With eight days to go before the NBA Draft, this is about the time when prospects who have bounced from workout to workout over the last few weeks learn there’s just as much grind as there is glamour when making the jump to the professional ranks.
Then again, handling it is part of how players prove they’re ready for the NBA, and the tired quartet of potential first-round picks at Verizon Center on Tuesday — the strongest workout group the Wizards have hosted — were still engaged and at ease, but also honest.
“I’m ready for it to be over,” Kansas forward Marcus Morris said. “I’m not going to lie. I’ve been to about nine teams, traveling all over the world. I’m jet-lagged, got in last night at 2 o’clock in the morning, had to get up at 7. It’s definitely tiring.”
After working with fellow lottery-to-middle first-round projected forwards Chris Singleton (Florida State), Tyler Honeycutt (UCLA) and Tobias Harris (Tennessee), along with guards E’Twuan Moore (Purdue) and Julyan Stone (UTEP), Morris defended his versatility and his desire to eventually be with his twin brother Markieff — the two weeks they recently spent apart during workouts was the longest they’d ever been separated.
“It’s not a knock to either one of us,” Marcus said. “[Being apart] might be for the best. But I tell you, down the road, we might get back together. … It’s like a dream to be on a team with him again.”
Singleton addressed knocks on his offense in college: “I wasn’t as aggressive as I should’ve been,” he said. And his reserved personality: “As I get to know you, I open up more,” he said.
Honeycutt, done with the first of seven workouts in nine days, explained why Bruins make the transition to the NBA with music to a general manager’s ears.
“You’re not going there expecting to score 20 points [a game],” he said. “You’re going there to win.”
Harris, having shown his stuff for 11 different teams, still knew that the Wizards need a rebounding forward and a wing — and looked built for the job despite still being 18 years old.
The Wizards might not draft any of Tuesday’s visitors, but the workout reinforced the notion that while this year’s draft may not be loaded with future all-stars, there’s value to be found in what should be a wide-open first round.
After too many hours folded into coach seats, Marcus Morris is just ready for his name to be called.
“When we get to the NBA, we fly on better planes,” he said.
