reflections
June 11th, 2007 Wright, Noah, Sims Work Out In Waltham

The pre-draft workouts continued today, as North Carolina forward Brandan Wright, Florida forward Joakim Noah, and Michigan center Courtney Sims displayed their skills in Waltham. Brandan Wright and his agent have come to an agreement which concludes that he will not compete against other players in workouts, it will all be individual showcasing. While Ainge didn’t want to comment on that, it’s clear that he would have preferred to see him against other competition. Ainge says “It’s tough to determine how workouts go when you don’t play against people. I’m not going to comment on that, that’s Brandan’s decision and his agent’s. That’s their strategy. It’s worked before and it hasn’t worked, so we’ll see.”

Joakim Noah and Courtney Sims, however, worked out against each other, as they were able to do some more competitive activities (such as 1-on-1). Aside from the individual workouts, Noah was also very impressed with what he has seen thus far of China prospect Yi Jianlian. “In terms of shooting the ball, having someone pass him the ball, rip through and dunk, [he was] very impressive. There’s no contest. But I don’t know how he’s going to react when someone trash talks him on the court…or when someone throws an elbow at him or something like that. I can’t judge that, but from what I saw, the way he handles the drills, he’s pretty impressive,” said Noah.

Ainge has stated in interviews that there are six players in the running for the fifth pick. Most speculate that those players are China forward Yi Jianlian, Florida forward Al Horford, Florida swingman Corey Brewer, Florida State forward Al Thornton, North Carolina forward Brandan Wright, and Georgetown forward Jeff Green. However, you can never be too certain. Others insist that Joakim Noah is on the list of possibilities, and that he fits the team needs of the Celtics. Only time will tell, as these young prospects will be playing their hearts out for the Celtics brass over the next two and a half weeks, as the 2007 NBA Draft nears.

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