Draft workout confidential: Inside look at Ingram, Murray and Maker

[colincb]

Chad Ford Insider Content. Lot's of other prospects discussed, but only including three here. If you don't pay, grasshopper, you have to sit at my feet and beg for pearls of wisdom, I follow other sports too unlike you monomaniacs so I think it's worth it and i get the magazine too!

Brandon Ingram, F, Fr., Duke

Ingram has been working out in White Plains, New York, focusing on two key things the 76ers and Lakers will be watching closely in their workouts with him -- improving his strength and proving his ability to be an elite shooter from the NBA 3-point line.

A lack of strength is the biggest knock against Ingram right now. His lanky 6-foot-8 frame weighs less than 200 pounds -- extremely thin for an NBA forward.

Ingram says he has put on around seven pounds since he started strength training, upping his weight to 197 pounds. Obviously, teams are going to want to see him significantly heavier than that. But he has time. He is one of the youngest players in the draft and has never done much in the weight room. While his frame is thin, the word from the training staff here was that Ingram is already surprisingly strong.

The other question concerns Ingram's 3-point shot. He made an impressive 41 percent from deep as a freshman but as Kevin Pelton has mentioned in our draft debates, his 68 percent free throw shooting is a red flag. Typically, free throw shooting has been a better indicator of a player's NBA 3-point shooting ability.

While Ingram didn't address his free throw shooting in the workout I saw, he really shot the ball well in a series of drills utilizing the NBA 3. Not only did he look comfortable taking spot-up shots, but when the staff took him through a star drill -- where Ingram had to make as many shots as possible from five spots on the floor in a star pattern in two minutes -- he excelled.

He has an effortless stroke. He didn't seem to be straining at all on the 3s. That's unusual for most prospects, even great shooters, so early in the process. Typically it takes players some time to adjust. Ingram is well on his way.

Off the court, Ingram is quiet and determined. A number of GMs remarked that he impressed in his interviews at the draft combine and that all the background reports say he's a thoughtful, coachable player who's a good teammate off the court. And despite his thin frame, Ingram doesn't seem to be that concerned with the increased physicality he'll encounter in the NBA.

"I'm confident," he said. "I think confidence got me this far. I always thought I was the best player wherever I was, even with my build I always had confidence.

Confidence to do whatever I wanted regardless of what others said. Determination to make a basket or get a defensive stop. I've always been responsible, have put my teammates first and taken responsibility for my own actions."

Ingram probably will go either No. 1 or No. 2 in the draft. Interestingly, one NBA exec said his real future in the NBA isn't as a forward. It's as a shooting guard.

"Back when the Pacers used to play Paul George at the 2, I felt like that was his best position," he said. "I feel the same way about Ingram. That's where he can be devastating and his lack of strength won't come back to haunt him. If he becomes a superstar, I think it will be because he developed the ability to play that spot."

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Jamal Murray, G, Fr., Kentucky

As good as Ingram looked in those shooting drills, Murray looked even better. He rarely missed in the 90-minute workout I saw, even when he was standing five feet beyond the NBA 3-point line.

Murray's the type of player who really comes alive when the lights are on and kept pushing through repetitions of the star drill, trying to break the record for the most 3s hit in a two-minute period. He hit 22 in his first try -- just short of the record of 23, which he achieved on his second try. Then his workout partner, Dyshawn Pierre, made 24. Murray asked to go through the exhausting drill one more time and this time made 25.

How good do you have to be to hit 25 3s in two minutes -- especially when after every made 3 you have to run to another spot on the floor? In that sequence he was 25-for-27 from beyond the arc. Murray's release is quick, but it's his competitiveness that makes him especially lethal.

While scouts have compared him a lot to a young Brandon Roy, another comparison came to my mind watching the workouts: a bigger C.J. McCollum. Murray still needs to answer questions about whether he's a true point guard (the workout didn't really address those skills). But even if teams don't think he can be a full-time PG in the pros, he might be the best shooter in this draft. At 6-foot-5 with a 6-foot-7 wingspan and a very strong frame, he's big enough to play the shooting guard position.

Still, Murray's confident he'll be a point guard at the next level.

"I've had a basketball in my hands since I was three months old," Murray said. "When I was six years old, I was playing against 10-year-olds. I'm the son of a coach. He was hard on me. He made sure I was disciplined and coached very well. He was my biggest critic. My best friend.

"I did what I had to do at Kentucky. I've played point guard my whole life. But we had Tyler [Ulis] there. I wasn't focused on scoring 20 points a game. I was just doing whatever we need to win. Sometimes that was scoring 26 points, sometimes 12 and focusing on getting people involved from the 2 spot."

With the draft order set, look for Murray to go either No. 3 to the Celtics, No. 5 to the Wolves or No. 6 to the Pelicans. I doubt he slips further than that.

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Thon Maker, F, Australia

Maker has been the biggest mystery man in the draft. Even after 90 minutes of watching him work out, I would say he remains so.

He aced his interviews at the combine. He tested as the second-tallest player in the draft. He has added weight and strength. His weight is up to 218 pounds and his body is starting to fill out. He could still add another 20 pounds, which shouldn't be a problem for him.

And in the drills I saw, he showed off a very solid 3-point jumper, great mobility for his position and a motor that goes nonstop. He's in great shape and he played incredibly hard.

Maker has the size, physical tools and determination to be a very good NBA player. But does he have the game?

Both Murray and Ingram say he does. They've worked out with him in 3-on-3 and even some 5-on-5 settings and vouch for him that he belongs. Until he gets on the floor in competitive situations against other top prospects, it's going to be tough to tell.

Maker is itching to get the chance to show that. He wants to move beyond his mixtapes. He knows he has a lot to learn, but he wants to prove that he can earn his keep in the league.

He has spent countless hours in the gym, and then at night is breaking down video of everyone from Kobe Bryant to Kevin Durant to Dirk Nowitzki.

But at least one GM says he thinks that his best chance to be a star will take him on a different path than those players.

"I think he'll eventually be a 5 in our league," the GM said. "He's got the size. He plays really hard. He's a tough kid. I think his defense will come along a lot quicker than the offense.

"I'd have him watch Tyson Chandler video. Rudy Gobert. Those guys were thin, too. He can do more than those guys can on the perimeter, I'm just not sure his NBA coach will want him to."

For a young man who is still seeking his identity as a player, is he really ready for the NBA?

"I will be ready," Maker said. "I will be. I'm preparing for it every day."

Workouts will be key for him. But if his workouts go as well as players like Ingram and Murray say they will, he might go in the first round. The Celtics, Sixers, Suns and Nuggets all have multiple picks. One of them might be willing to take a shot.

If they don't? Someone will likely grab him in the second round -- there's just too much intrigue to bypass.

[alldaboston]

Thanks man. TP. All three of these guys seem like great kids. Every day I read something new about the guys mentioned for 3 (bender, Hield, Murray) and I flip flop on my preferences and rankings. It's gonna be a tough pick imo.

I also hope we leave the draft with Thon somehow. He has the determination to work on his game, and even if it means a few years before he is able to contribute, I think that's ok. We can afford to gamble more on a later pick.