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Salt Lake City — Setting a team workout record in pre-draft player workouts, the Jazz brought in Syracuse point guard Michael Carter-Williams, leaving Michigan's Trey Burke as the only lottery-caliber point guard not to workout for the Jazz.
Lehigh's C.J. McCollum, Miami's Shane Larkin, Germany's Dennis Schroeder and Carter-Williams have already worked out for Jazz brass.
On Tuesday, we caught a quick glimpse of former Jazz coach Jerry Sloan who was observing the workouts.
Carter-Williams is one of the most intriguing players in the draft. He stands a towering 6-6 in shoes, which would immediately make him the tallest point guard in the NBA.
"I think if you are 6-6, 6-5, 6-7, you are automatically a two-guard and you just work on skills to be a two-guard. I think it just so happened that I was a real late bloomer. I thought I was going to be smaller than I am, so I really practiced on my point guard skills." said Carter-Williams.
However, he weighs just 185 pounds and will need to put on weight and muscle to handle the rigors of an NBA schedule.
"I definitely would love to play here. I think it would be a good spot for me to come in and play right away." Michael Carter-Williams, Syracuse
The well spoken Carter-Williams left Syracuse after his sophomore year. He studied communications at the prestigious S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.
"He's a great kid," said Jazz V.P. of Player Personnel Walt Perrin. "Well spoken, as you guys know."
Carter-Williams worked out with B.J. Porter, instead of a group setting. Those decisions are not uncommon and are usually made by the player's agent.
"I definitely would love to play here. I think it would be a good spot for me to come in and play right away and chase some of my dreams as a rookie player." said Carter-Williams. "I think I could establish myself as a leader on the team. You wouldn't have the pressure, because you don't have too many veterans. I think that Utah would be a great place for me."
"I tried to show my ability to try and stay in front of the ball. I try to score one-on-one and use my athleticism and just show different parts of my game."
Perrin noted, as is often the case with collegiate players, that the Utah altitude sapped some of his strength, "He definitely needs to get in a little better shape. Has to learn to shoot it a little bit better, but he's so long, so big at the point guard position. Passes the ball, sees the court, he's going to be a good player."
Carter-Williams had huge assist numbers at Syracuse early in the season. In his first 14 games of the season (against lesser competition) he averaged over 10 assists-per-game, registering 10+ assists in 9 of those 14 games. In his final 26 games, he had 10+ assists twice. Nevertheless, he still averaged 7.3 assists per game over the course of a very difficult Big East season.
"On the court I believe I bring positive energy and leadership. I think I'm able to make other players better." said Carter-Williams.
Carter-Williams has been projected by many to go before the Jazz draft at No. 14, but that didn't negatively influence his decision to workout.
"I have high expectations for myself. I think the competitive side of me says I want to be the first point guard picked, but the other side of me says I think I need to go to place where I can play right away and excel. I've only, really, played one year out of two years in college. I haven't been playing too much. So, coming in and playing right away is something I want to do." said Carter-Williams.
