Kings get impactful in-person look at six NBA draft prospects

There are players who shrivel on days like this, unable to muster the confidence in an NBA draft workout that was there during their college days.

And then there's Joe Alexander.

The small forward from West Virginia was the most boisterous of six prospects worked out by the Kings on Friday at the team's practice facility, where the uber-athlete also known as "Jumpin Joe" or "Vanilla Sky" (he's Caucasian and can fly) wasn't afraid to boast about his all-around skills.

"I feel I'm as good a shooter as anyone (at the workout)," the 6-foot-8 Alexander said when asked about his alleged weaknesses. "I shoot 50 percent from the NBA three (point line) every workout I've been to, so anyone who's watched me extensively knows I've got a full set of skills. I don't have any glaring weaknesses.

"The No. 1 thing people talk about is ballhandling (deficiencies), which is even more incorrect. That's my biggest strength. People have no idea what they're talking about, just throw the stereotype out there that because I'm 6-8 I can't handle the ball because I played forward in college. It's ridiculous."

With the Kings preparing for the June 26 draft in which they pick 12th overall and have two second-round picks, it was the first workout opened to the media since a self-assured player who grew up in West Virginia named Jason Williams came through town in 1998. And although the curtain was closed after shooting drills and before the scrimmaging began, the lineup didn't disappoint.

In addition to the poised Alexander, UCLA point guard Russell Westbrook participated, as did Kansas forward Darrell Arthur, French small forward Nicolas Batum, North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson and Ohio State power forward Othello Hunter.

The workout included more high-profile future picks than the Kings have seen as yet, with only a visit last week from Texas point guard D.J. Augustin providing a bigger name. While Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie and his staff have been monitoring these players for years, the workout often can have great impact on the analysis at the end.

"When it's all said and done, we'll probably have in 60 players in addition to some other (multiple-team workouts)," Petrie said. "It's part of the whole portrait, really. You have tape, you have staff, you have interviews, you have the live looks and your own workout. Out of all of that, you're trying to formulate as good an opinion as you can of who they are."

Westbrook remains a possibility for the Kings despite presenting a familiar problem: He is a prospect whose position isn't defined. He is in a no-man's land between point guard and shooting guard, a roster spot occupied by Kings guard Quincy Douby, although the intrigue of Westbrook is far from comparable.

The 6-3, 187-pound Westbrook made his name as an athletic scorer and defender with UCLA, earning Pacific-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors last season as a sophomore while proving to be one of the nation's more explosive specimens. This was the fifth and final of his one-team workouts, with previous stops in Seattle (picking fourth), New York (No. 6) Portland (No. 13), and the Los Angeles Clippers (No. 7). Westbrook turned his ankle in the session and missed a chance to scrimmage against Lawson. He said the concerns about his game are off the mark, much like Alexander.

"I'm not worried about that at all," he said of playing the point in the NBA. "I've been playing point all my life. That's not a worry to me at all."

Arthur is a sophomore who had 20 points and 10 rebounds in the Jayhawks' national championship win over Memphis in April. He struggled through back pain in the workout. He strained it enough on a plane ride to Seattle last week that his Kings workout had to be rescheduled, but said he felt confident about his play and expected to be picked anywhere from top 10 to mid-first round. He'll head next to Memphis (No. 5), Charlotte (No. 9) and possibly the Knicks (No. 6).

Alexander, whose final workouts are for Portland and Golden State (No. 14), has yet to hire an agent and still could withdraw his name from the draft before the Monday deadline. That would make him eligible for his senior season. He expressed confidence that he's ready for the next level, true to form.

"The decision's done," he said of staying in the draft. "I'm just keeping the door open just in case. There's no reason to close it."

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