The Portland Trail Blazers hosted a talented group of NBA Draft prospects for a workout at the Tualatin practice facility on Thursday.
The pre-draft workout featured first-round talent galore, with five of the six prospects projected to go on the draft’s first day in 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.
Among the group, the player accompanied by arguably the biggest mock draft hype also happened to be the smallest: Michigan State 6-foot freshman guard Jase Richardson. The son of former NBAer Jason Richardson, Jase showcases a very different play style compared to his father. Instead of high-wire athleticism, the younger Richardson attacks defenses with an offensive package buoyed by craft, feel and efficiency — attributes boosted by a great shooting stroke. Despite his size, Richardson’s defense isn’t viewed as a negative, either.
Still, the worries surrounding Richardson deal with his small stature and how it will impact his translation to the next level. There’s also a question about whether he can keep up his offensive effectiveness while playing on the ball more, considering he played the 2-guard at Michigan State.
Over 36 appearances during his freshman season, the combo guard averaged 12.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.8 steals and 25.3 minutes per game. He shot 49.3% from the field, 41.2% on 3s and 83.6% 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 Richardson’s first-round selection range anywhere from Nos. 12-20.
After Thursday’s workout, Richardson spoke with reporters about how the day went, his play style and what he’s trying to show NBA teams during the pre-draft process. Quotes from that conversation are below.
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Richardson on what he’s trying to show teams during these workouts:
“That I can play the point guard. For me, there are a lot of questions about what position I’ll probably play at the next level. Playing at Michigan State, I was a 2 because Coach wanted me to score, but just showing teams I can play point guard and facilitate.”
On how showing that skillset is going so far:
“I think it’s going pretty well. I’m just looking for guys, trying to get guys involved, trying to be a leader on the court, be vocal, so just doing little things like that.”
On if he’s trying to push for/take advantage of opportunities to be a primary creator on offense:
“Most definitely. For me, I’ve always played point guard my whole life. At Michigan State, [head coach] Tom Izzo saw me in a different light, and he told me to score the ball, so just trying to shift back to my main position and just show people I can facilitate and play on the ball.”
On who he looks to in the league as an example of how to succeed as a small guard:
“One guy I’m really looking at is [Minnesota Timberwolves guard] Mike Conley — just the way he’s impacting winning at a high level right now. He can facilitate, he can shoot, he can defend three different positions, so I’m trying to play like Mike Conley.”
On what feedback he’s received from teams during the pre-draft process:
“For me, one of the biggest things they told me I need to work on is just the strength part. Coming into the league, guys are 6’6, 220 at the point guard position, so just keep building that muscle, keep getting stronger. And then what they like is just the feel, the IQ. I feel like that’s one of the biggest things that kinda separates me is that I really have a good feel for the game, I’m reading everybody, I’m reading defenses, talking to coaches, so I feel like that’s my biggest thing.”
On his relationship with Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups:
“He’s known me since I was like 5. I grew up in Colorado, and he’s a Colorado legend to us. I played for his AAU program all the way up until eighth grade, and he’s always been around, so I’ve known him since I was little.”
On what his dad has told him about the process of preparing for the NBA:
“That it’s going to be a mental grind. You’re going to be flying city to city, a lot of different workouts. There’s not a lot of down time. You’ll probably get a day, a day and a half in between these workouts, so just mentally lock in.”
On his takeaways from the pre-draft process so far:
“It’s super fun. This is my first workout, so I was just trying to enjoy it as much as possible before the world tour travel starts, so just enjoying it right now.”
On how he handled the size of the opposing players at Thursday’s workout:
“I mean, they got a 7’3 guy. There’s not a lot I can do there, but just trying to show teams that I can battle down there. Our team was told to switch [on defense], so just trying to battle, see different guys because I’m gonna have to switch onto guys like that in the NBA, so just show them I can do that.”
If you’re unfamiliar with Richardson’s game, the folks at No Ceilings NBA have us all covered with a 17-minute highlight tape from his freshman season:
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The rest of Thursday’s group included St. Joseph’s 6-foot-9 forward Rasheer Fleming, Georgia 6-foot-10 forward Asa Newell, 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.
Along with Richardson, Newell and Fleming spoke with reporters after the workout. We have coverage of Newell’s interview here. Coverage from Fleming’s interview can be found here.
The NBA Draft will take place on June 25-26.
