After a successful showing at the 2018 NBA Draft, Duke guard Grayson Allen looked to further improve his stock in Friday’s pre-draft workout with the Los Angeles Lakers. He met with the Lakers at the NBA Draft Combine, and had already worked out for the Brooklyn Nets.
Allen drew the ire of opponents during his collegiate career, both for his brashness and questionable actions on the court. While some sharpshooters such as Allen find difficulty in adjusting to the NBA range, he doesn’t expect any trouble.
“Shooting translates, for sure. If you watch the league now, there’s a bunch of shooters on the court,” he said.
“Also, you’ve got to figure out how you can contribute in other ways. Obviously in the NBA I’ll get more opportunities to be off the ball, with superstars in the league and playing off them. I think I can still expand my scoring and show what I can do on the defensive end with my athleticism.”
Because of his checkered past, Allen has faced questions about his behavior, such as tripping opponents. “I definitely have to answer the question. That’s something that has to be addressed,” he said. “Every team is asking about it.
“At the end of the day you just have to explain I made mistakes, I went too far but that I’ve grown and matured from it. And honestly, I’m a lot better now after going through it.”
The Lakers were among the teams to question Allen as part of their process to gain a better insight and understanding of who the fiery guard is on an individual level. “They asked about your personality, try to find out who you are,” Allen said.
“They’ve seen a lot of me on TV over the last four years and seen my game but now is a change to get to know me. Get to know my personality. Really, in these workouts I just want to come out here and be myself. Do what I’ve done, be the guy they know me to be. Bring a lot of energy and competitiveness.”
Even with needing to answer difficult questions, Allen is enjoying the process leading up to this year’s draft. “I’ve been dreaming about walking into gyms like this since I was a little kid, so it was really cool to be able to do it,” he said.
Allen particularly enjoyed the ‘Lakers Mentality Drill‘ that tests a player’s ability to fight through fatigue as they have 90 seconds to get up a multitude of shots, rebound the ball and push it up and down the court.
“It was fun,” he said.
