Clippers Host Pre-Draft Workouts for Brogdon, Payton, Others

As the Clippers gear up for the NBA draft on June 23 (where they have picks 25 and 33), they'll have tons of players in for group workouts as they look for options with both of their picks and for any underrated free agents to add to the summer league roster.  Today, they had a group of 6 new prospects in: Malcolm Brogdon, Gary Payton II, A.J. English, Danuel House, Marshall Plumlee, and Josh Scott.

Brogdon, a 6'5.5" wing who was a corner three marksman and defensive specialist for powerhouse Virginia, could be in the Clippers range, especially at 33.  Payton, a point guard who still has to work on his jumpshot and some other aspects of his game, figures to be a safe second-round pick, although 33 might be a reach.

Those are the only two in this grouping that are on my watch list for the Clippers to select at 25 and 33.

House is a 6'7" senior SF from Texas A&M who is projected to go underrated and sits at #97 on DraftExpress' big board.  He shot just 31% from the college three last season.

English, a scoring guard from Iona, isn't even on DraftExpress' top 100 Big Board.  He scored 22.6 points per game and shot 37% from deep in his senior year, but CBS Sports' Sam Vecenie still lists him as the 28th best SG in this year's draft.  He measured at 6'3" with a 6'10" wingspan at the combine, and he could be a summer league option.

Marshall Plumlee is famous for his last name and his role on Duke, isn't projected to be drafted.  He averaged 8 points and 8 rebounds as a senior for Duke,  being solid but not even making his way onto Vecenie's list of 24 centers for this draft class.  He's likely being brought in to work out due to the J.J. Redick/Austin Rivers Duke connection, and could be on the summer team for that reason.  Beyond that, it's hard to see him making an NBA team at this point.

Scott is a center from Colorado who's in the same boat--he's not expected to be drafted and didn't make the DraftExpress top 100 or CBS's center rankings.

It's not uncommon for teams to bring in a lot of these no-name prospects along with a couple of legitimate targets.  First, they're taking shots in the dark that one of these guys could really wow them, but mostly, it's an attempt to scout summer league prospects as well as give the legitimate targets bodies to play against.  I'm sure that Brogdon and Payton's abilities were tested in drills where they had to go one-on-one vs English and House, and Plume and Scott likely served as pick-and-roll finishers and rim protectors.

If the Clippers really fall in love with one of Brogdon or Payton, they could draft one or both of them using their 25 and 33 selections.  If they fall in love with one of the other 4, they can pick them up as an undrafted free agent, or buy a late second round pick to secure their rights.