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SALT LAKE CITY — The Jazz are ramping up their pre-draft workouts by having another workout, what will be their second of at least three on consecutive days.
Like their previous group workouts a point guard, a wing and a big were brought in to workout against another. All of whom the Jazz could be looking at, but they probably won't be highly drafted.
The two point guards were Pierre Jackson or Baylor and Vander Blue of Marquette. They are about as opposite as they come. Jackson is a pure floor general who is pass-first and can add a little bit of everything, but is only 5-10. Blue is 6-4, played shooting guard is an attacking player and will use his great athleticism to play
"At the end of the day a taller guy's got to guard me as well," Jackson said.
I like to get my teammates involved first. I like to pass the ball, the assist stat sheet looks great for a point guard.
–Pierre Jackson
Both players are in the late first to early second round range. They could go a little higher is a team falls in love or they could slip right into the Jazz's second-round pick area. Jackson is more a prototypical point guard, just in style of play.
"I like to get my teammates involved first," Jackson said. "I like to pass the ball, the assist stat sheet looks great for a point guard."
Jackson dropped his Twitter handle, which might be a workout first, and said he is a leader who can also score. Blue played off the ball and is working on his handles to become a full-time point guard. He said he is a combo-guard so he can handle either role, but he is best placed at the point.
The wing players are both shooters with different paths to the draft. Solomon Hill is a small forward who knows exactly what he'll bring to the NBA.
"Shooting the three and playing defense is my calling," Hill said.
Glen Rice Jr. was the other one. His father played in the NBA and he wants to follow the same path. He played at Georgia Tech, one year with Derrick Favors, but this year he played in the NBA D-League. He would add shooting and experience early on.
Playing in the D-League gave him a unique view and different training. He was shooting the 3-pointer at the NBA range and playing against players who were closer to the NBA caliber. Walt Perrin, Jazz V.P. over Player Personell, said that this might not be so unique of a situation, the second like this so far.
"I don't think it's going to be one-of-a-kind," Perrin said. "I think it will happen more in the future especially once the D-League expands to where every team has their own D-League team."
The big men got a last-minute switch when Jack Cooley, who was supposed to workout today, had a problem with his flight. This brought in Utah center Jason Washburn, who was supposed to work out on Friday.
The two players share an agent so they were able to make the switch pretty easily. Washburn played against Trevor Mbakwe a forward from Minnesota. He is a hard worker who compared himself to Kenneth Faried and Paul Millsap. Slightly under-sized power forwards who work hard and have high energy.
Friday Cooley will be in for his workout. He will be joined by Dennis Schroeder according to Schroeder's Instagram account. This means there will be at least two more, but the Jazz have been doing six players.
