I am going to blantantly steal a page from Blazer's Edge and transcribe the chat from Casey Holdahl's Blazer Blog on OregonLive. Last Friday, Casey Aaron Brooks at his Blazers workout then had a lengthy discussion with MVP about his NBA future. For those of you not familiar with how the OTHER Dave does this on Blazers Edge, the chat will be in blockquotes with grey backgrounds, while my thoughts will be normal text. I am paraphrasing the chat to the best of my ability. If you can, listen to the chat yourself by clicking here.
First, MVP talks about his workout with the Blazers and with other teams:
MVP thought his Blazers workout went really well. This was his sixth workout, he'll have about thirteen or fourteen total. He's getting a lot of positive feedback, especially regarding his shooting and defense. However, he doesn't feel he's done enough to get into the first round, because the moment you get complacent, you're done. But he feels like he should be a first round pick and knows he can play in the league.
I think he can play in the league, too. More and more, the league is becoming more about quickness than about size. Look at a guy like Earl Boykins or, to the extreme, Allen Iverson. We know that MVP can shoot better than 95% of the players in the league, and he would also be among the quicker players in the league. I'm not saying he's going to be a star, but there is a spot in an NBA rotation for Aaron.
Next, MVP talks about where he'd like to play, and about graduating from UO:
Aaron has no real preference on what team he would go to, although Portland would be nice because its so close to home and they'll be good. He's very excited about graduating. It was a tough last quarter because he was doing workouts while going to school. His senior year meant so much to him because without what he accomplished this season, he wouldn't be in position to be drafted. Opening up the offense and turning back into a running team really help. He thinks that this is his contribution to the NBA--a change of pace guard who can play up tempo and pick up full court on defense. He's not worried about arguments that he's more of a scorer than a distributor. He feels like he dispeled that in the Orlando pre-draft camp.
I think that a change of pace guard is the role that Aaron will play in the league. A guy who is quick and can shoot that can force a quicker pace for a spurt. Thinking about it, Leandro Barbosa of Phoenix is a good comparison for what I believe Aaron can do in the league.
Brooks talking about the teams he's working out for and compares to TJ Ford and Tony Parker:
It would be very exciting to play for Nate McMillan because I grew up watching him. It would also be fun to play with Freddie and Travis Outlaw. He's worked out for Houston, Chicago, Miami, Phoenix, Golden State, and Portland. He's going to work out for Seattle and a bunch of other teams after graduation. Its tough having so many workouts in a row (he's got eight in a row), just make sure you get rest. Its basketball, and basketball's fun. He thinks he did okay in the Portland workout, but didn't shoot very well. Its a grind, but a dream come true to be in a position to be drafted. All the feedback is that he will be drafted somewhere, though maybe not in the first round. He compares himself to TJ Ford and Tony Parker. He's not as good as Tony Parker, but he believes he has a similar game.
MVP will be drafted, and I think that a team like Phoenix or Golden State that plays at a quicker pace would be the best fit (although it'd be fun to see him in Portland, but I don't think that will happen. We'll find out June 28. Best of luck to Aaron wherever he goes.
GO DUCKS!!!
--Dave
