The Portland Trail Blazers hosted a talented group of NBA Draft prospects for a workout at the Tualatin practice facility on Thursday.
After the first few pre-draft workouts this spring featured mainly G League candidates and fringe second-rounders, Thursday’s group looked especially stacked: Five of the six prospects are projected to go in the first round this June, according to the Ringer’s latest mock draft. And several of those players are flirting with the NBA Draft Lottery, hovering right around Portland’s No. 11 pick.
One of the headliners from Thursday’s group was 6-foot-10 Georgia freshman Asa Newell. The rim-running big man is well-regarded for his bouncy athleticism, lob-threat abilities, defensive versatility, and motor, especially on the offensive glass. However, questions persist surrounding the depth of his offensive game outside of rim finishes, his 3-point shot and if his ceiling in the NBA is capped at the level of an energy-driven role player.
In his lone season at Georgia, Newell averaged 15.4 points, 6.9 rebounds (3.3 on the offensive end), 1.0 blocks, 1.0 steals and 0.9 assists per game over 33 appearances. He registered those numbers while shooting 54.3% from the field, 29.2% from beyond the arc (on 2.7 attempts per game), and 74.8% from the free throw line.
A sampling of five mock drafts from around the NBA media landscape (The Athletic, the Ringer, Yahoo, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation) puts Newell’s first-round selection range anywhere from No. 11-19.
After Thursday’s workout, Newell spoke with media about how the day went, his skillset and his potential fit with this current Trail Blazers roster. Quotes from that conversation are below.
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Newell on how he would describe himself as a player:
“I’m a floor-spacer, I can run the floor like a gazelle, I can knock down the 3-point shot and guard on both sides of the floor.”
On how a gazelle runs:
“He runs really fast, up and down, limitless energy.”
On what feedback he’s receiving from NBA teams about what they like in his game:
“Definitely my 3-point shot, and also they love how I can defend both sides of the ball, how hard I work and how much energy I play with — my motor.”
On what his most NBA-ready skills are:
“I think my frame — I’m getting stronger every single day in the weight room. And just my athletic ability on both sides of the ball, being able to run the rim and run the floor and run the 3-point line a little bit. I just think my overall frame can fill out and develop in the league.”
On how he would fit with the Blazers roster:
“They like to run the pace a lot with Scoot [Henderson], and [Donovan] Clingan, he cleans up anything down low, so I think that I can be a plug-n-play player.”
On what lasting impression he wants to leave with NBA teams during the pre-draft process:
“Just my character, how I’m encouraging my teammates and also just the contagious energy that I bring because I want an atmosphere that’s uplifting, somewhere that doesn’t feel too forced. It just feels like it’s flowing.”
If you’re unfamiliar with Newell’s game, the folks at No Ceilings NBA have us all covered with a 21-minute highlight tape from Newell’s freshman season in the SEC.
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The rest of Thursday’s group included Michigan State 6-foot guard Jase Richardson, St. Joseph’s 6-foot-8 forward Rasheer Fleming, UConn 6-foot-7 forward Liam McNeeley, Illinois 6-foot-8 forward Will Riley, and 7-foot-1 center Hansen Yang from China’s Qingdao Eagles.
