As Ridiculous Upside has decided to do for the foreseeable future, this morning brings a brand new batch of NBA rumors (specifically 2011 NBA Draft rumors) as the days keep chugging along right up to June 23.
The most interesting news today, courtesy of ESPN's Chad Ford, is about Texas forward Tristan Thompson. Thompson is currently slated as the 13th overall pick according Draft Express's Jonathan Givony, and according to Ford, that's the lowest that Thompson and his agency expect to be selected.
"He's essentially taken workouts from the fourth pick to the 13th pick," Ford wrote in Tuesday's column. "Considering that there are a few teams below that point in the draft that wanted him to work out (Pacers, Sixers) but didn't get him in, his camp must feel pretty strongly that the Suns, at No. 13, are his floor."
Seeing that Thompson has turned down the Philadelphia 76ers, we now know at least one of the players that have been dodging their pre-draft workouts.
An interesting tidbit popped up during Maryland big man Jordan Williams' Tuesday workout with the Washington Wizards that seems to have become rather newsworthy despite not being all that important. Williams left the Terrapins early, which some speculated may be due to Gary Williams retiring, and at least part of the blame can apparently be put on ESPN's Scott Van Pelt.
From the Washington Post:
Van Pelt "was a big factor in helping me make my decision" to go pro, Williams said following a pre-draft workout for the Washington Wizards at Verizon Center. "Just giving me feedback, what he thought about it. Just trying to make me make the right decision. He did a great job, and I give him a lot of credit for going out of his way.
"He's a really busy guy, so for him to go out of his way to do that is unbelievable."
Again, as I said, this isn't exactly important. And hey, at least Williams didn't seek out advice from someone like Skip Bayless.
Last, but not least, Adam Zagoria wrote that Jeremy Tyler is still battling maturity issues following a pre-draft workout with the New York Knicks on Tuesday. The quotes don't look like they're anything other Tyler being confident in his abilities, but his past reputation is going to force these stories to blow up more often than not.
A sampling:
"They went to college and I played professional with grown men so there's going to be a difference there," Tyler said of J.J. Sullinger and the other elite high school players he faced, such as Renardo Sidney. "I'm not going to say that I'm better than these dudes, but there's going to be a difference there."
"A lot of people think that me leaving overseas took me back steps when it only moved me forward," he said. "It will show up soon."
Slow news day, but that's going to happen.
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