Trail Blazers Work Out First Projected Lottery Prospects
Six players, all potential first-round picks, visited the Blazers' practice facility on Thursday.
The Rose Garden Report is a fully independent publication providing coverage of the Portland Trail Blazers you can’t get anywhere else. Purchasing a premium subscription gives you full access to all articles and ability to participate in mailbags, as well as helping to cover travel costs and other expenses to bring you the best coverage possible.
📍TUALATIN, Ore. — Now the Trail Blazers' draft workouts are starting to get interesting.
Since their season ended in April, Portland's front office has hosted four sessions with prospects. The first two, conducted before the lottery earlier this month, primarily included players who were deciding whether to stay in the draft or go back to school. Tuesday's group was largely prospects largely expected to go undrafted or in the second round.
The latest session on Thursday featured six players, all projected to potentially be drafted in the first round, some even as high as the lottery, where the Blazers hold the No. 11 overall pick.
Visiting Tualatin today were Georgia forward Asa Newell, Michigan State guard Jase Richardson, Chinese big man Hansen Yang, and three wings: St. Joseph's Rasheer Fleming, UConn's Liam McNeeley and Illinois' Will Riley.
"I wouldn't say it's stressful, but it's definitely exciting," Newell said afterwards. "You're being around people and players that you've never been around before. You're living out your dreams, so there's a bunch of excitement. It's fun. You can't stress too much."
