Trail Blazers Host Draft Workout with 1st Rounders: Asa Newell, Rasheer Fleming and Jase Richardson

Trail Blazers Host Draft Workout with 1st Rounders: Asa Newell, Rasheer Fleming and Jase Richardson

In today’s show, the Blazers host a slew of firstround draft targets in their pre-draft workout. Let’s talk about who was there and what it means. Welcome to Locked On Blazers. Let’s get into it. You are Locked On Trailblazers, your daily Portland Trailblazers podcast, part of the Locked On Network. Your team every day. What’s up world? It’s your past first point guard and trailblazers reporter Mike Richmond. Listen to another episode of Locked on Blazers, part of the Locked On podcast network, available wherever you get podcasts and also on YouTube. Thanks for making this show your first listen. Coming at you each and every weekday, Monday through Friday. So make it a part of your daily routine. Make it your first listen. Tell your friends to do the same as Locked on Blazers, your team every day. In today’s program, we’re talking about a big old workout the Blazers hosted at their practice facility on f on excuse me on uh May 29th. You are now it’s a Thursday. You’re listening to Friday May 30th show and it’s coming out a little bit later than normal because my life outside of the podcast was extremely busy. I apologize, but thanks for still rocking with me. Um here’s who was in the building. Asa Newell from Georgia, Jason Richardson of Michigan State, Lee McNeely of Yukon, Hansen Yang from uh playing professionally in China, Rashier Fleming from St. Joe’s, and Will Riley from Illinois. All these guys are are, you know, probably first round picks. We’ll get into some scouting reports on all six of them. And then we’ll talk about why they were in the building and why this range and some tinfoil hat theories, etc., etc. Let’s let’s let’s just jump right in to the prospects. We’ll start with Asa Newell. Um measured 6’9 at the combine, 611 and a quarter wingspan. Um he’s, you know, he’s a he’s a 45 from uh from Georgia. He’s he’s a really interesting athlete. Like he profiles as like a really interesting vertical lob threat. Um he can he can be a role man and a guy who finishes above the rim, which is something the Blazers don’t really have. Um he’s he’s probably just at his size one of the better athletes in in in the whole draft class. Um he moves pretty well for someone as big as him. You know, 69, 225, 230. Uh for me though, the question is what position does he play? Uh I’m I’m going to I mentioned that a bunch of these guys are first round talents. Uh Rafael Barlo on on NBA big board has Asa Newell at 21 on his on his top 70 big board and ESPN uh released their updated big board on May 30th on Friday morning. Pays to delay I guess. Uh Asen also 21 there. So he’s projected as like a first round talent, right? Like that that is I would say typically where folks think New’s going to go is is the back half of the first round or the or the bottom third of the first round. Um the question for me for new is what position is he? Because I my my sort of concerns with him is that he’s caught in between positions. And I think this is like my own personal bias here, but my own personal bias is like also how my brain works. That’s just how it’s like I don’t love guys who are foursized and five skilled as draft prospects. That is not a that’s not a like a type of player that I covet because he’s probably not a shooter, right? Although like everyone says like, “Oh, he could develop some shooting, but he’s he’s not a shooter, like doesn’t have the range.” Um, if he’s foursized, right, and like four, you know, cuz he’s so he’s relatively skinny. If he’s if he’s power forward size, but five skill set, who does who who can he play next to? Like realistically, if you’re if if you’re like a rim rolling four, who do you who do you play with? But if he’s not if he’s just like a 20-year-old, I think he’ll be under 20 on draft night, but we be 20 by the time the season starts. If he’s just a 20-year-old that just needs to fill out his frame and take a little bit of time to get stronger and he is a true center, then I think he’s really interesting, right? Then I think he’s like, “Okay, you’ve got this really good athlete who can protect the rim and play five. If he’s not an doesn’t have the elite rim protection skills, um cuz he’s he’s played some uh with some centers throughout his developmental time, according to my good friend Raphael Barlo. Um if if he’s more of a power forward, I I’m I’m probably out on New. if he is a five who can who just needs, you know, some seasoning. You draft a guy 20, just like wait till they get older and and and get bigger, um, you know, just stronger and heavier, then I I think there’s appeal there. But for me, I I I don’t I don’t love him and I wouldn’t love him at 11. More on that later in the show. Next guy I want to talk about is Rasheir Fleming. I’ve talked about Fleming a bunch on this program. You know, he’s he’s productive at St. Joe’s. He spent three, he’s you know, he’s an ancient. Spent three years in college, but his final season at St. Joe. So productive. 14.7 points, eight and a half boards, one and a half blocks, one one and a half steals, 1.4 steals, shot 39% from three. So that’s a bunch of what the I’m in I’ve been reading so much draft stuff. I’ve got um got like scouting terms on the brain. Event defensive event creation. That’s what I was about to say, but I’ll spare you with it. I didn’t spare you with it. steals and blocks, defensive playmaking, and the shooting. Interesting, right? Um at the combine measured 68 and a quarter barefoot with a 75 and a/4 wingspan. Um he’s he’s again a question of um position, right? And I think that’s why you see these guys be a little bit later in the in the in the first round because tools, right? Ace New moves really well at 69. really really good athlete, NBA caliber athlete at at his size. Okay. Yeah, that’s a first round pick. Fleming can shoot and um and has has the sort of positional length that you that you that teams covet. The question is like if he doesn’t really have a lot of off the dribble game, which he hasn’t shown much at at in college, right? He hasn’t shown much like an ability to create his own shot off the bounce. If he doesn’t do that, can he shoot well enough to still play power forward and like spacing lineups that it doesn’t really matter that he doesn’t do stuff? Is he like on the Tumani Kamar path where it’s like, well, before he couldn’t dribble at all and didn’t really do anything but like, you know, adds that to his game. Um, so it okay then if he’s a four, I really like Fleming, six, you know, whatever. He’ll be 69 in shoes, seven and a half uh inch wingspan. interesting length and and size if he’s but then the question is is he mobile enough to guard is he like quick enough laterally to guard mobile fours in the pros there that’s not going to be every night but there is at some level where it’s like oh that’s a really you know that Fleming just doesn’t have the speed maybe to guard those guys if he does if he answers those questions if the shooting is okay that it mass some of the dribble game and he’s mobile enough to guard fours and be switchy right because if you’re going to play power forward it’s not just guarding forwards it’s the ability to switch most teams in the NBA switch one through four. Occasionally teams switch one through five, but like a switching versatile defense is the is the sort of the the scheme dour of the NBA. Um, if he can do all that, I think he’s really intriguing and I think he’s a he’s like a a pick in the teens. if he’s not and he’s more like a 68 center cuz he’s not super mobile and super switchy and he’s not um and you know and then then the shooting doesn’t mask some of his lack of creation ability and he’s more like hey fun small ball defensive f you know like def defender type of five then you could see why he wouldn’t like be that sort of top end draft at 11 type of guy he’s he has a wide range I like him I don’t think I love him at 11 but I like Rafael Barlo has him at 15 on his big board. ESPN has him at 26. Last guy I want to talk about here in this first segment is Will Riley from Illinois. Coming into the season, Will Riley was was a pro. Everyone, this this dude is going to be a pro. He’s is, you know, check out Illinois. They’ve got two first round picks. And now, as it turns out, I think after kind of an up and down season, it’s like, yes, Will Riley is going to go in the first round and maybe in the teens along with uh Kasparak Jonas, like Illinois did indeed have two pros. He rally measured pretty big. 68 and a quarter at um barefoot. That’s that’s useful. Excuse me. 66 and a quarter. Um the the wingspan was 68 and a quarter. I’m reading the wrong part of my notes. Um but he’s like he’s he’s the interesting wing, right? He’s he’s got the combination of good positional size. He’s got some shooting potential. He can pass a little bit. um the the multifaceted, multi-skilled wing with positional size to guard makes you pretty intriguing, right? Like that’s that’s the intrigue. The problem is he didn’t shoot particularly well in the second half of the collegiate season. So like does he have the shooting potential or is he just kind of like toolsy rightsized wing that needs to hit some of the skill stuff? Again, this is the difference in being a top 10 pick and a late first round pick. frame, athletic ability, you know, IQ and IQ and IQ and like skill set, but maybe not the high-end obvious skills to get there. I I think Riley I’ve I haven’t seen him in the lottery once in any of these mocks. I’ I’ve seen Ace New and and and Rashir Fleming mocked in the lottery um sort of in the consensus mocks. Riley is is most typically a later um a later first round pick. ESPN has him at 17. Uh, and Raphael has Will Riley at 22. He’s a first round pick. Like, he will be a first- round pick because of the the frame and all of that stuff. It’s just um what what is the level he can get to? Somebody always pops and beyond their sort of projection, but I think this is I’m I’m kind of giving you the the scouting report based on reading ESPN and reading Raphael Barlo and San Vini and all the sort of draft people I trust uh because they’ve seen a lot more than me. the like sort of the the concerns versus the upside. If it all hits, that combo of size, shooting, and some passing is like that’s a that’s that’s an NBA wing that every team wants. And if one of those things doesn’t hit, that’s that’s why Riley is a little bit later in the draft. Uh let’s talk some other guys. Uh Jay Richardson, Liam McNeely, and Hansom Yang. Uh we will get into all those in the second segment. Join me there, won’t you? First though, let’s talk Door Dash. You watching the NBA playoffs? Of course you are. Well, Door Dash is bringing the heat with a slam dunk deal for Dash Pass members all playoffs long. It’s called the They Swoosh, You Score Plan. They swoosh, you score. 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And once the season ends, Dash Pass is still going to have some deals. When any player scores 50 or more points in a playoff game, Dashpass members can grab a free threepiece crispy temp crispy tenders combo from Wingstop the next day with $20 with a $20 or more order. The code is Wingstop 50. That’s Dash Pass. Your door to more savings, more flavor, and more ways to win. Terms apply. All right, let’s talk some more workout guys. The Blazers bring everybody into the building. They, you know, they sit down a little bit with them. They chat with them. They watch a little bit of film with them. They get out on the court and they do some skill work, some shooting stuff, some stand still shooting, some movement, shooting, some some other things. And then at the end, they play three on three. That’s why you get six guys in the building. So, you can play three on three. Um, whenever I have covered these uh in the past, you don’t get into by the time you media is let in. You’re very rarely seeing threeon-ree. I don’t I think I’ve maybe seen one in the 10 or 11 years I’ve been around the team. Actually, back in the day used to be a little bit different, but under the the Osh Cronin era, uh, you get in a little bit later. Uh, so, you know, you see guys shoot free throws, but you you you know, the Blazers let me media out there to talk to these folks and and and and give you a sense of who’s around. And I think this is a pretty darn interesting workout because prior to this, the Blazers have been working out second round guys. This is the first one with true first round talent in building. As I mentioned in the first um first segment, New and Fleming and Riley, those are all guys who are going to go in the first round, likely in the top 25 picks, maybe even the top 20 picks depending on where where uh Fleming and Riley land. Like this was a big- time workout. And it included three other names I want to talk about here. The next one is Jacece Richardson. Dude can really shoot. Jason Richardson’s son. Um, but the problem is that he’s just he’s just not that big. Measured a shade over six feet barefoot, 6′ and 1/2 in at the NBA combine. A 66 wingspan, so he’s got longish arms, but he just he is what he is. He’s a 6’2 guard kind of. Um, we’ll call him 61 generously. We’ll call him 612 guard. ESPN has him as 20. Uh, and and Raph has him at 15. That’s Raphael Barlo. Has him at 15, excuse me, 18. Um, so again, first round talent. The dude can really shoot it. Shot incredibly well in a somewhat limited role and jumped from being a guy who was like interesting collegiate player to like one and done, going to go in the first round type of talent because of the shooting. Shot over 40% from three, flashed towards the end of the year. some some other stuff, not just catch and shoot stuff, but ability to kind of um get to an in between game, do stuff off the bounds, and and he probably has even more of an offensive package than he showed at Michigan State. And what he showed at Michigan State is that he has really good shooting touch and the ability to get into those shots in in in a variety of ways and some shooting touch in the paint as well as extending out to the three-point line. The question with him is just what position is he? Because he didn’t play on the ball a bunch. He didn’t he wasn’t a high assist guy, playmaker guy at um at at Michigan State. If he’s a combo guard, if he’s mostly a two that can run some pick and rolls, he’s probably too small to have like a long-term big minute whatever starter role in the league. If he develops to being a point guard in the NBA, he’s really intriguing. But that’s the bet you’re making because if he’s mostly a two, having a mostly a two six-1 player is a very limited narrow role, right? Like a specific team could use your skills, but not every team could use your skills. If he’s a one, if he’s a point guard, great, great. A point guard who can score at 61’s fine. Uh, you know, you’ll still be small, but plenty of teams can get by with smaller, you know, smaller point guards and survive. Um, it it works out just fine. first round talent, but I for the Blazers, I don’t love the fit because I wouldn’t want to um I I I would worry about what a Jace Richardson Shaden Sharp defensive back court would be. I’d worry about the pairing of him and Scoot Henderson together. Um they need shooting though and so like if if if he is a bench shooter for this particular roster and obviously like um Scoot Henderson, Shane Sharp aren’t like on the team forever in perpetuity. Um and they still have an Simons. It’s like you could you could see a world where he makes sense. Um I don’t love him based on the current roster, but uh I understand the appeal, albeit in a 6-1. Uh next name I want to tell you about is Liam McNeely. You will remember um that he was an early locked on Blazers favorite. Like the earliest draft step I did in January, maybe even December, like, oh, I’m going to watch Liam McNeely at Yukon. But he um you know he was a he was a he was a hot name as a as a college recruit. He’s big 66 and 66 and 3/4 barefoot. Um like a 67 shooter is like what teams want. You got a variety of skills. You can really shoot and you’re 67 so you can stay on the court, right? Because you can probably guard. Um it’s just much easier even if you’re a little bit slow. It’s easier particularly in the the regular season to just kind of fake it at that size. because you’re not going to get picked on for being too small. You’re not going to shoot over. You could be competitive at that size. He’s he’s weighs about two weigh in at 215 at the combine. So, it’s like, yeah, you know, say adds a little bit of weight, a little bit of strength, like 67 220 and can shoot. Yeah, that’ll play right. You can figure out you can figure out how to get that dude on the floor. And he was, you know, projected as a lottery pick for much of the season. He just didn’t shoot very well. A shooter who didn’t shoot. So the idea when you read Liam McNeely scouting reports is, oh, he’s, you know, the the belief is he can shoot better than he showed. Sure, but if he had shot up to his expectations, this dude would be a lottery pick. Instead, ESPN has him at 16 and uh Raphael Barlo, friend of the program, host of Locked on NBA Big Board and publisher of the of the NBA Big Board newsletter, has him all the way back at 37. Um, I would say Barlo, my man Raph, a little bit more of a of a McNeely doubter because of the sort of consistency with the with the offensive production. I 11 is too rich for me, but um I get the appeal, right? Again, 67 67 can shoot it. That is a that’s that’s the prototypical sort of like role player. Does McNeely have star potential? Sure. He has like he he has more to his game. He’s not just a standstill shooter by any means. Um, but he probably to me because of like he doesn’t have like crazy athletic pop um to like go get his go get a bucket against anybody. Um, he’s he probably doesn’t profile as like a really high-end player. But like again, if you’re drafting in the first round, you want a long-term NBA starter is like would be a nice goal once you’re probably outside of the top like fiveish picks. McNeely certainly has the talent to be a like he has the the prototype of an NBA role player without a doubt. Um it’s just whether he can hit the ceiling. That’s that’s kind of your question. Last guy, uh player I’m least familiar with, Hansen Yang, playing professionally in China. Uh played for the Chinese team in summer league last summer and then was invited to the NBA combine last year. Uh or excuse me, this this this May. Uh he was in Chicago and he really helped himself with the combine. That’s like kind of where I learned about him. I saw started seeing highlights posted on social media. Um, Rafael Barlo did a write up about him on NBA Big Board. That’s why you subscribed to the newsletter so you can learn about him. Um, but he really helped himself there because as Raph points out, he just he he just popped as a passer. He he made good reads. He made quick reads. He made, you know, he he made smart quick decisions as a big man out of the high post and as a short roller. Um, that goes along with he’s got a pretty good motor and he’s gigantic. 71 barefoot. Um, like he’s he’s he’s like a true true big skilled passer. I love a big lumbering skilled passer. NBA teams probably don’t care about as much like that as much. So like for me the question is like gigantic dude, pretty good motor and passing skills. Is he an NBA caliber athlete? That’s what it’s like if he’s too slow um you know like laterally and can get picked on and against high high caliber NBA offenses that limits what he can be and like if he’s if he’s not um if he’s not like a really high level athlete does his size how much does his size sort of negate um some of those concerns like I don’t think Don Vincan moves particularly well but he moves pretty well for someone his size he’s slow but he he’s like makes up for it by being big and in the way can is Yang big getting in the way with some skills. He’s he’s an intriguing one, right? ESPN has him Rafael Barlo not ranked did not has not ranked Yang on his top um on his top 70. ESPN had Yang at 67 and then popped him up to 35 in their most recent update. So, he’s made a massive climb since the lottery. To me, what that tells me is that NBA teams are excited about this guy is that he is now a fringe firstrounder, early second round talent, uh because of, you know, because of showing out at at what he did at the combine. That that is um that you can help yourself. You can make some if you’re a fringe guy making some money and he and Yang played in the scrimmages at the combine, like that’s where you make yourself some money. You prove that you can compete against NBA caliber players. He proved that in Chicago and now all of a sudden he’s like maybe going to be a firstrounder. Blazers have pick at 11 though, right? And none of these guys that I mentioned are targeted in the 11 range. Uh not where ESPN has them, not Raphael Barlo has them. Um I tr I trust Raph Scouting. if he doesn’t have anybody in this range at 11 and then you go to the to the four-letter network and they don’t have anyone in this range at 11, it’s like why are the Blazers with the 11th pick working out all these dudes? Well, there’s two reasons. Well, there’s a handful of reasons. There’s two big ones. One is the tinfoil hat theory and the other one is just maybe the reality of the situation. Let’s put on our tinfoil hats in the second in the third segment. Uh, and then we’ll talk about maybe something that isn’t a conspiracy theory as well that just explains the logic by behind why are these dudes in the building. Join me in that third segment to close the show. All right. Still a pass first point guard. Still Mike Richmond. You’re still listening to locked on Blazers. Blazers worked out six guys. They are mocked anywhere from 15 to 35. mocked big big board uh projections from uh from folks I trust uh you know projected in the sort of ranked in the range of post lottery to early second round h the Blazers have the 11th pick in the draft and no second round picks why why are they working out mid first round guys okay well um let’s put our tinfoil hat first I’m wearing not a tinfoil But let’s let’s put on that hat first. The con conspiracy theory is that the Blazers just brought in a group that perfectly profiles as an opportunity to trade back in the draft. And with teams such as Orlando or uh Brooklyn or or Oklahoma City possessing multiple first round picks, is this an opportunity the Blazers are going to seize where they move out of 11 and move back and get multiple cracks at it and have multiple picks later in the first round that would make the gentleman that showed up Asa Newell, Jace Richardson, Liam McNeely, Hansen Yang, Rashier Fleming, Will Riley would make that group perfect targets. Is this foreshadowing a move they’re absolutely going to make cuz they’re exploring their options to trade back and they’re going to stack multiple picks and they really just showed you exactly it because they’ve brought uh they brought that group in. They’re in the building and listen for lottery picks for for lottery picks Joe Cronin has worked those dudes out in the building. Don’t get it twisted. Um you know like he’s some second rounds some second rounders didn’t come in for workouts. Jar Walker didn’t come in for workouts. um like but for lottery picks uh Scoot Henderson came in for a workout. Chaden Sharp came in for two private workouts. Donovan Klingan came in for a private workout. Like they have you know Scoots was public. Sharps was uh uh Sharp’s second one was a private one. Uh and Klingan was not broadcast but it was later it was reported by multiple outlets. uh although it wasn’t like invited to the practice facility media come on down here’s who we’re working out because sometimes uh agents have preferences about secrecy and etc etc. So, like Joe Cronin has a history, has a track record, and now we know through through three drafts of like if he’s targeting someone in the first round, they’re pretty much going to bring him in the building if they can get him in the building. But it’s so like if these guys are in the building, it suggests that there’s some interest, some level of interest, albeit like you can’t you six guys, you only have one pick. Um, you can’t pick them all, but it’s get them in the building. That is, if you remove your tinfoil hat, this is kind of the logic here. This is the first real workout um of of like of guys who are for sure going to get drafted. I don’t think any of the other um you know maybe some folks get drafted of of of the players who have come in before, but most of those guys are like fringy second round types. Go back to college, try it again. Go back to Australia, try it again. Um like it’s it is maybe they’ll end up first round picks, right? and the Blazers will be thankful to have had them in the building in the past. But for the most part, this is the first workout that has had guys that are certain to be first round talent, certain to be gone in the first round. Yeah, it’s early May. They’re a month out. The or excuse me, it’s it’s the end of May, early June. They’re a month out. Would the the workouts will really ramp up over the next couple weeks. If you look back at say like the 2024 workouts, this was about the time that they got a lot more serious and then they got going as we got into June, right? Because because guys are really starting to make their rounds and go their places. go places. Um, but like the Blazers have 11 and they’re not going to be able to just get a bunch of the top 10 guys in the building because top 10 guys don’t want to go 11. It’s just the truth of workout season is that agents and player representatives and and players, but like that’s why you have an agent. They steer you where you want to go. If you’re aiming to be a top eight pick, um, yeah, you’re going to work out for the top eight teams. Maybe you’re not at one, but you’re going to work, hey, we’re I’m work out for five teams. I’m going work out for four, five, six, seven, and eight. That those are those are teams I want to work out with and nobody else. And if anyone else wants to draft me, they can, right? But I’m but I’m not going to like u I’m not going to entertain uh teams that have picks 11, 12, and 13 because my clients or myself, depending on who whose perspective you’re speaking from, it’s just like that’s not the angle, right? that that’s not the move. That’s the job of an agent, right? Is to steer those those guys those places. That’s that that’s that is the good work of it. It doesn’t mean that you can’t draft a player or the you won’t draft a player. It’s just um you sometimes have to pick your spots and um and and uh get to a spot you want to go. But it’s not just draft play. So it’s like it’s going to be hard for the Blazers to get like the sort of coniple types in there. If Kipples range is somewhere from like 5 to nine, 5 to 10, he might not work out for the Blazers, right? Because it’s like I’m not coming there. I’m like, if you want to draft me, you can, but like I’m I don’t want to go 11. I want to go five. Um, but it’s not just the number, right? It’s not just like uh this the salary slot and the obsession with getting higher in the draft, although that certainly is part of it. The Blazers do not have obvious playing time because say they like say all things were equal. Okay. At seven, uh, you know, there’s not a lot of spot for my client, but at 11, there’s a perfect landing spot in Portland. The Blazers don’t have a perfect landing spot. Like, what is what is the the spot where you could say if you’re a young player, say you’re a 20-year-old, any position, what is the spot you could say to Portland, I can absolutely start? I don’t know. Like, you look at the young guards, Scoot and Shaden still tow. You look at the forward spots, Denny Tummani with still Jeremy Grant and toe. You look at the center spot, Donovan Klingan with still DeAndre and toe. They not only have young players at basically every spot, they’ve got veterans behind them like with with some depth. If you’re just like picking if you are a or client or if you are a a a lottery pick, like Portland isn’t like an obvious place to go. Obviously, that can change very quickly. They can make trades. They can prioritize you when they draft you and say, “Hey, we really want you to play and you’re going to all of a sudden, you know, shade and sharp who get out of here. And who get out of here, right? can um teams can shuffle the roster quickly to prioritize guys that they prioritize. But during draft season, the Blazers both are stuck at 11, so getting guys who are top 10 range might be a bit of a challenge. And the sort of talking you in, hey, falling in the draft is actually better is harder to sell to clients and players because the Blazers don’t have obvious big minute rookie uh rookie opportunities available. And like it or not, players want to play. That’s that’s that’s just the truth of it. At any level, shoot, in a pickup game, players want to play. So, imagine what it would be like uh at the NBA competitive level where you’re playing for, you know, small millions and then eventually very large millions. That’s just the truth of it. So, I think this is less about tinfoil hat stuff, although when the Blazers do trade back, tinfoil hat, but I think this is more about the reality of the situation. The Blazers have a crowded roster with some with some young talents at basically every position. uh the level of talent maybe here is up for debate, but like it is what it is. They’ve invested lottery picks and a bunch of spots and they have some some intriguing young forwards. Um and they have 11. So we might not see them like this might be the range of guy they’re able to work out in their facility. That doesn’t mean they won’t be able to attend private workouts uh you know held in held in other places or group workouts held by by agencies. It’s just like this might be the level of player they’re able to get in the building. guys that are projected to go like 15 to 25 who have aspirations at 11 and that’s where you end up. Um, I assume we’ll get a bunch more first round workouts. This was a fun one. This is an intriguing one. I bet if you, dear listener, have someone you really like in this group or you hate them all because uh, true haters abound. But this is what we do. Uh, we I will cover them as they happen. I apologize for um, this show coming out uh, a little bit late. Uh, like I said, my life um that happens away from this microphone has been exceedingly busy this week. Uh, and uh, it got in the way. It got in the way for the show. I know that the value of Locked on Blazers is that it’s there for you every day. I know the reliability and the the dependability of the show is its most valuable asset. And I um, I’m sorry this one’s a little bit late. And on that same note, your boy’s going out of town. A little bit of housekeeping for you here. I am going on a little mini vacation. Uh well, mini for me. Uh it doesn’t really matter what size it is for you. Uh but I am going to be away from the keyboard next week. Um I’m going to record some shows. You will get two and potentially three shows next week, but you will not be getting all five. It’s just life life of life of a of a person with a family and a life. Uh life with a person and family and an existence. So, we’ll use we’ll use that one. Um so, look for three shows in your feed next week. My plan is Monday, Wednesday, Friday. They will be in your feeds. Um things may change. If there’s really big news, perhaps I’ll sprint to a microphone in whatever um place that I am vacationing at. Um cuz I’ll maybe take my stuff with me. We’ll see. Um but uh if not, look for three shows next week. Um we will do uh Keith Smith’s going to join the program. We’ll talk Blazers uh sort of financial situation heading in the summer. I got a mailbag planned and one other show. So uh that’s what we’ll do. Um, I appreciate you rocking with me and understanding that I am a human who makes this show but also has to do other things when I’m not making this show. Uh, I appreciate your patience and I appreciate your support. And do me a favor, tell your friends about the program. Tell them they can find it wherever they get podcast and also on YouTube. I appreciate you listening. I’ll talk to you soon.

The first big time draft workout of the Trail Blazers pre-draft cycle arrived with six first round hopefuls: Asa Newell, Rasheer Fleming, Jase Richardson, Liam McNeeley, Will Riley and Hansen Yang.

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