Teams that had planned to attend Michael Porter Jr.‘s workout tomorrow are being told it will be held at another time, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. Porter’s representatives canceled the session late Wednesday night without providing an explanation.
The move has led to speculation that Porter’s surgically repaired back may be bothering him, but it’s also possible he has received a guarantee that would make a group workout unnecessary. Porter’s camp may be rethinking his status and devoting time just to teams at the top of the draft, according to Tom Ziller of SB Nation, who adds that they now believe he will be taken in the top four.
There’s “a very real chance” that the Kings will use their No. 2 pick on Porter, Amick adds, but it’s not certain at this point whether last night’s news will impact their decision. The organization may request more medical information and take another look at Porter in action before making a commitment.
There’s more draft-related news this morning:
- The Kings, who were among the teams slated to attend Friday’s workout, have been interested in Porter for weeks, according to James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area. They have also spent a lot of time looking at Luka Doncic, visiting him twice in the past three weeks, and Marvin Bagley III, who was in town Monday for a workout. Ham, who covers the Kings on a regular basis, moved Porter up to second in his most recent mock draft.
- The Hawks, who hold the No. 3 pick, will host Bagley and Texas center Mo Bamba for separate individual workouts today, the team announced in an email.
- The Spurs are hoping to schedule a second workout for Villanova’s Omari Spellman, reports Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News. San Antonio views Spellman, who shot 43% from 3-point range in college, as a potential stretch four.
- The Sixers plan to bring in Kentucky’s Kevin Knox for a pre-draft workout, possibly by Friday, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
- Oklahoma State’s Jeff Carroll worked out Monday for the Knicks and has sessions scheduled with the Pistons, Wizards and Bucks, relays Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog (Twitter link).
- The Wizards will welcome six players for a workout today, tweets ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. On the schedule are Ohio State’s Keita Bates-Diop, Seton Hall’s Khadeen Carrington, Wake Forest’s Bryant Crawford, UNLV’s Brandon McCoy, Wake Forest’s Doral Moore and Murray State’s Jonathan Stark.
- The Raptors will host Rhode Island’s Jared Terrell, New Mexico State’s Zach Lofton, North Carolina’s Theo Pinson, Seton Hall’s Desi Rodriguez, Wyoming’s Hayden Dalton and Kentucky’s Wenyen Gabriel today, the team tweeted.
For a talent like MPJ I think it is worth take a risk on him, big risk for a superstar or safe for a good player, life is for the people who take risks, though different but Golden State took a risk on KD, egos with Curry might not have worked out, but it did, it was a big risk to bring him in but has it paid off man.
I don’t know how big of a risk it is to sign the 2nd best player in the world
It would be a first, or at least I’ve never heard of anyone “re-scheduling” a workout this close to its original time because of a guarantee. I’m not even sure it makes any sense, unless he’s really about to shut it down (vs rescheduling) due to the guarantee (which is common). Although, in that case, why go through the charade? Maybe he had a family emergency (unrelated to his physical condition) and intends to reschedule. Otherwise, it can’t be a positive.
For all of his potential, I’m hoping the Grizz pass on him if he’s still available at #4. The team needs a whole lot more certainty than the monster risk they’d be taking… which is a shame. If Porter can get to 100%, I believe he’s an impact player, but back injuries so rarely allow any athlete to get back to 100%.
And I realize “certainty” is a nearly impossible concept in any athletic draft. I’ve just never heard of any athlete who was permanently cured of back problems, so the “certainty grade” goes way down in this instance.
Nerlens Noel should take notes from Mo Bamba… post some vids of you actually working out, popping 3’s instead of destroying homes lol.