Recently, I discussed the three main workouts that NBA teams are putting on for the top prospects in this year’s draft class. Teams are joining up on these workouts to cut the cost of doing them individually, which include the fixed costs of hosting the event itself, flying the players out to the workout, putting the players up in a hotel, giving the players a per diem, etc.
But just because NBA teams are cutting down on the number of “official” workouts, does not mean that team scouts and GMs are not traveling across the country to see the top talent in person. Before Nick Calathes decided to accept a 3-year 2.1 million Euro deal with Panathinaikos, scouts were loving his play down in IMG Academies. Prominent athlete preparation facilities are not the only places that scouts are visiting, either.
WMG put together a private workout to show off their clients, alone, which is quite an impressive list. Many teams showed up, and it might have been enough to improve James Johnson’s draft stock. Interesting tactic from one of, if not the, best basketball agencies in the world.