With the NBA Draft less than a week away, Duncan Robinson is doing all he can to make sure teams remember him.
The 6-8 guard/forward took part in group workouts with the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, and with the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday. While Robinson is not projected to be drafted according to multiple mock drafts, the big man fits the offensive profile of a modern NBA stretch-four with his ability to shoot threes.
Warriors workout list for Friday. Any of these names stand out? pic.twitter.com/YrpMfwGLgg
— Marcus Thompson (@ThompsonScribe) June 14, 2018
Tomorrow the #Sixers have six pre-draft workouts:
— Sixers News (@SixersNews0719) June 13, 2018
Stephen Brown
Bruce Brown Jr.
Bryant Crawford
Duncan Robinson
Jevon Carter
Maverick Rowan pic.twitter.com/0u8213dBoG
Despite an early season slump that saw him lose his starting job to freshman Isaiah Livers, Robinson led Michigan with 79 threes this year, and was second on the team in three point percentage (.384).
As teams that embrace the modern “pace-and-space” NBA, both the Warriors and the 76ers are natural fits for Robinson. With an earlier workout with the Lakers too, Robinson seems like an ideal candidate to latch on to a team that value threes and fast-paced offense.
Many of Golden State’s best lineups go five-out, and with a youth movement expected on the Warriors’ bench according to Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, Robinson fits the bill as a potential replacement down the road.
Philadelphia found success with the mid-season acquisition of forward Ersan Ilyasova, but he’s a free agent this summer. Robinson could benefit from the tutelage of Joel Embiid and Dario Saric, who have both developed into capable shooting bigs.
Robinson, like most other players in the draft has his detractors, though. At 210 pounds, he’ll have to bulk up considerably to work in the post against NBA bigs. Although he took big steps at times last season in the Wolverines’ resurgent defense, Robinson was at his best an average defender at Michigan, and has yet to show that he can be that at the next level.
The NBA’s middle class though, has turned into a band of specialists, of players who can definitively check off a need for a team as soon as they step on the court. Fortunately, Robinson’s specialty is clear: slithering through screens and knocking down momentum-changing shots from behind the arc. Now, it’s just about him finding the team that values his skill-set like Michigan did over the past two years.