PHILADELPHIA — Seton Hall point guard Isaiah Whitehead performed in his first pre-draft NBA workout Monday morning for the Philadelphia 76ers at their practice facility at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Following last week’s NBA Draft Combine, Whitehead had originally scheduled four pre-draft workouts: the Sixers, Wednesday with the Indiana Pacers, Friday with the Boston Celtics, and wrapping up with the Chicago Bulls on May 23.
As of now, only one of the remaining three workouts is set in stone.
“I have Indiana Wednesday,” Whitehead said concerning the remaining workouts on his schedule.
On Sunday, the guard who has yet to formally sign with an agent, tweeted out that his decision to stay in the draft or return to school will come on Thursday – leaving two of his original four workouts in limbo.
“It’s definitely up in the air,” Whitehead said, referring to his Boston and Chicago workouts. “Based off my decision, if I stay in the draft, why not still go there? If I don’t, then obviously they will be cancelled because I can’t.”
Whitehead told SNY.tv at the NBA Combine that he would declare for the draft “100 percent” if he was guaranteed to be a first-round pick. On Monday morning, the Brooklyn native seemed softer on his draft position.
“Late-first round, early-second,” he said. “Just to solidify a spot. I don’t want to go to the NBA and get lost. Definitely just come out here and get as much information as possible.”
(Multiple sources told SNY.tv that Whitehead will end up declaring for the Draft on Thursday.)
With the new rule that allows college basketball players to enter the draft and still remain school eligible if they choose to not sign with an agent, it provides players with the opportunity to get a legitimate gauge of their NBA value.
Whitehead is planning to use these workouts – if nothing else – to do just that.
“I just ask them straight up, ‘Do you think I’m ready to go to the NBA or not?'” he said. “That’s basically what this route allows you to do and I’m going to take advantage of it.”
Come Thursday, when South Orange will be holding its collective breath on Whitehead’s decision, the guard and a few of those he trusts will sit down to figure out the next step in his career.
“Me and my mom, my college coach – Coach [Kevin] Willard,” Whitehead said of those in his circle of decision-making. “He set up workouts, he does it all for me. He helps out a lot. We all gotta sit down, I believe it’s Thursday, and make a decision.”
As for his time spent in the 76ers practice facility, Whitehead said his drills “went well.” Adding that scouts told him he needs to focus on cutting his turnovers down, so he went into the workout to show “decision making, not forcing things, and not turning the ball over.”
The 76ers feature players are three centers: Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor, and Nerlens Noel. On a team with young talent, but no real backcourt depth, Whitehead is open to whatever helps the team should he land in Philadelphia.
“They have a lot of great young players,” he said. “If it’s me coming in and waiting my turn, earning minutes, then you just gotta do what you gotta do. But if they want to come in and contribute right away, then I’ll step up to the challenge.”
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ZagsBlogSeton Hall point guard Isaiah Whitehead performed in his first pre-draft NBA workout this morning for the Philadelphia 76ers at their practice facility at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.
