SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 Sports) - The Utah Jazz, which does not own a first round pick in the upcoming NBA draft, worked out six players Saturday morning, including former BYU star Noah Hartsock.
Hartsock knows he's probably not going to get drafted, but that didn't stop him from enjoying every second of his first NBA workout.
"You always dream of coming to an NBA workout and doing things like that when you're growing up," said Hartsock, BYU's leading scorer last season averaging 16.8 points per game. "To finally get your chance, this is just amazing. Even if I don't make the NBA, I can just frame this practice jersey and tell my kids, 'Ya, that was me in the NBA.'"
Coming off ankle surgery, Hartsock had started playing basketball again only a week ago, so he wasn't able to show the Jazz coaching staff all that he can do.
"I was a little out of shape," he said. "It started hurting a little bit, but if I can just keep shooting well, I think I can really show the scouts what I can do."
Hartsock's hope is to get into an NBA training camp, but he is willing to go overseas to keep his playing career going.
"Hopefully I can get into one of those summer camps or maybe a training camp," said Hartsock, who will also work out for the Golden State Warriors. "If not, overseas is a definite possibility, just talking with agents teams over there. There is some interest, so it would be fun to travel a little bit. I think my wife would like that too."
The Jazz also worked out former Purdue forward Robbie Hummel, who is coming off two knee surgeries, but should be available when the Jazz draft in the second round with the 47th overall pick.
"I feel like this would be a good organization for me to play with," said Hummel. "I've known Gordon [Hayward] since I was a freshman in college, so it would be cool to play with him. I feel like I play kind of similar to Gordon, so I think that I would fit into the system nicely."
The Jazz also brought in four guards, Wichita State's Toure' Murry, California's Jorge Gutierrez, Missouri's Kim English and Villanova's Malik Wayns.
The Jazz could still trade into the first round to acquire a pick, but not having one currently has made it difficult for the team to bring players in for workouts.
"It's been tough getting guys in," said Jazz vice president of player personnel Walt Perrin. "Because everybody says this is such a great draft, all the agents think their guys are first round picks or early seconds. So, I am having problems getting certain people in. But we will still do our work even if we don't get them in for workouts because this is just one part of the process."
"Being with the 47th pick, it's tough getting guys in and seeing a broad range of guys," agreed Jazz head coach Tyrone Corbin. "These guys are going to so many workouts and their agents are kind of leery about us not having a pick. You never know what can happen."
The Jazz have not announced any other workouts as of yet.
