The NBA Draft is still a week away, and for Wayne Selden Jr. more plane trips, workouts and chances to prove he can play at the next level remain.
Already, the Kansas guard who turned pro a year early has shown off his skills for Milwaukee, Chicago, San Antonio, Houston, the Los Angeles Lakers, New York, New Orleans and Charlotte.
> “You just take it day by day, you
> know,” Selden said Wednesday during a
> [Q&A with Charlotte media][1]. “You
> don’t really think ahead, you don’t
> think about past workouts. You wake
> up, sometimes you don’t know what city
> you’re in, but you’ve just gotta go do
> the workout.”
After a slight knee injury kept the 6-foot-5 prospect [from participating in NBA Draft Combine][2] drills and scrimmages, putting him at somewhat of a disadvantage against his competition, Selden at least appears to have recovered health-wise, re-gaining his bounce, explosion and lift on his jump shots.
At Selden’s latest pre-draft session, with the Hornets, he hit unguarded 2-point jumpers and 3-pointers from the left wing and left corner with ease. During one drill, the 232-pound shooting guard ran from corner to corner, finishing alley-oops at the rim each time he passed through the paint.
In a more traditional scrimmage setting, Selden nailed a jumper from the right wing. And during some one-on-one work, he got by his man for a reverse layup.
Check out the highlights from his Charlotte workout below.
HIGHLIGHTS: Wayne Selden Jr. (Kansas) in today’s pre-draft workouts.https://t.co/4BrfDOSDEW pic.twitter.com/HLVObY74Dk
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) June 15, 2016
Following the on-court display, Selden said he thought his latest test went as he hoped.
> “I shot the ball pretty well, got in
> the swing of things pretty good,”
> Selden added.
As good as he looked in Charlotte, it doesn’t seem Selden’s recent workouts have generated enough steam for him to move up the mock drafts as of yet.
[DraftExpress.com][3] predicts the 22-year-old guard with a 6-foot-10.5 wingspan will be the 49th overall pick, going to Detroit in the second round.
Meanwhile, [nbadraft.net][4] has Selden getting taken a little later — 56th overall, by Denver.
Regardless of which city he is in or which team he finds himself working out for, Selden said he tries to showcase the things he can excel at on the court, such as: passing ability, creating out of screen-and-roll actions, guarding multiple positions, and “being an athlete.”
Playing at Kansas, he added, “tremendously” prepared him for this jump to the next level.
> “Especially being there for three
> years,” Selden said, “and being able
> to mature there as a player, as a
> person, and overall.”
Seeing as how he just worked out for the Hornets, Selden was asked what he thought about the possibility of playing for the organization.
> “I think I’d be a good fit, just being
> able to stretch the defense, being
> able to knock shots down, being able
> to play run-and-gun, stuff like that,”
> Selden said. “Being able to guard
> different positions.”
The Hornets currently own just one pick in the draft, and it’s in the first round at No. 22. All the projections floating around indicate that would be far too early to take Selden. But Charlotte could maneuver its way into a second-round pick pretty easily if it so desired.
What’s more, Selden could be an inexpensive option for the Hornets, who could potentially lose Nicolas Batum, Courtney Lee and Jeremy Lin in free agency and find themselves in need of some backcourt help to go with Kemba Walker.
Earlier in the week, Selden worked out with [New Orleans][5], where he encountered some less serious questions. In particular: How old is Perry Ellis?
> “That’s a good question,” Selden
> deadpanned, shrugging his shoulders.
> “I’m kidding. He’s only 22, right? I
> don’t know. I think he’s 22.”
Nailed it. Ellis is only 22, despite those social media photoshop jobs that might suggest otherwise.
https://twitter.com/hmfaigen/status/742947632629354498
According to Selden, the Jayhawks never jumped on that joke bandwagon.
> “Nobody talked to Perry like that. We
> all respected Perry too much,” Selden
> shared, with the question coming up
> because Ellis attended the same
> Pelicans workout. “Perry didn’t get no
> jokes at him or nothing in the locker
> room. Perry was the man. Nobody would
> dare.”
As for Selden’s New Orleans showing, at least one reporter was amazed with his effortless dunking and asked if that’s something he spends a lot of time practicing.
> “I just feel really good lately,”
> Selden said of his explosiveness.
Of course, Selden knows no team is drafting him solely for his powerful dunks.
> “I’m just trying to play my game.
> That’s the biggest thing. Nothing
> more. Nothing less,” Selden said. “I
> can shoot it, I can guard different
> positions, I can get to the basket, I
> can create for others.”
What does the aspiring NBA 2-guard think of the Pelicans?
> “It’s a good team. They’ve got a
> superstar in Anthony Davis. They’ve
> got great guard play and they’re good
> in transition, so I think that’s where
> I could fit,” Selden responded.
Unlike the Hornets, the Pelicans do own a couple of second-round picks not too far away from the range where Selden is expected to be drafted. New Orleans has back-to-back choices at No. 39 and No. 40.
While New Orleans does have Tyreke Evans, Jrue Holiday, Quincy Pondexter and Toney Douglas returning to its backcourt, injury issues often have depleted the team of its full cast the past couple of years, and Selden could give the Pelicans some rotation depth.
[1]: http://www.nba.com/hornets/video/archive
[2]: http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/smithology/2016/may/16/stock-watch-wayne-seldens-knee-injury-no/
[3]: http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/smithology/2016/may/16/stock-watch-wayne-seldens-knee-injury-no/
[4]: http://www.nbadraft.net/2016mock_draft
[5]: http://www.nba.com/pelicans/video/archive
