The Nuggets have released their list of predraft workouts for Friday, June 13th, and Saturday, June 14th. Let’s see who will be coming to town …
Friday: Towson's Jerrelle Benimon (6-8, 245), Metropolitan State's Brandon Jefferson (5-9, 170), Arizona's Nick Johnson (6-3, 200) and UCF's Isaiah Sykes (6-5, 210).
Of this group, only Johnson makes appearances on the mock draft for Draft Express and NBADraft.net. He's rated by DX as the 53rd pick and the 37th pick by NBADraft.net. Johnson averaged 16.3 points and 2.8 assists last season for the Wildcats and he was a main cog of that team.
A snippet on Johnson from Draft Express:
Though Johnson took a big step forward in terms of productivity and emerged as a leader for one of the nation’s best teams, his primary weakness as a prospect remains unchanged. Standing just 6’2.5 with a 6’5.5 wingspan, he is undersized for the shooting guard position. Not a natural playmaker, Johnson will face legitimate questions as to where he fits in at the NBA level throughout the draft process, but has done some nice things in other areas to give himself a fighting chance at carving out a niche.
Aside from his lack of size, there’s quite a few things to like about Johnson on both ends of the floor. First and foremost, he’s an absolutely phenomenal athlete, with rare explosiveness and the competitiveness to use that to his advantage, especially on the defensive end. A first team All-Pac12 Defensive Team honoree, Johnson is an energetic defender who gets out of position defending dribble penetration at times, but seldom gives up on a play. Though he’s a bit smaller and is not as instinctive with his feet as Avery Bradley, Johnson’s physical tools give him upside in a similar niche to the one the former Texas guard fills as a defensive-minded guard, should he dedicate himself similarly on that end of the floor.
Check out some of his highlights here:
Saturday: Kansas' Tarik Black (6-8, 255), Switzerland's Clint Capela (6-11, 220 – played for France's Chalon club), Syracuse's Tyler Ennis (6-2, 180), UCLA's Zach LaVine (6-5, 180), Florida's Casey Prather (6-5, 200) and Kentucky's James Young (6-7, 200).
Out of this group: Capela, Ennis, LaVine, and Young are all rated on the big mock draft sites with Ennis, LaVine, and Young being potential lottery picks and Capela being anywhere from 21st to 34th.
Let's check out some video on these guys:
Capela:
Ennis:
Prather:
LaVine:
James Young:
