Jazz scout 4 first-round prospects for No. 21 pick in Monday workout


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SALT LAKE CITY — It was one of the most useful draft workouts the Utah Jazz have ever had.

"When I had the opportunity to get all of these guys in, I said, 'We have to go for it,' Jazz vice president of player personnel Walt Perrin said. "We have four guys in this workout who we're realistically looking at No. 21."

Duke's Grayson Allen, Villanova's Jalen Brunson, UCLA's Aaron Holiday and Creighton's Khyri Thomas all worked out and played against each other in Monday's workout, all first-round possibilities for the Jazz come June 21 and the 2018 NBA draft. And even the other two players, San Diego State's Malik Pope and Louisville's Ray Spalding have a chance at getting drafted in the second round.

"I don't know if I've ever gotten this many guys in for whatever particular pick we have. I don't pat myself on the back, but I will this time," Perrin joked.

For the most part, Allen and Thomas matched up against each other at the wing position, and Holiday and Brunson faced off as guards. The Jazz tried to minimize switching during the workouts to give themselves a better idea of who navigates screens well and who has the lateral quickness to stay with players of their own type. Here's what we learned.

Grayson Allen

It sure seemed like Allen impressed the assembled Jazz staff that watched Monday's workout. When asked what the coaches saw from Allen, Perrin was all positive.

"They talked about his shooting, they talked about his explosiveness," Perrin said. "They talked about that he's strong enough he can take a hit and still get the shot off. That's what they saw."

Allen notoriously toes the line between playing competitively and playing with malice. It didn't seem like that was an issue for Jazz coaches, either.

"He really didn't have any (incidents) this year, so you hope that that's maturity on his part," Perrin said. "But you also like that edge that he has.

One of these incidents came in 2016 when Allen intentionally tripped Spalding. You can see Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (who led Louisville in scoring that day with 17 points) running up the court next to the kick.

A year later, when the two teams faced off again, Mitchell got a little extra shot in at Allen when they found themselves on the floor.

Allen, though, clearly respected Mitchell's game, and especially how hard he works off the floor.

"He was a great player. The first year we played him, the only thing we had of film on him was two crazy dunks that he had during the year. So it was like 'Hey, this guy's a crazy athlete, don't let him get tip dunks,'" Allen said.

"Then the following year, we get this long list of clips. This guy's coming off of ball screens, pulling up, shooting the three, still has that athleticism to the rim, and was a really good defender for them. So he made so much improvement from one year to the next in college. And then obviously a ton more improvement going into this year, he had an incredible rookie year. I watched a lot of him this year just because of the success he's had on the court."

It should be noted that Allen is the oldest prospect in the workout, he'll turn 23 in October. Unlike Mitchell, Allen stagnated a little bit as a prospect after his sophomore season. Still, there's a lot to like, and there was some agreement that he was the best athlete in the workout.

Khyri Thomas

Thomas is probably my favorite of the four first-round candidates in Monday's workout. He's uber-long, with a 6-foot-10 wingspan on a 6-foot-3 frame. Even better, he uses that wingspan well, causing havoc defensively and on the glass. Creighton fans even came up with a name for it, tagging those plays with the hashtag "#Khyrifense."

That length means he should be able to guard all types of guards.

"He's 6-3, but he's got extremely long arms. But he's more of a two (from an offensive point of view), so now he's going to be guarding guys who are in that 6-6, 6-7 range," Perrin said. "But with his length and athleticism, he should be able to handle them."

Thomas was clearly someone the Jazz were interested in at the combine, as they worked to get an interview with him. "They're really funny guys, especially Mr. Dennis Lindsey. He was real funny in the interview," Thomas said. "They treated me kind of like family. It was real good."

He's also a solid 3-point shooter, with a 41 percent average last season on nearly five attempts per game. His shooting form is a little slow, so I think that's something that his NBA team would like to improve.

Thomas isn't a super creative scorer like some of the other prospects in the workout, and he is already 22 years old. That's a big question: Would you rather have Thomas, who is a great character fit and clearly has an NBA skill, or would 18-year-old guard Troy Brown from Oregon be a better selection, even though he can't shoot yet? Lindsey and staff have just over two weeks to answer.

Jalen Brunson

Brunson was the Consensus National Player of the Year in 2018 after a terrific season with the championship-winning Villanova squad, impressing as a terrific shooter and scorer. Like many of the past collegiate players of the year, though, athleticism and size for the NBA is a legitimate question: Brunson is 6-foot-3 and probably doesn't have elite NBA quickness.

"We see him more in the Fred Van Vleet mold. Maybe in the Andre Miller mold," Perrin said. "Jalen, he is not a bad athlete, but is not an elite athlete for the NBA."

Still, he's won at every level he's ever played at and can clearly bring something to a team. I'm guessing he'll be a solid backup or third string point guard option for most of his career.

He was roommates with the more athletic, younger Dante DiVincenzo at Villanova. Those two had fantastic battles in practice, Brunson said, which obviously helped both players get better.

Aaron Holiday

It's not that Holiday and Brunson are carbon copies of each other, but you see some similarities in their profiles. Both have famous NBA relatives: Holiday is brothers with current NBA players Jrue and Justin Holiday, while Brunson is the son of nine-year NBA player Rick Brunson. Holiday's a little shorter than Brunson, standing 6-foot-1, rather than Brunson's 6-foot-2 stature. Their birthdays are within a month of each other: Brunson turns 22 in August, Holiday turns 22 in September.

Their stat lines are similar as well: Holiday scored 20.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 5.8 assists in 37.7 minutes per game, while Brunson scored 18.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in 31.8 minutes per game.

Brunson was the better inside scorer, while Holiday shot the ball over 41 percent from 3-point range in all three collegiate seasons. Both probably don't have the elite first step that would make them NBA starting-caliber guards.

That being said, Holiday is the better defensive player, earning Pac-12 Defensive Team accolades due to his length and lateral quickness. Holiday's playmaking ability, though, will need work to become an NBA-level playmaker.

"He had some good passes, good plays," Perrin said of Holiday. "His skill set is something that is pretty good that will get better with work."

The combination of 3-point shooting and length makes Holiday a slightly more interesting prospect than Brunson, in my opinion. Holiday will always have those skills to fall back on, even if the inside scoring and playmaking never comes.

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