Word on the Street: Brewer Working Out for Phoenix

Brewer Joins Noah in Phoenix Workout

The East Valley Tribune reported that Joakim Noah will be working out two days before the draft (Tuesday) with the Phoenix Suns, a sure-fire sign that a trade involving either the #5 or #7 pick is imminent. DraftExpress learned that Phoenix will also host Corey Brewer on Tuesday, although the identity of the other prospects participating in the two workouts is still unknown.

To pull off a workout of this nature two days before the draft—one that will almost certainly be competitive considering the timing and what’s at stake—the Suns had to be able to give the players’ agents a very strong indication that they are very serious about moving up to draft them. What makes things easier is the fact that virtually every player in this draft, as well their agent, believes that Phoenix would be the absolute best fit for their style of play. It’s amazing what having Steve Nash on your team and playing the most attractive style of basketball in the NBA will do for you.

Noah and Brewer will be flying in from the a team that will certainly be drafting ahead of Phoenix--Memphis-- where they will be working out together in front of the Grizzlies on Monday, both for the second time. Noah reportedly had an excellent workout there on the 13th.

Durant Works out for Seattle

Kevin Durant will be officially working out for the Supersonics on Sunday, a source close to the situation told DraftExpress today. In stark contrast to the media event the Portland Trailblazers created when Durant came by, the Supersonics did not play up his visit at all. Seattle does not want to play up Durant’s arrival in Seattle as that of a savior, and is therefore not creating a huge buzz the way Portland did in an attempt to draw up fan support and boost season ticket sales. Durant had dinner on Saturday night with his family, agent, and Seattle’s owner Clay Bennett. Sunday will be his second visit with the Supersonics, although the last one was much more informal.

The buzz out of Portland following Durant’s workout was that he tested as a much better athlete than he initially gave on at the pre-draft camp a few weeks back. Portland is still adamant about the fact that their mind has not been made up yet, and Durant’s camp still believes there is a legit chance he ends up going #1.

Acie Law has a promise?

After cancelling a workout with the New Orleans Hornets, the Oklahoman is speculating that Acie Law may have received a guarantee from the Atlanta Hawks. A quick call to Law’s agency, Wasserman Media Group, leads us to believe otherwise. “Acie Law does not have a promise from Atlanta,” told us Greg Lawrence of WMG. “The workout went well, and teams are impressed by him, but he does not have a commitment.”

So why did Law cancel his workout with New Orleans? From what we understand, Law would much rather be drafted one slot down from the Hornets, at #14 by the Los Angeles Clippers, rather than play behind 2005 Rookie of the Year point guard Chris Paul. The Clippers are desperate for a point guard who can play minutes right away due to Sam Cassell’s heath problems, and Law would find himself in a perfect situation in Los Angeles—which happens to be in WMG’s backyard. Adding intrigue is the fact that the Clippers’ highly regarded Director of Player Personnel, Neil Olshey, used to work with Arn Tellem and the rest of the WMG crew at their former agency, SFX Sports.

Regardless, sources tell us that there is a very good chance that Law will indeed get drafted by Atlanta, even if he does not have a commitment at this point.

The Hornets are reportedly leaning towards either Nick Young or Rodney Stuckey at #13. Young works out for them on Monday.

Splitter Conducting Interviews

As reported in the Philadelphia Daily News, Tiago Splitter conducted a telephone interview with the 76ers on Friday. Sources told DraftExpress that Splitter, who as we found out in Athens at the Euroleague Final Four speaks very good English, is also scheduled to interview with the Phoenix Suns and New Jersey Nets this week. A physical that will be supplied to every NBA team was taken in Spain. Splitter is reportedly adamant about joining the NBA team that drafts him this summer, even if his contract calls for him to stay at least one more year in Spain. Most teams we spoke to have him penciled in at either New Jersey (#17), Golden State (#18), or at worst Philadelphia (#21).

Random Notes

-The Mavericks continue to be a source of discussion in potential trade rumors.

-Kyrylo Fesenko was supposed to work out against Noah on Friday in Atlanta, but decided to pull out…Craig Bradshaw of Winthrop was brought in instead.

-Speaking of pull outs, DraftExpress learned today that Josh McRoberts cancelled a workout scheduled with Detroit.

-The Toronto Raptors have targeted a player they like and are attempting to trade for a pick in the late first round, possibly Phoenix or Philadelphia’s. Marco Belinelli and Rudy Fernandez would both make them incredibly happy in the unlikely case they fell here. 3 million dollars and a future second round pick is rumored to be the asking price.

-Most of the people we talked to today have Brandan Wright going 4th in their mock draft oddly enough, based off what they are hearing. This seems like a strange place considering that he doesn’t seem to fit at all next to Pau Gasol (and isn’t polished enough to get him excited enough to back off his trade demands, anyway), but that’s where a few teams we spoke to have him. For now we’re sticking with Conley at #4, but we’ll see how much steam Noah and Wright can pick up in the next few days.

-Teams thinking about trading a draft pick on Wednesday for Luis Scola should know that he is mulling over a 5-year contract offer for a ridiculous sum of 10 million Euros. After calculating taxes and the exchange rate, we figure Scola will be essentially signing a deal for the mid-level Exception if he indeed decides to take it. That just gives you an idea of how much ground European teams have made up on the NBA in their ability to compete financially over the past few years. Scola reportedly loves playing in Spain and is a long-shot to ever make it over to the NBA.