Sixers kick off draft workouts at Camden

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Updated: Monday, June 5, 2017 07:11 AM

The Philadelphia 76ers will begin their draft workouts this morning at their training complex in Camden, hosting a group of six players headlined by Colorado senior Derrick White.

White is joined by Isaiah Briscoe and Melo Trimble, both perimeter players who were at once touted as potential first round picks but are now more likely to land in the second round, if they’re drafted at all. But as Sixers fans we’ve seen how undrafted players can come out of nowhere and surprise you, and both Robert Covington and T.J. McConnell should serve as regular reminders of that.

Here’s a quick rundown of each of them as a draft prospect.

Derrick White

6’5″ guard, senior, Colorado

Key stats: 18.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.4 blocks per game. Shot 50.7% from the field, 39.6% from three (on 4.2 attempts per game), and 81.3% from the line (on 5.4 attempts/game).

Measurables: 6’4.5″ (in shoes), 6’7.5″ wingspan, 8’5.5″ standing reach, 36.5″ max vertical jump at the 2017 NBA draft combine.

After being hidden in Division II for the first three years of his college career, White transferred to Colorado for his senior season and solidified himself as a legitimate draft prospect in the process.

Despite standing 6’5″ White played a lot of point guard for the Buffaloes, showing some real promise in pick and roll sets, both as a shooter off the dribble but also showing more creativity as a passer than you’d expect for a combo guard, flashing some nice passes to bigs rolling to the basket and cutters around the rim. He can also shoot off the catch, knocking down nearly 40% of his catch-and-shoot jumpers despite most of them being contested on a Colorado team that was somewhat undermanned offensively outside of White and Xavier Johnson.

He has decent hands and feet defensively, and can defend the perimeter when he gets down in a stance and really commits himself. That seemed to come and go at times for him at Colorado, but he has the potential to at least be a contributor on that end. Despite his 6’5″ height I’m not sure he’s a real legitimate two position defender, though, as he doesn’t have exceptional length and is at a pretty big disadvantage in terms of strength against NBA 2 guards.

He’s not a great athlete by NBA standards, with an average-at-best first step and without a ton of elevation around the rim, which limits his offensive ceiling a little bit as he may struggle to get to, and finish inside, the paint against NBA length. Still, conceptually his strengths as a shooter, as a secondary playmaker, and with his 6’5″ height could be interesting for the 76ers if he lasts to them in the second round.

The Sixers currently have the 36th overall pick, 39th, 46th, and 50th.

Melo Trimble

6’3″ “point guard”, junior, Maryland

Key stats: 16.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.2 blocks per game. Shot 43.6% from the field, 31.7% from three-point range (on 5.5 attempts per game), and 78.9% from the line (on 5.3 attempts per game).

Measurables: 6’2.5″ (in shoes), 6’2″ wingspan, 7’11.5″ standing reach, 32″ max vertical jump at the 2017 NBA Draft Combine.

There was a time when Trimble could have been the headliner of this group, but his game never really progressed. He has some strengths as an isolation scorer, mainly in his ability to draw fouls despite not having a great first step or burst around the rim. He really needed to add to that over the last two years by developing a consistent jumper and showing he can run an offense, but took major steps backwards in both. Instead he’s an incredibly erratic outside shooter who dominates the ball, stagnates the offense, takes terrible shots, and will struggle to compete defensively. Hard pass.

Isaiah Briscoe

6’3″ guard, sophomore, Kentucky

Key stats: 12.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.2 blocks per game. Shot 47% from the field, 28.8% from three, and 63.5% from the line as a sophomore.

Measurables: 6’2.75″ (in shoes), 6’9″ wingspan, 8’3.5″ standing reach, 33.5″ max vertical jump at the 2017 NBA Draft Combine.

Like Trimble, there was a time when Briscoe would have headlined this group, at one point thought of as a potential lottery pick. Now he may not get drafted on June 22nd.

Briscoe arrived at Kentucky with the thought he could become the next dynamic Kentucky point guard, and is instead leaving Lexington more as a 6’3″ small forward.

Briscoe has some potential defensively thanks to his 6’9″ wingspan, which combined with his strength gave Kentucky some versatility on where to match him up defensively in their guard heavy rotation. But his offense is likely unplayable at the NBA level. There were times during his sophomore season that were Tony Allen’esque in terms of his defender just leaving him wide open in the corner with little regard, and he’d absolutely kill your spacing unless he’s able to completely transform his shot. He doesn’t do a whole lot else to overcome that, either, with erratic decision making and some struggles finishing over NBA length, despite his strength and aggressiveness. Hard pass.

Tyler Cavanaugh

6’9″ forward, senior, George Washington

Key stats: 18.3 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.4 blocks per game, shot 44.8% from the field, 40.9% from three-point range (on 4.7 attempts per game), and 84.8% from the line (on 5.8 attempts per game).

Measurables: 6’9″ (in shoes), 6’9″ wingspan, 8’9″ standing reach at Portsmouth (2017).

Good shooter, big frame, will compete on the glass, can be a bit of a black hole offensively. Gives you just about nothing defensively, to the point he might be unplayable. I think he ends up overseas, where he probably has a good career ahead of him.

Tahjere McCall

6’5″ guard, senior, Tennessee State

Key stats: 14.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 2.8 steals per game. Shot 46.3% from the field, 24.3% from three, and 63.7% from the line.

Measurables: 6’4″, 160 pounds.

Good handles, can change direction on a dime and get into the paint almost whenever he wanted to against OVC competition. Has good body control and can finish impressively at the rim when he gets there. Competes defensively, can move his feet, and has quick hands to force turnovers. Is 22 and has absolutely no jump shot, though, which severely hurts his chance of sticking on an NBA roster.

Reggie Upshaw

6’7″ forward, senior, Middle Tennessee State

Key stats: 14.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. Shot 52.5% from the field, 31.7% from three (on 2.9 attempts per game), and 72.4% from the line (on 3.5 attempts per game).

Measurables: 6’7″ (in shoes), 6’10” wingspan, 8’7.5″ standing reach at Portsmouth (2017).

After 4 years at Middle Tennessee State I’m not entirely sure what Upshaw’s calling card is as a prospect. Nearly 50% of his half-court attempts were on jumpers this year, and he connected on them at a decent rate, especially from midrange. Yet he shot just 31.7% from three as a senior and just 32.3% from three during his four year career. He did shoot 38% from three as a junior after shooting just 28.7% during his first two years, and after his regression this year that 38% looks like it might have been a small sample size (71 attempts) fluke. Shot just 59.8% from the line (482 attempts) for his career. Did shoot 72.4% from the line as a senior, but that was after 49.4% as a junior. Not an NBA defender, either on the perimeter or around the rim.

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Derek Bodner

Derek Bodner is a credentialed reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers independently for DerekBodner.com. He is also a college basketball scout for DraftExpress.com, and an NBA contributor for The Ringer. Contact Information: derek.bodner@draftexpress.com / @DerekBodnerNBA

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