Could you give some other examples of players that have done so?
Dante Exum, is one for certain.
https://www.si.com/nba/2014/06/25/dante-exum-nba-draft-australia-philadelphia-76ers-orlando-magicFultz is another
“The agents have the power — that’s just the bottom line with these top kids,” ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla said Tuesday on a draft combine conference call. “The agents have the ability to control the draft. That’s just how it has been in recent years.”
Of the 67 players invited to participate in the combine, many reports have at least five or six skipping part of the activities. Some players will do interviews with team executives, which could be the first direct contact they’ve had with the players. Others will do the medical evaluations, to clear up any injuries teams might have questions about.
“If you’re a team and you’re uncomfortable about a medical situation, you’re rolling the dice and hopefully teams have scouted these guys well, which I believe they have,” Fraschilla said. “They do due diligence on their background as to the kind of people they are. The agents control the market.”
For Fultz, even showing up is news, as the new trend is moving to skipping the even altogether.Kansas’ Josh Jackson (Detroit) and Kentucky’s De’Aaron Fox also will skip the 5-on-5 workouts, but there’s still some value in some of the top prospects attending.
“There’s a reason Markelle Fultz is going to be there; he hasn’t signed with an agent yet,” ESPN’s Jeff Goodman said on the call. “If he signs with one, who knows whether he’ll have the option to even go.
“Whether they go or not, Markelle Fultz is going but he’s really not doing anything there. De’Aaron Fox is going but he’s going to stand there and watch but he won’t do anything.
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/nba/2017/05/10/agents-spread-word-combine-workouts/101531070/Fultz sat out half his senior year, due to "injury".
You see some of these guys have a good game and try to ride it out so they get drafted high. Exum has been a disappointment but he got drafted high and as a result the agent was well paid.
Agents often use to deny a certain team scouting so they won't pick their guy.
2016 — Ben Simmons
Leading up to the draft in 2016, there were rumors that Simmons wanted to go to the Lakers at no. 2. At first, he refused to work out for the Philadelphia 76ers, who had the first overall pick. Simmons’s stance lasted for only a week, and he eventually worked out for the team. The Sixers would go on to pick Simmons, who has yet to play a game for them due to a foot injury.
2015 — D’Angelo Russell, Kristaps Porzingis, and Jahlil Okafor
There’s a sub-theme here: Prospects have a hard time trusting the process at first. They don’t like working out for the Sixers, who have owned the real estate atop the draft over the past few years, and have forced players to grapple with the idea of playing for a team whose main goal has been losing.
In 2015, Russell skipped his pre-draft private workout with the Sixers, allegedly due to illness. Porzingis, meanwhile, could have been the pick at no. 3 for Philly, but his agent gave the Sixers nothing, not a workout, not a meeting, and not even a physical. Despite reports that his agent told them not to draft him, the Sixers still took Okafor and the rest is histo — OK, not really.
2015 — Karl-Anthony Towns
Also in 2015, Towns was expected to be taken with the no. 1 pick by Minnesota. But at first, he didn’t want to work out with the Timberwolves or the Lakers, who owned the second pick, simply interviewing with the franchises instead. Two weeks after that report, however, Towns decided he would only work out for the Wolves.
2014 — Jabari Parker
A special shout-out to Jabari Parker, who transcended the choice to work out by giving the Cavs, who had the first pick in the 2014 draft, a workout, but subsequently tanking that workout! The gall and the audacity to game the system in that way is, in retrospect, impressive. Parker went second to the Bucks, so I can’t even say that decision was influenced by his distaste for living in Cleveland, because Milwaukee doesn’t sound much better.
2009 — Steph Curry
Here’s a reminder that will send Knicks fans into a wallowing state of sadness. In 2009, Steph Curry, his dad, and his agent all wanted him to be a Knick. Imagine that.
Before Curry turned into the best shooter in the history of the league, he was coveted by the Grizzlies (who had the no. 2 pick) and the Warriors (no. 7) in that year’s draft. He and his team, hell-bent on getting him to New York, refused to work out for either team. That deterred Memphis from taking him, but not Golden State. Obligatory reminder that the Timberwolves selected Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn with the fifth and sixth picks, bypassing Curry. Here’s to you, David Kahn.
These are only a few of the players who have, over the years, refused to work out for teams. It’s an oft-used move that has been employed by everyone from Jimmer Fredette to Marcus Smart to Sam Dekker and Frank Kaminsky.
https://www.theringer.com/2017/5/25/16044118/lonzo-ball-workout-refusal-boston-celtics-c645d49fa3afYep, Marcus did it too, can you guess why with what you know now?
