing the first big trade of the the offseason the Bulls sending Alex cruso back-to-back all defensive team player to Oklahoma City in exchange for Josh giddy so the Bulls get a young player who they feel like can be a part of their team going forward who maybe didn’t play as well as people thought he was going to after his rookie season in Oklahoma City and it balances the Thunder roster a little bit considering you have SGA who’s a ball dominant guard you have giddy also ball dominant guard two of those guys could play together a bit but giddy can’t shoot so pretty tough to have both those guys on the court at the same time they end up swapping him out for Alex kuso a guy that gives them Elite perimeter defense to go with a guy in Lou Dort already Elite perimeter Defender as well along with Jaylen Williams and Chet hram also a guy who has Elite defensive best abilities as well so they’re really putting together something in Oklahoma City that’s a good trade hopefully it’s a sign of an exciting trade field off season I think the NBA could use that particularly after the finals and that will do it for this edition of the briefcase thank you much for joining me as always back next week with episode 100 our final Edition before the draft on Wednesday please like And subscribe wherever you get your podcasts both to the briefcase the Blazers balcony and to section 113 go to tri.com slmp podcast to subscribe I’m Casey holdall I’ll talk to you next week go Blazers
On this edition of The Brief Case podcast, Trail Blazers reporter/Insider discusses…
• The Trail Blazers wrapping up their pre-draft workouts a few days before the 2024 Draft
• What Marquette F/C Oso Ighodaro and F Nae’Qwan Tomlin had to say about their workouts with the Trail Blazers
• A brief review of the players who came to Portland for workouts who are expected to be selected in the first round
• The snooze that was the NBA Finals
• The Bulls sending Alex Caruso to Oklahoma City for Josh Giddey in the first big trade of the offseason
