EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The NBA held its first large NBA draft workout of the year on Wednesday and Thursday.
The New Jersey workout and another in Minnesota next week represent the last chances for NBA scouts to see players competing in five-on-five scrimmages. Per NBA rules, players no longer participate in five-on-five scrimmages at the NBA draft combine, and teams are limited to having the players go three-on-three in individual team workouts.
Virtually every team in the league showed up at the event, including a large number of GMs.
Overall, just one of our top 30 prospects attended the event and just four of our top 60.
ESPN was at the event both days and spoke with a number of NBA executives and scouts in attendance to get their take on standout players. Opinions varied wildly among scouts and execs, which seems to be the norm for this draft.
Here's a look at how some of the standouts fared for better or for worse.
Pierre Jackson | PG | Baylor
Jackson was the only guy here ranked in the top 30 -- and it showed. Virtually every GM I spoke with thought he was the best player in attendance. Not only did he show off his elite quickness and athletic ability, but he also showed off his floor general skills.
I was impressed with his ability to run the pick-and-roll. His speed allowed him to fly by defenders (Kentucky's Julius Mays was on him for most of the game), and he hit several big jumpers.
While his lack of size is an issue (he measured 5-foot-10.5 in Chicago with just a 5-10 wingspan), he's an elite athlete (measured with a 42-inch vertical leap in New Jersey), a good scorer and a willing passer. We've had him ranked as a first-round pick for the past two months or so, and he vindicated that to a large degree. If a team is willing to look past the size issue, he has a great shot of going in the first round.
Arsalan Kazemi | F | Oregon
The Oregon forward has always been a favorite of the analytics crowd.
While he's not really a scorer, he's one of those players who seems to be everywhere, makes all the hustle plays and helps make everyone on the floor better.
He showed the same knack for doing that in a five-on-five workout where most players on the floor were selfishly looking for their own shot. Whether he was diving for loose balls, grabbing rebounds or dishing out the ball for assists, Kazemi is just a flat-out player and the type of glue guy a team might love to grab in the second round.
D.J. Stephens | G/F | Memphis
Scouts have issues -- lots of them -- with Stephens. His jump shot is flat (and at times dinged off the bottom of the rim in New Jersey). His handle is shaky. He's really a power forward, but he measures just 6-5.5 in shoes.
But here's what's undeniable: He is the best athlete in the draft, plays with a fantastic motor and has the potential to be a lockdown defender at multiple positions.
Stephens measured with a 40-inch standing vertical and a 46-inch maximum vertical. Both numbers are the highest I've seen at a combine -- ever. He has a ridiculous 7-2.5 wingspan and a big 8-7.5 standing reach. His three-quarter court sprint speed of 2.98 seconds is among the fastest ever measured.
And that athleticism translates on the court. Stephens flies up and down the floor, is an elite shot-blocker for a player his size and is an unbelievable finisher at the rim. He leaped completely over James Ennis when he gave him a pump fake. He was the one guy in New Jersey that you could never take your eyes off. He's that special.
I know the lack of any real offensive game looms large. Coaches want players who can score -- at least a little bit. But his defensive potential is so high, and he's such a willing player, that I wouldn't be shocked to see someone take a chance on him in the second round.
Trevor Mbakwe, F/C, Minnesota
Mbakwe has his issues too. He's a 6-8 power forward. He's already 24 years old. He has a history of knee injuries. There are serious character questions. In short, he has baggage. Lots of it.
But when you see the massive hands, the huge wingspan and standing reach, the explosion and the motor, it's hard not to take a second and even third look. Mbakwe is a beast in the paint, a warrior on the offensive glass and a shot-blocker. He's tough. He's physical. He stands out when he's on the floor and looks like a guy that -- if you erased the bad knees and off-the-court stuff -- could be a lottery pick in a draft like this.
All those characteristics were there on display in New Jersey, and scouts noticed. They'll take a look. Then a second look. Then a third one before passing on him.
Honorable mentions: James Ennis, F, Long Beach State; Matt Dellavedova, PG, Saint Mary's, Vander Blue, G, Marquette; Brandon Triche, G, Syracuse; Julius Mays, G, Kentucky; Travis Releford, F, Kansas
Other notes from the New Jersey workout:
• Missouri's Phil Pressey still doesn't get it. He's one of the best passing guards in the draft, but much like his junior season at Missouri, he got away from that and instead kept jacking up bad jumpers. He made a few highlight-reel passes, but he mistakenly believes he's a scorer and it's killing his draft stock. Had he come in and just ran his team in New Jersey, he might have played himself into the first round. Instead, he might have played himself out of it.
• We talked about the fact that a whopping 10 players tested with a 40-inch or higher maximum vertical at the NBA draft combine. Stephens (46 inches), Jackson (42.5 inches) and Minnesota's Rodney Williams (42.5 inches) pushed that number to 13. That's a huge number of players with 40-inch verticals in the same draft camp.
• Scouts want to love Temple's Khalif Wyatt, but his athletic numbers make it tough. He measured terribly for a guard with a 31-inch maximum vertical and had well below-average scores on the lane agility and sprint numbers for a guard, ranking third to last for all prospects, including the bigs. To top it off, he had a shockingly high 13.1 percent body fat. The talent is there, but he has to get in better shape.
• Norvel Pelle was supposed to be the sleeper in the draft. But after below-average performances at the draft combine and in New Jersey, it's likely he slides out of the draft. There is raw talent there, but it's far, far away.
• Scouts were excited to get a look at former Arizona guard Josiah Turner. He was once ranked as an elite high school prospect but struggled his freshman year at Arizona and then left the team. He didn't really stand out in New Jersey. With Syracuse's Brandon Triche dominating the ball, he didn't really have the chance to showcase himself. Mostly likely he goes undrafted -- a precipitous fall for a player who was once so highly regarded as a prospect.