Sanders and Robinson kickoff busy week of workouts

Just 10 days remain until the NBA Draft and the Bucks are shifting into high gear with their individual workouts. Jim Paschke reports that the Bucks will bring in 42 players between today and next Tuesday, a big number that reflects the panoply of options that come with having a mid-first rounder and two second round picks. The best part is that the Bucks have been able to schedule most of the obvious candidates for the #15 pick, a far cry from two years ago when none of the lottery talent seemed interested in giving the Bucks a closer look. This week we expect Gordon Hayward and James Anderson (bad hammy and all) to be in town on Wednesday, Patrick Patterson on Tuesday [Edit: unfortunately he's no longer coming today], and Monday featured VCU PF/C Larry Sanders, UCONN combo forward Stanley Robinson, Mississippi St. shot-blocker Jarvis Varnado and UVA's Sylven Landesberg.

Sanders and to a lesser extent Robinson have both gotten some mid-first round buzz over the past month or so, but it's interesting to hear Billy McKinney more or less dismiss the possibility of the Bucks going for either guy at #15. Via Draft Central at Bucks.com:

On if Larry Sanders is in the mix at No. 15…
"I think that might be a little bit of a stretch, but anything is possible. This draft is a little bit crazy right now because we’re not sure how the top 15 is shaking out. Every week we go through mock drafts and we look at the mock drafts and different people are all over the board. We think that might be a little bit of a stretch (to have Sanders at 15) but we have him in anyway to look at him in the event that something might happen in the event that we might move back."

On if Stanley Robinson will crack the top 20…
"It’s possible. I would say one of the things about Stanley Robinson and that he would tell you that one of the things he has to improve is his shooting, his offense, so that might limit where he goes in the first round. He could be a late first round pick, he could go in the second round, it just depends on how the team that drafts him views him."

Assuming that we can take McKinney's comments at face value, that means the Bucks are either being really thorough with their workouts--I guess it's not completely out of the question that someone like Robinson or Sanders could slide all the way to #37--or there's a non-trivial chance they acquire a later first round pick. Picks 37 and 47 could certainly get them into the late first, but it's interesting to note that McKinney mentioned looking at Sanders in case they "move back" with their first rounder, not that they'd move up with their second rounder.

Sanders might never have the polish to be a post scorer, but his physical tools give him the profile of a useful 4/5 who can rebound and defend, especially if he continues to fill out his enormous frame (6'9.25" without shoes, nearly 7'6" wingspan, just 222 pounds). Robinson is more of an athletic tweener who you might optimistically say has a bit of Shawn Marion in him, but let's remember that Marion's success is fairly unique for a guy of his size.

Varnado made his name as a shot-blocking machine at Mississippi State,and you don't have to see much of him to know he's probably not going to be much more than a garbageman type at the next level. He has an impressive 7'3.5" wingspan and measured just over 6'8" without shoes, but at 210 pounds he looks light even for the PF position. Landesberg is a slightly built shooting guard who was ACC rookie of the year in 2009 at UVA, but his solid scoring numbers mask some fairly low effficiency (53% true shooting). DX has him pegged for the late second round at the moment, so he might be an option at 47.

Tuesday: Patterson, Warren, and Torrance

Tuesday should be interesting mainly because Patterson will be in town, but don't overlook the matchup of young combo guards Willie Warren and Mikhail Torrance. As we've discussed in the comments, Patterson's stock has been up and down since the season ended--Ford has him at #22 right now, DX at #11--which seems rather weird considering a) he's been well-known since he was O.J. Mayo's running mate in high school and played three years for a major college program b) he measured slightly better than expected in Chicago (6'8" without shoes, 7'1.25" wingspan) and c) everyone agrees he's a great interview who has been impressing teams with his maturity. There are valid concerns about his upside, but he was a productive collegian and seems fairly low-risk--especially if the Bucks had a chance to draft him at #15.